Dampness question

armchairninja

Hi all,
Have a question about dampness.
A large damp patch has developed in my spare bedroom, it is on the wall behind a wardrobe, and I cant figure out a reason behind it.
The walls of the house are mass conc, with a plaster skim coat (house was built c:1930), and its the party wall between ours and the adjacent property, to the front of the property (west facing), I got into the attic to check if there was a leak of some description that was causing it and I couldnt find anything either.
The only thing that I can think of is that it might be a ventilation problem?, there was a fire place in the room, but it was blocked up before we moved in, but the window is opened on a daily basis for an hour or two - probably still not sufficient for air changes though?, other than that there is no other ventilation in the room.
We moved in to the house about 4.5 years ago, and maybe a year after that this problem started, but then it disappeared for a while, before coming back again in recent months, except this time its an awful lot worse.
Im just hoping that maybe someone here has had a similar experience?, and can suggest a remedy? Drylining isn't really an option, due to space constraints etc, and I'm really hoping theres another option than having to bore a vent hole in a mass conc wall, last time we done it, it took us 3 or 4 hours:mad:.
I have attached some pics to show what I'm talking about, sorry about the quality, I used my camera phone.


Wall


Wall & Ceiling Junction

Cheers

sydthebeat

i think the fact that a wardrobe was there before hand is a huge indicator of the problem. is the spare room used much?

i think the problem has been a build up of condensation over a long time. the clothes in the wardrobe was acting as an insulator keeping the rooms heat away from the wall making it cold. The naturally humid air was then condensing onto this cold mass concrete wall. The scattering of the mould appears to follow the follow the shape of the wardrobe. the fact its a party wall doesnt really matter if the surface temp of the wall falls below the dew point.

Ventilation is the solution. Firstly, get a domestic dehumidifier for a few days to dry the room out. secondly, incorporate permanent background ventilation. The best resolution may be to incorporate a ceiling grill and vent to a vent tile / slate. Drilling the mass concrete wall could break you!

You must really insulate these mass concrete walls though. Take advantage of the current SEI HES grant.

Poor Uncle Tom

Yeah it looks very much like condensation. Combination of ventilation and heating should cure it.

armchairninja

Thanks Lads,
I was thinking it was condensation, but just wanted to be sure.
Drilling the wall would be no problem, have access to the equipment, its just the effort that has to go into it!:rolleyes:
The ceiling vent will probably be the avenue I go, or maybe open back up the fire place with a vent grill and use the chimney, instead of having to go messing around with vent tiles/slates?
The only problem with insulating the walls is that the rooms are tight for space, due to the way its furninshed, and adding 50-60mm for dry-lining might not work, but I'll have to look at it and try and explain that to the parents. All the other rooms in the house are drylined etc., by the previous owner, but for some reason not the spare room.
The room gets moderate use for a spare room i suppose(once or twice a month maybe), with relatives staying over etc., but the heating is on every day in the room anyway, which is why it was puzzling me so much.

sydthebeat

armchairninja wrote: »

Thanks Lads,
I was thinking it was condensation, but just wanted to be sure.
Drilling the wall would be no problem, have access to the equipment, its just the effort that has to go into it!:rolleyes:
The ceiling vent will probably be the avenue I go, or maybe open back up the fire place with a vent grill and use the chimney, instead of having to go messing around with vent tiles/slates?
The only problem with insulating the walls is that the rooms are tight for space, due to the way its furninshed, and adding 50-60mm for dry-lining might not work, but I'll have to look at it and try and explain that to the parents. All the other rooms in the house are drylined etc., by the previous owner, but for some reason not the spare room.
The room gets moderate use for a spare room i suppose(once or twice a month maybe), with relatives staying over etc., but the heating is on every day in the room anyway, which is why it was puzzling me so much.

using a grill in the chimney is a good idea, but id be worried it wouldnt be high enough to avail of stack ventilation action. Id do it anyway, along with a wall vent.

The fact that all other rooms are drylined increases the probability that this is condensation. Heat, along with humid air, will be drawn to that room because its the easiest way for it to dissipate.

muffler

Have to agree with what the lads said.