Help with possible damp...

Zulu

I'm renovating a rental property.
The last tenants were there for 7 years and it appears were a dirty lot. While I haven't identified any major issues they clearly never cleaned properly and didn't ventilate the house. They were drying clothes on the backs of chairs and rads.

So we've dumped the furniture, and are replacing the carpet. I've washed the walls with Sugersoap and painted the lot. Cleared and cleaned the bathrooms, and while the smell is a lot better, there's still a smell of damp when entering - and i can't find the source.

I'm thinking it might be below the wooden flooring, but I'm hesitant to pull it up as it's in passable condition. Certainly there's no warping, buckling, or bowing. It feels dry in the corners, and the skirting is all fine also.

Any ideas, advice or suggestions would be very welcome as I dont want to fork out 3K for a floor if I dont have to.

Sleepy

I presume you've been running a dehumidifier in the property when you're not there and leaving the windows all open when you are?

Zulu

Sleepy wrote: »

I presume you've been running a dehumidifier in the property when you're not there and leaving the windows all open when you are?

yup.
vents were blocked with dust which ive cleared also.

Sleepy

Curtains? Is the dehumidifier a proper unit or one of the little aldi/lidl jobs? We use a basic enough one from Argos to help dry clothes in the utility room but it can pull 3/4 litres of water in a matter of hours and I remember when we had plastering done, we had the lend of an industrial one which pulled about 10 litres of water a day. I think you can rent them from most tool hire places. It could be as simple as the plaster still holding some moisture (fresh paint would have added more back to the walls)?

Doop

Have you checked and cleared the gutters and downpipes?
Any materials stroed up against the walls externally? Raised beds anything like that?
If not keep going with the ventilation. But maybe your wooden floor needs to go...is it laminate or what is it?

Zulu

Curtains all went to the recycle centre.
It's not a aldi job, but not industrial either. It's pulling a tank per night (guessing 5 ltrs).

Just spoke to the chap replacing the kitchen, he suspects the rad pipe may be leaking, so I'm trying to get a plumber out.
I may take up the carpet myself tonight.... fingers crossed thats it.

s7ryf3925pivug

I uncovered solid black mould behind a fitted wardrobe. It was due to a cold bridge from a gap in the attic insulation.

Zulu

Doop wrote: »

Have you checked and cleared the gutters and downpipes?
Any materials stroed up against the walls externally? Raised beds anything like that?
If not keep going with the ventilation. But maybe your wooden floor needs to go...is it laminate or what is it?

Semi solid/engineered.

Gutters need clearing, but they're not terrible. Why do you suspect them? (what should I be looking for?)

Zulu

Daxton Obedient Puzzle wrote: »

I uncovered solid black mould behind a fitted wardrobe. It was due to a cold bridge from a gap in the attic insulation.

Hummm, it's a mid terrace house with residents eitherside. Attic insulation appeared fine when I was clearing out the 3 carloads of sh1t they left behind...

Doop

Zulu wrote: »

Semi solid/engineered.

Gutters need clearing, but they're not terrible. Why do you suspect them? (what should I be looking for?)

Just to see if they are blocked or causing rainwater to flood down an elevation and as such saturating the wall.. It is unlikely as you say the behavior of the previous tenant is the cause, but worth eliminating all the possibilities as you work through it.

listermint

Zulu wrote: »

Semi solid/engineered.

Gutters need clearing, but they're not terrible. Why do you suspect them? (what should I be looking for?)

If any water sits in the gutters it can go one way, up and over the front and back.

The back being towards your eves. Which can also lead to your wall plate and down the plasterboard. Or merely soak the brick continually.

Zulu

So gutters aren't the problem.
I lifted the skirting boards at the waste pipe (mid terrace house) where it comes down through the sitting room, and smell is deffo from there. However, the plaster work is bone dry. The skirting is bone dry. Reached in behind and the ground and pipe are dry. So I'm stumped.

Only thing I can think of is that it's either the pipe running under the house (worse case scenario), or it was just he tenants habits leading to damp getting into the floor (somehow). (I texted the tenants and they said there was no old issue, flood, leak or anything).

The plan is no to get a 4inch plug, block at the drain outside, and run the bath until the pipe back fills to the upstairs bath. Leave it for a few hours and see if the water level drops (indicating a leak somewhere). Which is going to be an ordeal.

Any other suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks.

stratowide

Zulu wrote: »

So gutters aren't the problem.
I lifted the skirting boards at the waste pipe (mid terrace house) where it comes down through the sitting room, and smell is deffo from there. However, the plaster work is bone dry. The skirting is bone dry. Reached in behind and the ground and pipe are dry. So I'm stumped.

Only thing I can think of is that it's either the pipe running under the house (worse case scenario), or it was just he tenants habits leading to damp getting into the floor (somehow). (I texted the tenants and they said there was no old issue, flood, leak or anything).

The plan is no to get a 4inch plug, block at the drain outside, and run the bath until the pipe back fills to the upstairs bath. Leave it for a few hours and see if the water level drops (indicating a leak somewhere). Which is going to be an ordeal.

Any other suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks.

A bit off topic here.

Back when I was an apprentice the best advice I ever got was.."Never believe a word the customer tells you..."

Sevred me well all these years.

When they say nothing leaked or were drying clothes indoors.
Take what the tenants said with a big dollop of skepticism.

Zulu

stratowide wrote: »

A bit off topic here.

Back when I was an apprentice the best advice I ever got was.."Never believe a word the customer tells you..."

Sevred me well all these years.

When they say nothing leaked or were drying clothes indoors.
Take what the tenants said with a big dollop of skepticism.

Not OT at all, and I dont really believe them. In fact, i'm hoping it was them and not something bigger

Murph_D

Why is the waste pipe coming down internally? Sounds like asking for trouble. However if it was leaking it would probably be wet (assuming bath is in use).

Is there a u-trap somewhere? How does the waste connect to the mains? Is it possible smell is from the main drain?

Lumen

The last leak I had was caused by a defective cistern overflow pipe which had not been used for years (possibly ever) and then the ballcock valve broke.

So maybe check your overflows.

It seems vanishingly unlikely that drying clothes indoors can cause a subfloor to rot.

Zulu

Murph_D wrote: »

Why is the waste pipe coming down internally? Sounds like asking for trouble. However if it was leaking it would probably be wet (assuming bath is in use).

Is there a u-trap somewhere? How does the waste connect to the mains? Is it possible smell is from the main drain?

House design for terace. no idea about the u trap. I've a plumber coming out next week.

Trying to plug it over the weekend didn't work - I couldn't get a proper seal, but i did figure the pipe goes the other way (out through the kitchen and not under the sitting room floor). Which has me flumoxed, as theres no smell or damage in the kitchen.