Damp chimney breast

CottagePie

Hey,

First post. Just bought an end of terrace cottage. In both bedrooms the original fireplaces had been removed, the chimney stuffed with rock wool and the whole chimney breast dry lined in Kingspan and then skimmed.

We are trying to restore as many original features of the house as possible so we decided to buy some old Victorian cast Iron fireplaces to reinstall in the bedrooms. When we pulled the Kingspan off the wall we discovered a lot of damp. Black staining, plaster crumbling away etc.

When the chimney was filled in there was no vent at all. I believe this to be the cause of the damp. As we are an end of terrace I also believe that we are extra prone to damp chimney.

So, what to do?

Now that the chimney is open again and air flowing will this fox the root cause?

Will it just dry out over time? Anything I can do to help it along?

We will need to replaster this wall anyway and were then planning on wallpaper, but is it a bad idea to just remove the current plaster and replaster? Will the damp just come through again?

Any advice appreciated.

Joe1919

I live in a 100+ year old 2 story house with 4 chimneys. The chimneys are all kept open and are dry, except for occasional rain getting but this dries up quickly. (I might eventually put some type of rain cap on them but they are so unsightly). They are not dry lined but have there original lime plaster. There is a small bit of dampness at floor level downstairs.
I have seen what happens when chimneys are neglected, as was in my mothers house, which were blocked with birds nests for years and resulted in tar running out through the bricks and plaster.
You are right to strip away all that kingspan. You also need to clean out the chimney and make sure that plenty of air gets up and hopefully everything should dry out for the summer.
In the case of my mothers house, the tar stains were so bad that there was no way of plastering or painting over. What we done was just studded with 2 by 1 and dry lined with non insulated (& non foil backed) board, just filling the joints and it seemed to work. This setup only bring out the wall a little over an inch, so it did not interfere with the fireplaces.
Finally, you could check that the flashing and chimney top is ok and not leaking.
Best of luck

PS I am not an expert.

Tom44

Un ventilated chimney leads to dampness. Worst thing that can be done. :mad: