Mould behind kitchen units

[Ikneweskimo]

Hi,

I've just ripped out the kitchen in the house I moved in to a few months ago . Behind the units on the external wall there's mold, but only low level.
Some of the skirting was also rotten, and the some of the units were moldy on the back boards (inside and outside the carcass)

I know the house was vacant for quite a while whilst I was going through the process of buying it- covid delayed tenants moving in whilst I rented it out for some time aswell, I'm wondering if the house being vacant for 8 months or so could contribute to it?

There was also a dishwasher on the left hand side of the wall which seems to be more moldy than the right side, so maybe condensation off that? It didn't work when I moved in so It hasn't been used for quite while.

There's holes in the bricks low level which I'm guessing is evidence of some sort of damp proofing previously done. There's also a deck raised deck outside against this wall, maybe that's caused some issues?

There's never been an extractor fan above the hob either so I doubt that helps things, but the oven and hob are on a different wall which shows no sign of mold
The problem is I don't know if its an issue like a leak or rising damp that has been addressed already or if its an on going one. I don't want to fit the new kitchen over jt to have that go moldy too - however as of now I don't have a kitchen either!

The water in the floor in the pictures is from me removing the sink.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[noseall]

Any help would be greatly appreciated

That wall badly needs insulating.

 

[JohnD]

Signs of water round shabby pipework? In an old kitchen? Where the sink used to be?

People will accuse me of wanting to blame leaks again.

but pretty likely.

Is there a drain or gulley outside that wall? Can you take a pic?

Is it a solid concrete floor? Or wood with a void beneath? lift a few boards and have a look and sniff for damp.

 

[noseall]

Signs of water round shabby pipework? In an old kitchen? Where the sink used to be?

People will accuse me of wanting to blame leaks again.

but pretty likely.

Is there a drain or gulley outside that wall? Can you take a pic?

Is it a solid concrete floor? Or wood with a void beneath? lift a few boards and have a look and sniff for damp.

That wall looks as dry as a bone.

 

[JohnD]

at the bottom, where the skirting was? And the wavy watermark?

 

[Ikneweskimo]

I changed the windows on the front of the house and there was insulation in the cavities, so I would assume there is on the back (where the kitchen is) but I'll knock the rest of the tile adhesive off the window ledge and check tomorrow - will also take a picture of the outside, although I think I the water on the floor was created by me during the rip out. The wall doesn't feel damp to the touch, just cold.
The floor in the kitchen is concrete, although the living room next to it is floorboards

 

[mrrusty]

Cold wall, humid air from a kitchen with bad ventilation, no air circulation behind cupboards. What do you think will happen? It's condensation. TBH it doesn't look that bad either. Personally, I would just clean it, check for any actual leaks both inside and outside, and install the new kitchen taking more notice about ventilation - a good extract hood to outside will really help this, by extracting the humid air and drawing in drier air from the rest of the house.

With all that pipework, adding insulation would be a PITA - personally I wouldn't bother unless it was part of a whole house insulation project, and then it would be worth doing.

 

[tell80]

The solid floor doesnt show a membrane so probly its old with no insulation and is very cold.
The cracked plaster, the previous attempt at a DPC and the rotted skirting suggest
for me the safest bet is to knock off all lower plaster up to cill - and replace some of the plasterboard in the pic - and rearrange the plumbing to suit the new kichen layout - and install a proper kitchen elec ring with new plates and all runs in safe zones. Sink cables and cover with metal channels.
Use sand and lime render to redo wall and stop it above the floor like in your pics..
No skirting needed at back of base unit runs.


The outside skin might be getting well wet and transmitting ccold through the insulation.
Mostly it seems to be a lots of condensation problem and maybe some of the other things i mentioned.
Probly in the future you can replace the floor. But if you do it nowwhen your working in a empty room it will be easier.?

a kitchen extractor is a must and will deff help.