Chimney breast damp patches

Jun 23, 20 any builders can give me any advise as i have a few damp patches on my chimney breast in the back room. A guide on why chimneys get damp and stay damp, with details on salt contamination, causes and repair methods. 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. In the section below you will find a description of a variety of visual ways that damp around a chimney breast can manifest itself and how each of these can be diagnosed and fixed. At this point its tempting to call for a further investigation and move on. Additional damp patches and flaking paint might become more obvious.

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 vertical profile up the wall, following bre digest 245. 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. Chimney removal cost guide prices updated for 2019. When wiping it down though to remove any dust i have noticed a clear patch that still seems wet compared to the rest. By patches i mean like grease marks on the chimney breast walls, i freshly painted my bedroom in a good quality magnolia emulsion and now these marks have appeared and the walls feel damp, no black mould as yet as i ventilate the cottage regularly by opening the windows and doors and have the heating on in the evenings these marks remind of. When it rains heavily damp patches appear at the top of the wall and on the part of the ceiling nearest the chimney breast. Again you can clearly see the damp patch where the old chimney was. A catalog of types and causes of cracks in masonry chimneys, cracks and spits in brick chimney sides what is their cause, significance, danger. The damp patch is just on the chimney breast, about half way up on the 1st floor. One of the most common causes of damp on internal walls is condensation. By patches i mean like grease marks on the chimney breast walls, i freshly painted my bedroom in a good quality magnolia emulsion and now these marks. There are two vents, both at skirting board level on 1st and ground floor.

Showing up as damp patches on the chimney breast wall. It is not at the bottom near the floor boards but about a quarter of the way up the wall. There arguably should be some ventilation in the chimney and an airbrick or equivalent should have been left in each fireplace when they were sealed up. Why is there a damp patch and staining on my chimney breast. A video discussing why the damp patches are there on your internal wall where the fireplace opening used to be and offering a quick guide on.

Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may be salts. Many signs of a damp chimney look identical to a regular leak in the roof or wall. Dont let santa get damp dealing with a damp chimney. I have just moved the bed away slightly as i think this could have been restricting the airflow slightly.

Visual signs of chimney breast damp and how to repair them. Damp looking patches appeared on chimney breast walls. This is an internal wall and the construction is single skin brick. Typical symptoms are damp patches, which may or may not be salty. We often see and hear about homes with yellowy brown damp patches at the top of chimney breasts. Additional damp patches and flaking paint might become more obvious during poor weather conditions such as rain. Causes and implications over time, persistent dampness can result in fungal decay developing in adjacent roof timbers, and can also cause ceilings to bow and eventually collapse. Weve had a brand new roof, guttering, chimney swept and work done to seal holes on the upper section of the chimney.

Nov 27, 2017 a video discussing why the damp patches are there on your internal wall where the fireplace opening used to be and offering a quick guide on how to do a diy level cheap solution to help solve the. I have had a problem with damp patches appearing around my ground floor chimney breast and i would have though i first noticed an issue around 2 years ago. Damp patches and brown water stains on upstairs ceilings, chimney breasts and internal walls are commonly the result of leaks around the edges of chimney stacks where they meet the roof. Higher up, approximately of picture hanging hight, there is a moisture spot in the centre of the chimney breast. Damp meter measuring wet the wall is soaked with salts from chimney stack dark patches are salts and very conductive. The main issue is at the top where the bedroom wall meets the ceiling, this morning it was actually dropping and you could see the moisture. Ensure the wall has been allowed to dry out fully before applying plaster. We all know that papering over the cracks is not a good solution to a problem. The house is 1902 terrace and the bedroom with damp patched is on the top3rd floor. Chimney breast damp what causes stains and damp patches.

Find out what causes damp patches including issues such as cracked mortar, roof tiles, damaged guttering or lead flashing and find out how to fix them once and for all. Salts from many years of fires burning constantly, have contaminated the wall, and attract moisture from the air into their crystal structure. With chimney stacks open to the elements, defects like damp can occur in chimneys that are used or redundant. If you notice damp on your chimney breast, you need to treat it as soon as possible. Damp patches always causes concern for home buyers because we dont usually know where it is coming from. Damp patch on chimney breast in bedroom diynot forums. We noticed a damp patch on the chimney breast and just assumed it was the plaster taking time to dry out. Wet patches on wall chimney breast removal property tribes. A very common problem here in northern ireland is a damp chimney breast. Damp sam walks round this property that alldry are working on and explains about hygroscopic salts on chimney breasts and why you need to. 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 than a meter or so up the wall. Find out the source of the problem and make repairs to prevent further water ingress. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it.

