After painting it and that damp patch coming and going, i did lots of research and found it was hygroscopic salts, the damp patch tastes salty too, i licked the wall hee hee. The first thing you should do if you notice damp on your ceiling is contact a professional roofer. For all you know, someones built a grow room up against the wall. Additional allowance should be made for making good decoration and floor finishes. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or a leak. The warm, moist air cools down, and condenses back into water. I live in a 1958 detached 3 bedroom centrally heated brick house with radiators. The damp patch is just on the chimney breast, about half way up on the 1st floor. If the fireplace is blocked up as well, this rainwater cant evaporate and will cause serious dampness. The condensation will sit on the internal wall, and create damp patches all over it. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it. Some signs include brown plaster staining on your chimney breast or you might have damp patches on your chimney breast that come and go. Weve also stripped back the old wallpaper and redecorated. A survey to bre digest 245, rising damp in walls diagnosis and treatment.
A chimney breast is a portion of a chimney which projects forward from a wall to accommodate a fireplace. The most common causes of damp in your chimney breast are. 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. How to remove a chimney stack or chimney breast safely and understand the building regulations that govern this project. The chimney is in the lounge and has a multifuel stove. Usually the roofer has been back a couple of times or three and still the problems persist. Slight damp patch on chimney breast, would an air brick. Typically on the ground floor of a structure, the masonry extends upwards, containing a flue which carries smoke out of the building through a chimney stack. Ive been trying to find an answer to my damp chimney. Since 1965 building regulations specify that all properties built in the uk must be fitted with a flue lining. This lasts about 34 days and then becomes almost unnoticeable.
Internal chimney stack on the roof was removed and tiled over also had a velux window fitted in line with where it used to be. Every winter we were inundated with calls enquiring about the cause of damp staining in chimney breasts and adjacent areas. I would check the damp coarse, make sure any airbrick are clear if you have any also check to see that the outside alley way pavement is about 62 bricks below the damp. What happens is that condensation forms when warm moist air within a room touches a cold internal wall or surface.
Slight damp patch on chimney breast, would an air brick help. 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. Its strange how the damp patch just stops suddenly and also that the paper wasnt damp. The signs of chimney damp can be similar to the signs of regular damp, except they all occur around your fireplace or chimney. 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. Find out the source of the problem and make repairs to prevent further water ingress.
The wall that the damp patch is on is the adjoining wall between us and next door semidetached, and the patch es are close to the ground, dont extend more. Chimney jambs similarly project from the wall, but they do so on either side of the fireplace and serve to support the chimney breast. Chimneys are another common culprit especially old ones that dont have dampproofing solutions in place. 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. Weve had a flexible stainless steel liner installed. Costs include plastering and making good skirting, etc. On the ground floor i have 2 damp patches either side of the chimney breast. Call a professional roofer as soon as you spot a damp patch. 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.
We noticed a damp patch on the chimney breast and just assumed it was the plaster taking time to dry out. 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. Damp patches, above skirting board in and around area of blocked up chimney breast. It is not uncommon for brick chimneys to crumble with age. A damp chimney is an indication that something is wrong, but the fact that damage is occurring is often far from obvious. We have a mystery patch where our chimney breast was taken out. This allows all the smoke and fumes to disperse into the atmosphere and away from living areas. You might also see staining or discolouration in these areas. If the chimney pots are left open, rain will run down the flue and make the fireplace damp.
Chimney damp damp sealing screwfix community forum. Keep chimney pots vented and allow air to circulate to prevent damp by using chimney cowls the wall around your chimney can also be prone to suffering from hygroscopic chimney salts. Inside the chimney breast is a flue which runs up the building and out through the chimney pot on the roof. The moisture meter indicated elevated readings ranging from 70 90% in the plaster of the chimney breast and 40 60% in the plast of the adjacent wall. Chimney stacks are designed to be exposed to the weather more than any other part of the building. Chimney damp diagnosis is impossible to understand with just a damp meter.
There may be damp patches on the chimney breast or the ceiling above it, or possibly the walls around it. If there is a damp or yellowbrown stain near the ceiling upstairs, it might be rainwater penetration. There are various patches which i think are down to various reasons. If you have been experiencing damp issues in your chimney breast, see our. Salts and minerals released from fuels burnt on a fire can settle on the inside of the chimney breast and over time seep into and through a wall onto the internal. One of the most common causes of damp on internal walls is condensation. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or. Damp breast page 1 homes, gardens and diy pistonheads. Penetrating damp or lateral damp is usually caused by water entering the exterior envelope of the building. It was done before we moved in and has a gas flu liner in it. The chimney breast in the roof space being damp is not in itself damaging, and you say that space is now well ventilated. Readings from between 24% wme to 54% wme were taken across the damp stains, the rest of the breast just gave the readings you would expect from a dry wall. How to fix a crumbling brick chimney home guides sf gate. Reoccuring dampness nr chimney breast page 1 homes.
