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. The signs of chimney damp can be similar to the signs of regular damp, except they all occur around your fireplace or chimney. How to fix this find out the source of the problem and make repairs to prevent further water ingress. Our builder who we do trust is scratching his head. Now this weekend with strong winds and rain the damp patch is back. With chimney stacks open to the elements, defects like damp can occur in chimneys that are used or redundant. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it. My guess is that the problem is inefficient ventilation where the fireplaces have been blocked up. Hi all, noticed yesterday that a damp patch has formed in our main bedroom at the top of the chimney breast and im just wondering if anyone may be able to offer any adviceguidance on sussing out what has caused it and subsequently fixing it so it doesnt continue. Have you recently found damp patches on the walls of your bedroom or living room. This seems to hold water making everything damp and we did have damp on the inside of the chimney breast in an upstairs bedroom. If the chimney pots are left open, rain will run down the flue and make the fireplace damp. 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. Damp looking patches appeared on chimney breast wallss.
Typical symptoms are damp patches, which may or may not be salty looking. 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. I have a thirty six year old house which had damp from the chimney coming through on the bedroom wall four years ago. Damp patches on internal chimney breast despite replaced slates, fixed flashing and repointed chimney stack my property is a 1940s semi detached ex council house which i bought 3 years ago. 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. The chimney breast is huge, its 6 ft wide by 2 ft deep, rounded corners. The wall that the damp patch is on is the adjoining wall between us and next door semidetached, and the patches are close to the ground, dont extend more. The water has made horrible brown damp patches on the wall. The chimney breast was taken down 30 years ago before we had the new roof so dont know how it was done we had really heavy rain this week so i went up into the loft and got into the corner where the damp is but everything feels dry. Chimneys and flues are often subjected to intense cycles of hot and cold. Weird damp on internal wall screwfix community forum.
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. 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. Chimneys are another common culprit especially old ones that dont have dampproofing solutions in place. We regularly get questions here at permagard about whats causing damp patches. Nov 03, 2012 the chimney breast was taken down 30 years ago before we had the new roof so dont know how it was done we had really heavy rain this week so i went up into the loft and got into the corner where the damp is but everything feels dry. The first thing you should do if you notice damp on your ceiling is contact a professional roofer. Even when the underlying source of dampness has been dealt with, damp patches on chimney breasts. Aug 07, 2011 inside the chimney breast is a flue which runs up the building and out through the chimney pot on the roof. To the rear of the chimney, moisture is again settling on the surface of the wall. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may be. It can lead to the deterioration of masonry, cause plaster to crumble, wooden beams and floorboards to decay, chimney breasts to crack and leave bubbling on your wallpaper. Some signs include brown plaster staining on your chimney breast or you might have damp patches on your chimney breast that come and go.
Above the picture rail isnt as wet, its slightly damp, but not wet. A very common problem here in northern ireland is a damp chimney breast. Damp sam walks round this property that alldry are working on and explains about hygroscopic salts on chimney breasts and why you need to know what they look like and how they are formed as well. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or. But most likely from what you say is flashing tiles just around the chimney.
Chimney breast damp what causes stains and damp patches. There may be damp patches on the chimney breast or the ceiling above it, or possibly the walls around it. The extent of the problem can vary from small spot marks top large plumes over the entire chimney breast. For example, a damp patch on the wall at the top of a chimney breast suggests a leak from the chimney stack, a wet patch at the top of a wall may indicate a leaking gutter and damp near windows might mean a damaged drip groove beneath the window sill. What to do if you notice a damp patch on the ceiling dont. This could be due to moisture and sulphates combining to form weak acids that attack lime, mortar joints and brickwork. The main damp is first floor bedroom next to the breast in the ingoes half way up the wall. The chimney is in the lounge and has a multifuel stove. Had tar stains on the wall bedroom ceiling at our last place big woodburner in the lounge and that turned out to be the flashing, or lack of it.
