The most common causes of damp in your chimney breast are. Every winter we were inundated with calls enquiring about the cause of damp staining in chimney breasts and adjacent areas. The main reasons for dampness occuring on chimney breasts is down to the following. A very common problem here in northern ireland is a damp chimney breast. We all know that papering over the cracks is not a good solution to a problem. Chimney breast still damp 3 years after external chimney. Damp patches always causes concern for home buyers because we dont usually know where it is coming from. As the different types of damp all need different cures, there is no magic single cure for all damp. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or. Different types of damp need different treatments so getting the type right is vital. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it. What happens is that condensation forms when warm moist air within a room touches a cold internal wall or surface. If the damp appears as yellow, brown or black horizontal lines across the front or sides of the chimney breast, this might be caused by the lining inside the flue being fitted incorrectly in the first place. A chimney stack is by its very nature exposed to the elements.
Other visual signs can be a damp chimney breast and ceiling, damp walls either side of your chimney breast, damp in your loft or attic space around the chimney area or even damp halfway up a chimney breast. Do i really need to take off the plaster not always, we explain when. The wallpaper has yellowed about 30 cm up from the ground, and paintplaster in the cavity is crumbly in areas. The signs of chimney damp can be similar to the signs of regular damp, except they all occur around your fireplace or chimney. Staining and damp patches have started to appear on your chimney breast never a good sign. Chimney breasts can often suffer from damp patches, this can be caused by poor ventilation damp air trapped inside a. There are two vents, both at skirting board level on 1st and ground floor. A survey to bre digest 245, rising damp in walls diagnosis and treatment. If you notice damp on your chimney breast, you need to treat it as soon as possible. How to deal with damp patches on an internal wall around a. The damp patch is just on the chimney breast, about half way up on the 1st floor.
How to diagnose and fix a damp chimney breast diy doctor. Damp patches and brown water stains on upstairs ceilings, chimney breasts and internal walls are commonly the result of leaks around the edges of chimney stacks where they meet the roof. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or a leak. Damp and staining can often appear along the length of the chimney stack and cause extensive damage to the internal decorations of a property. Id suggest that you have sulpherisation in the chimney breast flues ie. Any builders can give me any advise as i have a few damp patches on my chimney breast in the back room.
We have had a meshmembrane put between the wall and some plasterboard that should solve the problem for the next 25 years or so, which is fine, as we will probably have down sized by then. Chimney stacks are designed to be exposed to the weather more than any other part of the building. Ive been trying to find an answer to my damp chimney. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may be salts. Reoccuring dampness nr chimney breast page 1 homes. There may be damp patches on the chimney breast or the ceiling above it, or possibly the walls around it. Hygroscopic damp caused by rain penetration through the chimney stack.
Damp patches on the chimney breast, brown or yellow marks on the. Since 1965 building regulations specify that all properties built in the uk must be fitted with a flue lining. Complete preservation on april 7, 2016 complete preservation are specialists when it comes to chimney dampness investigations, when i say this its because its what we do every week. Damp looking patches appeared on chimney breast walls.
A video discussing why the damp patches are there on your internal wall where the fireplace opening used to be and offering a quick guide on. Do you have a problem damp patch on a chimney breast which will not go away. Wet patches on wall chimney breast removal property tribes. Damp breast page 1 homes, gardens and diy pistonheads. Rising dampness this will be on the ground floor skirting board level and is ground water coming up through the brickwork. Discussion in building started by richardbell81, 18 feb 20. How can internal walls get damp not from natural rising damp. The warm, moist air cools down, and condenses back into water. Commonly, penetrating damp occurs on external walls where the external ground levels are higher than the internal floors or there is an incorrect fall away from the building. Odd damp patches suddenly appeared singletrack magazine.
Why is there a damp patch and staining on my chimney breast. I dont think water is coming down the chimney as the only places we see the damp is at the bottom, next to the chimney breast, not further up the chimney breast. The house is 1902 terrace and the bedroom with damp patched is on the top3rd floor. Some signs include brown plaster staining on your chimney breast or you might have damp patches on your chimney breast that come and go. Symptom damp patches on or around chimney breasts sometimes showing yellow or brown stains in wallpaper or paint you have hygroscopic chimney salts that are attracting moisture from the air, which may include tars and other chemicals from burning wood or coal answer these salts are very difficult to hold back in the wall, even with the replastering to our specification carried.
We bought our first house last year and after living in it for a few months since september i have noticed some strange damp spots on and around the chimney breast in the top bedroom. This is an internal wall and the construction is single skin brick. Its strange how the damp patch just stops suddenly and also that the paper wasnt damp. In june 2011, i commissioned an independent damp survey csrt qualified surveyors. Answer you may have rising dampness, or your damp proof course may be bridged by. Symptom damp patches on or around chimney breasts sometimes showing yellow or brown stains in wallpaper or paint you have hygroscopic chimney salts that are attracting moisture from the air, which may include tars and other chemicals from burning wood or coal. Damp seems slightly worse in times of high humidity, and a dehumidifier does help a.