In the below picture you can see the damp patch stain on the chimney breast and the adjacent wall. The dampness form isolated patches on walls that typically increase in. I have had the chimney lead flashing replaced and then the whole chimney taken down and lead tray replaced on advice from a roofer. Flashing has been replaced, brickwork repointed, all brickwork water sealed and i have just had the pots capped, but the damp is sitll there. 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. Different types of damp need different treatments so getting the type right is vital. As the different types of damp all need different cures, there is no magic single cure for all damp. 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. 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. In the first instance this ceramic roofware was functional to make the roof weatherproof and to provide an outlet for. One of the reasons its best to call a professional chimney technician if you notice that your chimney is damp is. We had a damp patch in a top corner of a room that backed on to the chimney breast. Also slightly damp on the top of the chimney stack.
In actual fact the wall is bone dry the pattern of damp patches is salts from the enormous chimney stack, with flues running up the wall behind the dark patches. A very common problem here in northern ireland is a damp chimney breast. Damp patches always causes concern for home buyers because we dont usually know where it is coming from. The wall is attached to next doors wall semidetached and that wall goes right up to the roof. Again you can clearly see the damp patch where the old chimney was. This is after, you can see the hygroscopic salts on the chimney breast now damp looking patch at the top of the chimney breast, also notice the. I have a damp patch on the ceiling of our bedroom which starts from the corner of a chimney breast. I have just moved the bed away slightly as i think this could have been restricting the airflow slightly. We bought our first house last year and after living in it for a few months since september i have noticed some strange damp spots on and around the chimney breast in the top bedroom. I have had 3 roofing companies out the last 3 winters to make repairs. If the damp appears as yellow, brown or black horizontal lines across the front or sides of the chimney breast, this might be caused by the lining inside the flue being fitted incorrectly in the first place. 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.
Hi all, we have a damp chimney breast two large damp patches on the front, to. Ceramic roofware, hans van lemmen, shire library, 2008, isbn. We have over 10 years experience in chimneys, flue liners and fireplaces, and have worked on a wide variety of projects around the uk. Weve tried painting over it with special paint, etc. The house is 1902 terrace and the bedroom with damp patched is on the top3rd floor. Damp stains and hygroscopic salts on the inside of the chimney wall. Whatever the cause of the damp on your ceiling, heres how to fix it. Theres been a patch for years of discoloured paint. Salts from many years of fires burning constantly, have contaminated the wall, and attract moisture from the air into their crystal structure making the wall look wet. Why is there a damp patch and staining on my chimney breast. What to do if you notice a damp patch on the ceiling don. Suffering with damp or staining on your chimney breast.
Recently weve noted a damp patch appears on the chimney breast wall above the fireplace after heavy rain. Damp and salts are part and parcel of chimneys, as above if not in use needs to be vented and capped from rain but allowed to breathe, surveyors at this present time are been over zealous, they will point out every minuscule thing and offer it up as a brilliant discovery whereas its really just part and parcel of any house especially concerning period properties, you could hack off and float. Im no expert with damp but to the right of the larger damp patch there are 2 more rising from the to of the skirting board. A damp chimney breast problem can present itself in a number of different ways and for a number of different reasons. Odd damp patches suddenly appeared singletrack magazine. One is top middle of the wall and the other is bottom left on top of the skirting board. Call us today to learn more about us and our chimney services. So the only problem would appear to be the hygroscopic moisture migrating to the adjacent bedroom ceiling, which im guessing is probably modern gypsum plasterboard a material which itself is hygroscopic. Damp in house the number of enquiries relating to damp stains on chimneys is on the up. Damp patch on out side of exterior wall post by big bruv. The common complaint is that the roofer has either fixed the stack or the flashing, but the damp still comes in. Any builders can give me any advise as i have a few damp patches on my chimney breast in the back room.
This short video explains how, and why you need to take plaster samples to find out exactly what is going on. It runs about a foot down the wall and chimney breast from the corner of the ceiling. I have a chimney breast upstairs that gets a large damp patch in the middle when it rains heavily. 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. There are two vents, both at skirting board level on 1st and ground floor. On replacing old sofa for new discovered damp patches behind sofa on wall where old chimney place had been. Chimney breast damp the original plasterers forum the. There is a free standing electric fire currently in the fireplace as we couldnt afford to install a real one so the chimney has been blocked up to stop dirt falling down it.
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