Weve had a flexible stainless steel liner installed. Damp patches on 3 of the 4 chimney breasts, in the top 30cm from the ceiling, and also some dampness on the ceiling where it meets the the chimney breast. We have a couple of weird damp patches in our 1930s semi. Call a professional roofer as soon as you spot a damp patch. Damp patches at top of chimney breast in victorian terrace mybuilder. This is a short example of the problem i investigated this week in harrogate, west yorkshire. As the different types of damp all need different cures, there is no magic single cure for all damp. The damp started to show through a few weeks later. Why is there a damp patch and staining on my chimney breast. The damp is apparent across only the half of the chimney breast which corresponds to the flue serving the downstairs room below the beadroom. 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. The sudden appearance of a damp patch that often looks like a brown stain on the inside of an exterior wall, in the upper corners of a room, on a ceiling or near a chimney breast. The stact in the bedroom, whoever converted the property has fitted a full size door into the breast, and basically created a storage cupboard in there. Have you recently found damp patches on the walls of your bedroom or living.
Jun 02, 2014 why is there a damp patch and staining on my chimney breast. Hi all bit of a sage this one, or its turning into one. But still i am quite wary of any damp proof companies. We added a vent where there was none too and have had chimney. Again you can clearly see the damp patch where the old chimney was. The condensation will sit on the internal wall, and create damp patches all over it. Damp stains and hygroscopic salts on the inside of the chimney wall. I would change the bonding plaster except it doesnt explain why the exposed. Damp patches at top of chimney breast in victorian terrace.
Where this chimney breast extends through the upstairs bedroom it is soaking wet from the picture rail down about 3 feet. Weve also stripped back the old wallpaper and redecorated. 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. If the fireplace is blocked up as well, this rainwater cant evaporate and will cause serious dampness. We moved in a year ago and had this in one of the bedrooms. Jan 22, 2007 look in the loft to see if any obvious damp on the chimney wall before it gets to ceiling height. This lasts about 34 days and then becomes almost unnoticeable. 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. They were nice and not too expensive but this was 78 years ago.
The half of the chimney breast corresponding to the flue for the bedroom itself is dry. We now know the cause of the issue, i could then write a specification of repair to include ventilation to. Damp and staining can often appear along the length of the chimney stack and cause extensive damage to the internal decorations of a property. If you notice damp on your chimney breast, you need to treat it as soon as possible. What happens is that condensation forms when warm moist air within a room touches a cold internal wall or surface. How to get rid of damp, condensation and mould at home. Theres a damp patch next to our chimney breast on the wall next to the breast, which has been growing over time, and a couple of little damp spots elsewhere on the chimney breast.
Damp looking patches appeared on chimney breast walls. In this case, again, moisture can then condense on the chimney breast surface and cause damp on your wall. The stact in the bedroom, whoever converted the property has fitted a full size door into the breast, and basically. Hi, every time it rains i have some damp patches that seem to appear on the chimney breast wall in the bedroom. 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.
As the pipeworks to the water tanks etc in the roof space are a fair way from the chimney, it doesnt appear to be a leaky pipe. Damp will begin to damage the area affected and patches of black mould growth can appear. Dont let santa get damp dealing with a damp chimney damp. This patch is in line with a chimney stack which was used as a flue for a convection gas boiler replaced may this year so chimney is now unused, cowel remains and open at. Apr 07, 2016 why is there a damp patch and staining on my chimney breast. If youre having damp problems that dont match up to these traits it is likely coming from the roofloft. Where the roof has leaked in the past has left some damp patches on our ceiling wall how do you cover a damp patch on the ceiling. I have just moved the bed away slightly as i think this could have been restricting the airflow slightly. I have had damp problems with the chimney breast for some time in the bedroom. 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. Nov 05, 2014 if you wake up in the morning to find your windows misted up and a damp black patch on the ceiling or wall, usually in the corners then you need to sort it out before it does damage to the room. Hi, i own a flat built inside the upper section of a 1873 built railway house. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or a leak.