The wall is attached to next doors wall semidetached and that wall goes right up to the roof. Damp patches, above skirting board in and around area of blocked up chimney breast. Chimney breast damp the original plasterers forum the. Damp sam walks round this property that alldry are working on and explains about hygroscopic salts on chimney breasts and why you need to. Typical symptoms are damp patches, which may or may not be salty looking. Chimney breast damp what causes stains and damp patches. Dont let santa get damp dealing with a damp chimney damp. Party wall damp ingress make text bigger i own a 1900s end terraced house that had some damp water ingress via the defective chimney stack on the gable end, the chimney stack has been removed as the water was travelling down the gable wall and showing as damp on the internal wall and chimney breast its a solid wall, not cavity, this. I have just moved the bed away slightly as i think this could have been restricting the airflow slightly.
If the chimney pots are left open, rain will run down the flue and make the fireplace damp. Damp patches at the bottom can be caused by the lack of a cap at the top or a lack of. Internal chimney breast damp patches help needed please by voltarei. Damp meter measuring wet the wall is soaked with salts from chimney stack dark patches are salts and very conductive. The opinion of two damp specialists seem to be that it is salts, and nothing can be done unless we knocked the chimney breast down external wall, not likely. There are a few possibilities that could be causing your damp patches. Damp chimney breasts and hygroscopic salt contamination. The house is a 1920s old town house and 6 years ago i had it all renovated took all the plaster off the walls and dabdotted and over the last year or so i have noticed a damp patch just above the skirting board pic below. If the fireplace is blocked up as well, this rainwater cant evaporate and will cause serious dampness. The condensation will sit on the internal wall, and create damp patches all over it. Damp problem around internal wall chimney breast diy doctor. If your chimney stack is capped, make sure it has a wellventilated cap or cowl. A combination of wind and rain coupled with defective rendering, pointing and porous bricks allow this rain to be absorbed and permeate downwards, resulting in damp exhibiting itself internally. With windows open and a fan on the smell dissipated in four hours.
On the ground floor i have 2 damp patches either side of the chimney breast. This is after, you can see the hygroscopic salts on the chimney breast now damp looking patch at the top of the chimney breast, also notice the vertical profile up the wall, bre digest 245. Again you can clearly see the damp patch where the old chimney was. We show you how to fix a damp chimney breast including details on how to find. One of the most common causes of damp on internal walls is condensation. Symptom damp patches on the ground floor at low level, right down to the skirting board that come and go you have hygroscopic salts that are attracting moisture from the air. Need advice on plastering a damp wall the original. There are various patches which i think are down to various reasons. Damp chimney breasts secondary chimney damp even when the underlying source of dampness has been dealt with, damp patches on chimney breasts can be very persistent. You might also see staining or discolouration in these areas. Victorian houses sometimes had flashings made from cheaper zinc or.
We have recently noticed damp coming from the bottom of our chimney breast on an internal wall. They often come and go with damp weather, though it doesnt necessarily have to rain. A picture in picture thermal image showing the dampness, note the holes are. If you have a large area you will need a larger size. These damp patches can often worsen when the weather does.
I need to get the walls painted and can use damp seal to proceed but will this wet areas eventually dry. This is due to the fact that most chimney breasts are heavily contaminated with moistureattracting hygroscopic salts that have accumulated in the chimney structure due to the. The damp patches on the walls have been treated with this damp seal and unlike the last four times of painting it hasnt yet reappeared. Inside the chimney breast is a flue which runs up the building and out through the chimney pot on the roof. Hi all, we have a damp chimney breast two large damp patches on the front, to.
You can now see where the chimney breast used to be, the whole are where the chimney breast was is now damp, after the humidifiers were running for around 10 minutes. This causes moisture from the wall interior to be deposited within the element. I have an early 19th century stone cottage, the internal wall of the gable end downstairs has lots of dark greasy patches of damp, it never gets mouldy but it doesnt. My chimney breast walls are damp in patches not uncommon, read why. Damp patches on the chimney breast, brown or yellow marks on the walls and ceilings surrounding the chimney often point to damage caused by a water leak or building faults such as inadequate guttering, missing roof tiles, poor flashing details and absorbent masonry. Internal chimney stack on the roof was removed and tiled over also had a velux window fitted in line with where it used to be. This sounds as though it might be a case of chimney damp, caused by the tars and salts from years of burning coal and wood, that leach into the brick flues and chimney breasts of. Damp stains and hygroscopic salts on the inside of the chimney wall. By patches i mean like grease marks on the chimney breast walls, i freshly painted my bedroom in a good quality magnolia emulsion and now these marks have appeared and the walls feel damp, no black mould as yet as i ventilate the cottage regularly by opening the windows and doors and have the heating on in the evenings these marks remind of. Most people do not realise, that when they notice a damp problem, it could be any one of six different sorts of damp, or some combination of the six. On replacing old sofa for new discovered damp patches behind sofa on wall where old chimney place had been. This allows all the smoke and fumes to disperse into the atmosphere and away from living areas. Its sat empty for over a year and has some areas of damp on the walls info.
373 1035 710 736 1145 1020 1360 741 1316 39 1548 1340 1194 1119 1412 865 1567 436 1413 208 353 1320 780 1044 21 323 650 1482 116 1189 839 767 1351 864 1069 590 76 679 1106 297 1224 1151