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. The condensation will sit on the internal wall, and create damp patches all over it. I believe the stack was blocked off with a paving slab and mortar. The main reasons for dampness occuring on chimney breasts is down to the following. Damp patches, brown or yellow stains or marks on walls and ceilings around chimney breast. Chimney breast damp the original plasterers forum the. One 500ml can was just enough to complete the bottom of the chimney breast. A survey to bre digest 245, rising damp in walls diagnosis and treatment. As chimney stacks are open to the elements, they are particularly vulnerable to an assortment of damp problems, including condensation and salt contamination. First port of call would be to have a roofer call by and check whether your leadwork is all intact and performing its proper function, on older homes in particular the back gutter bit where roof meets chimney can be perforated by a slipped tile or slate. Feb 09, 2009 q at my mothers bungalow she has a damp patch over the chimney breast.

How to evaluate the importance of cracks in masonry chimneys. Weve got a damp patch all across the top of the chimney breast upstairs and wet joist in roof space on the chimney, looking for someone to have a look and fix the problem, maybe its the chimney leadingpointing. 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. Feb 18, 20 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. This seems to hold water making everything damp and we did have damp on the inside of the chimney breast in an upstairs bedroom. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or.

How to deal with damp patches on an internal wall around a. The damp stain either side of the chimney breast in the living room continued to about 80cm up the wall. This is due to the fact that most chimney breasts are heavily contaminated with moistureattracting hygroscopic salts that have accumulated in the chimney structure due to the burning of coal and wood over many decades. Dont let santa get damp dealing with a damp chimney damp. The most common causes of damp in your chimney breast are.

First port of call would be to have a roofer call by and check whether your leadwork is all intact and performing its proper function, on older homes in particular the back gutter bit where roof meets chimney. Damp patches on walls and ceilings near your chimney breast are signs of a leak around the stack. The patches on the wall are darker than the surrounding. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may. Salt contamination from concentrated flue gas salts which persist has caused this issue. Rising marks along with yellow or brown stains on the walls are a good indicator that theres a leak. 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 vertical profile up the wall, bre digest 245. A picture in picture thermal image showing the dampness, note the holes are. We had the external chimney removed and the gap in the roof tiledover.

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. It may that the damp is showing on one side only of the chimney breast and this may be a failing in the flashings but until the flashings are closely inspected, renewed or adjusted it will not be clear if this is the only source of damp. Sometimes a number of different repairs need affecting to solve the damp. The foxes always take care of the eggs, but every year there is a massive nest i have to go and clear off. When a chimney is sealed up, airflow becomes restricted, which can lead to condensation forming. These damp patches can often worsen when the weather does. My guess is that the problem is inefficient ventilation where the fireplaces have been blocked up. Damp patches how to stop damp patches on internal walls.

On removing the wallpaper it felt wet and sticky and the wall is discoloured as you can see on the picture. With windows open and a fan on the smell dissipated in four hours. The damp is apparent across only the half of the chimney breast which corresponds to the flue serving the downstairs room below the beadroom. 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. Damp proof without the need for serious reconstruction. How to diagnose the cause of cracks in brick, concrete block and stone chimneys. Any builders can give me any advise as i have a few damp patches on my chimney breast in the back room. You might also see staining or discolouration in these areas. A damp chimney will have moisture situated only around the fireplace and chimney breast. Rising dampness this will be on the ground floor skirting board level and is ground water coming up through the brickwork. The damp patches on the walls have been treated with this damp seal and unlike the last four times of painting it hasnt yet reappeared. Support the chimney breast in the loft by securing gallows brackets under the chimney. Condensation problems are usually dealt with by increasing ventilation through the chimney e.

We get called to a number of properties each year where damp has penetrated a chimney breast wall, a stove is rusting or damp patches are developing on the ceilingwalls next to a chimney. Nov 06, 2005 assuming the damp is on the chimney breast itself, i am still favouring something being left in the chimney andor it being damp from before the stack was reduced. Since this change we started noticing damp patches either side of the chimney breast on the internal walls in the upper landing. 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. Dampness in chimneys is a common problem and quite often many attempts at solving the problem fail due to misdiagnosis of the cause andor incorrect treatments being used. Last year i had a chimney stack taken down several layers as it was unsafe and above my childs bedroom. A beautiful 1850s semi a history of chimney damp spots. The half of the chimney breast corresponding to the flue for the bedroom itself is dry. There are various patches which i think are down to various reasons. They had theirs removed when they converted the corresponding room in their house to a bathroom. 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. Hi there, there are a few possibilities that could be causing your damp patches. First port of call would be to have a roofer call by and check whether your.

