damp in the corner of the room

Kooli

There is a corner of our living room that is damp to the point of being actually almost wet to the touch.

We got it replastered last Christmas, thinking the discolouration was from an old damp problem. 6 months later all the paint had flaked off and it was damp to the touch again. The corner is on 2 interior walls - the other side of one of the walls at the corner is a bedroom, and there is no sign of damp from that side. The other side of the other wall is our neighbour's house, so I've no idea about that.

What does it sound like the problem is? And who should I get in to fix it? (I know this is the DIY forum, but I am not a DIY-er, and would prefer to hire someone, but I never know which tradesman for which job!!)

Martron

do you live in a bungalow? can the water source come from above?

soundsham

ventilation is more than likely your problem

ART6

Kooli wrote: »

There is a corner of our living room that is damp to the point of being actually almost wet to the touch.

We got it replastered last Christmas, thinking the discolouration was from an old damp problem. 6 months later all the paint had flaked off and it was damp to the touch again. The corner is on 2 interior walls - the other side of one of the walls at the corner is a bedroom, and there is no sign of damp from that side. The other side of the other wall is our neighbour's house, so I've no idea about that.

What does it sound like the problem is? And who should I get in to fix it? (I know this is the DIY forum, but I am not a DIY-er, and would prefer to hire someone, but I never know which tradesman for which job!!)

If the damp patch is at floor level and above, and only effects the sitting room and not the bedroom, and if you have concrete floors, I would suspect a leaking central heating pipe since what you describe sounds like much more water than simple damp would account for. In any case, damp due to poor ventilation would not normally be so localised.

The checks I would suggest depend on what central heating you have (I assume you do have). If it's a pressurised system, does it lose pressure over time? If it's an atmospheric system (with a small water tank in the attic) then it will continuously top up any water loss through a leak. If you have a concrete floor, can you pull back some carpet in the corner and see if the floor is also wet?

If either of those checks are positive then you need a plumber if you don't want to do it yourself -- and central heating pipe leaks are fairly testing jobs if you are inexperienced.

Kooli

Yes it's at floor level.

I have wooden floors, gas central heating, and it's a bungalow.

Thanks for the advice so far!