When i looked further into the state of the chimney breast, i discovered that it was in terrible repair. Closer inspection has revealed that there is a blocked up fireplace below where the. Above stains on the rear bedroom chimney breast and ceiling. Damp appears after heavy rain, but takes weeks of dry weather to dry out. Nov 06, 2005 the damp patch is just on the chimney breast, about half way up on the 1st floor. Jan 19, 2018 damp will begin to damage the area affected and patches of black mould growth can appear. Most buildings will suffer from some condensation especially. I am actually in your area and we used these people in out last house when we had hydroscopic salts on a chimney breast. A survey to bre digest 245, rising damp in walls diagnosis and treatment. There has been historic water ingress but fairly sure all fixed now. Whatever the cause of the damp on your ceiling, heres how to fix it. The warm, moist air cools down, and condenses back into water. These damp patches can often worsen when the weather does.
Black spots of mould may be beginning to form in some areas. Selling house will repairing damp course add value. Hi, ive got some pale damp marks doesnt look mouldy, more discolouration and flaky paint on my bedroom wall first floor flat, exterior wall, between the iron bedstead head end and wall, and between a gap between wall and wardrobe. Staining and damp patches have started to appear on your chimney breast never a good sign. 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 older homes. Different types of damp need different treatments so getting the type right is vital. Usually the roofer has been back a couple of times or three and still the problems persist. At maximum, the damp stain spreads about 12 inches down the chimney breast and across the ceiling in the bedroom. Damp patch on chimney breast moneysavingexpert forum. Damp patches always causes concern for home buyers because we dont usually know where it is coming from. Or it might continue reading dont let santa get damp dealing with a damp chimney. Most buildings will suffer from some condensation especially if you dry clothes inside or use humidifiers. The patch starts on the kitchen wall about 18 from the ceramic tiled floor and is just under 2ft in size.
These are patches of damp on, what appears to be a chimney breast. Odd damp patches suddenly appeared singletrack magazine. Apr 26, 2012 i have had damp problems with the chimney breast for some time in the bedroom. How to diagnose and fix a damp chimney breast diy doctor. This was intially cured by repointing the chimney, but last year it happened again and was stopped by spraying all the brickwork with a water repellant. A while ago i noticed a patch on a chimney breast where the plaster was a bit flakey.
Nov 12, 2011 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. Salt contamination from concentrated flue gas salts which persist has caused this issue. You will need to start by sourcing the cause in order to accurately remedy it. Possible causes of upstairs chimney breast damp, and. In this case, the ventilation provided by the open fireplaces and the act of fires drawing air up the chimney stack is no longer present and air can become static so we will have to introduce some new ventilation in order to get the air. This video explains how to diagnose a damp chimney and how to prevent damp from getting into the chimney in the first place. There are two vents, both at skirting board level on 1st and ground floor. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may. Damp patch on chimney breast in bedroom diynot forums. Am thinking of putting a dehumidifier in the bedroom to see if it makes a difference. One of the most common causes of damp on internal walls is condensation.
Dont let santa get damp dealing with a damp chimney. 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 our flat roof for the dormer, right next to the chimney, seagulls build huge nests. Fix the only way to properly inspect the issue and fix it is to locate the suspect wall tie the best method for this is to hire a metal detector so that you can accurately pin point it, probably around the area where the damp patches are. The foxes always take care of the eggs, but every year there is a massive nest i have to go and clear off. Damp patches in bedroom who is best person to call. The most common causes of damp in your chimney breast are.
Jun 23, 20 any builders can give me any advise as i have a few damp patches on my chimney breast in the back room. Recently weve noted a damp patch appears on the chimney breast wall above the fireplace after heavy rain. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or a. Boards and flooring may start to show signs of rot.