The average cost of replacing leadwork or lead flashings on a mediumsized chimney is. Chimney breast still damp 3 years after external chimney. Damp chimney breasts secondary chimney damp even when the underlying source of dampness has been dealt with, damp patches on chimney breasts can be very persistent. 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 answer these salts are very difficult to hold back in the wall, even with the replastering to our specification carried. Another damp house with paint peeling off the walls, and how to cure it. Always treat the cause of any damp problems, not the symptoms. Where staining appears through a chimney breast it may be necessary to replaster. Staining and damp patches have started to appear on your chimney breast never a good sign. 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. The signs of chimney damp can be similar to the signs of regular damp, except they all occur around your fireplace or chimney.

There may be damp patches on the chimney breast or the ceiling above it, or possibly the walls around it. Damp stains and hygroscopic salts on the inside of the chimney wall. 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. 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. 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. I need to get the walls painted and can use damp seal to proceed but will this wet areas eventually dry. This could be due to moisture and sulphates combining to form weak acids that attack lime, mortar joints and brickwork.

First port of call would be to have a roofer call by and check whether your leadwork is all intact and performing its proper function, on older homes in particular the back gutter bit where roof meets chimney can be perforated. Due to the combination of a suspected cold spot, impermeable layers applied in an attempt to solve the original symptoms, the wallpaper on top is holding onto the moisture that is concentrating in that specific. Remove chimney breast from floor to around 1 metre above ceiling height. Weve just removed the wallpaper in the living room of our new flat and discovered damp at the top of the chimney breast. How to fix a damp chimney breast damp chimney breast. The flashings on the roof and chimney have been replaced. Some signs include brown plaster staining on your chimney breast or you might have damp patches on your chimney breast that come and go. What happens is that condensation forms when warm moist air within a room touches a cold internal wall or surface. Assuming the damp is on the chimney breast itself, i am still favouring something being left in the chimney andor it being damp from before the stack was reduced. Table, style of charles ixhenry ii after rouyer panel of cupboard by sambin.

Damp patch at top of chimney breast leadingpointing. However, we are still getting damp coming through on the chimney breast wall in patches. There are a few possibilities that could be causing your damp patches. Building surveys ni posted on 17th september 2016 posted in buildingsurveysni no comments v damp chimney breast. If you have a large area you will need a larger size. The warm moist air coos down, and condenses back into water. A picture in picture thermal image showing the dampness, note the holes are warm still from the drilling of the mortar samples. A damp chimney is an indication that something is wrong, but the fact that damage is occurring is often far from obvious. We regularly get questions here at permagard about whats causing damp patches around a. Chimneys in old houses why they are wet and what to do youtube. The damp wall in question was visibly very damp, it felt wet and it was cold to the touch. Im finding that the number of enquiries relating to damp stains on chimneys is on the up.

Chimney breast damp what causes stains and damp patches and. 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. 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. Reoccuring dampness nr chimney breast page 1 homes. Victorian houses sometimes had flashings made from cheaper zinc or. The rest of the chimney breast feels dry and seems fine so its just that patch. Damp breast page 1 homes, gardens and diy pistonheads. Damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may be. If you are seeing evidence of damp in an unused chimney breast and there are no signs of leaks, it is likely due to lack of ventilation. When i first moved into this little cottage it was summer and warm and sunny, as winter has approached and the rain and damp increased patches have started to appear on the chimney breasts.

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. 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. Damp patches on walls, ceilings, and chimney breasts below usually evident as brown staining are signs of a leak around the chimney stack. Selling house will repairing damp course add value. What i think might be damp on plasterwet chimney breast. Hygroscopic damp caused by rain penetration through the chimney stack. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or a. Home damp damp stains on a chimney breast and adjacent ceiling it may be salts. Damp proof course have a look to see if your chimney breast has a damp.

In the below picture you can see the damp patch stain on the chimney breast and the adjacent wall. The damp stains on the chimney breast, is it salt damp or a leak. On our flat roof for the dormer, right next to the chimney, seagulls build huge nests. The different causes of damp patches, condensation and damp patches on internal walls and how to stop damp forming on your walls once and for all. One of the reasons its best to call a professional chimney technician if you notice that your chimney is damp is because the cause can be difficult to identify. Problems range from the simple such as a lack of cowl or adequate ventilation to more complex roofing issues and with a host of other causes in between. Chimneys cause damp walls,not rising damp thats a fact. Make good the walls in the home with new blocks, plasterboard, skirting boards etc as required. As such, your approach to fixing the damp in your chimney will vary depending on the specific cause. The removed chimney was heavy duty blocks and the roofers said they were saturated. Not only unsightly and worrying it is usually indicative of issues related to the chimney stack. The most likely cause of this kind of damp patch or stain is hygroscopic salts in the flue along with creosote and tar. Daly panel from wainscot, gallery of francis i, montainebleau after photo a francis i chair after good furniture doorway at clermontferrand after r.