Damp On Inside Wall In Kitchen - Advised To Remove

[DeludedAussie]

I am sure this gets asked a lot but I did have a good look before posting and was not able to find anything useful

We had out kitchen recently installed and the builder used thistle bonding and multi finish on an external wall.

What is now happening is that the paint is peeling and mould is growing under the sink. This is classic signs of condensation I am told and we have added an extractor fan.

The problem is that in order to remove the mould we had another builder come round and his advice was that we needed to remove all the plaster and replaster with a waterproof additive as it is an external wall. Basically it was not done right the first time apparently and is sucking in moisture into the external wall

The cost to correct this expensive mistake is about four grand and I really think the builder is taking us for a ride.

What I wanted to know is whether we can apply a damp proof seal over the plastered (and painted) wall to prevent the paint flaking? Is a damp seal possible>

 

[JohnD]

run the extractor for twelve weeks. By then the weather will have warmed up the wall, and by using the extractor you will have reduced humidity. Both of these will reduce condensation and help the wall to dry. New plaster contains a lot of water. You can redecorate it when it is dry. Look for water leaks as well.

If it's still getting damp after that, there might be some other problem to look at. If not you have found the cure.

BTW a typical extractor fan will run for 50 hours on 14p worth of electricity, so don't stint yourself. When there is no longer any misting on the windows, the room is dry enough.

If you drape wet washing around the house or over radiators, you will be adding vast amounts of humidity, so you won't be able to tell if there is a problem with the wall itself until you stop.

You did not say how old the wall is, but I am going to guess that it does not have an insulated cavity.

Sponge the wall occasionally with 10% bleach in water, it will temporarily kill the mould. If the wall stays wet it will come back.