Damp problem and dry rot (Ed.)

[amanda14]

hi all
brought a house a few years ago around lockdown ,dream house but now become a nightmare ,most of house fine started having problems with the two chimneys internally one had water marks around chimney on wood chip wall paper ,we don't use this chimney and doesn't always do this

second chimney in lounge has a wood burner ,i notice a splash of water on hearth and walls seemed damp and a musky smell that came and went ,had chimney's done the said need new soakers and they did this and recemented all around the chimney and looked like they did a good job

after this all our wood panelling started to crack and it moved along the wall ,upstairs in same are there is fitted wardrobe and the clothes go mouldy ,we are now having mushroom looking things growing along the edge of wall got on curtains mats etc

we had a dehumidifier running I'm now wondering if its been drawing al the water into the area and actuary caused most of the problem or the walls were very wet before and since chimney's done drying out seems like all the woods cracked ,no point in even redecorating until we know what we are looking at we live on a hill and we do get high winds that could be blowing water up ties the as top part of house is tiled ,at a loss and advice very welcome,we dont really use this room in the summer but cant use it at all now

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[motorbiking]

A dehumidifier wont draw water in, it extracts it from the air in the room. What you appear to have is a leak that is letting in water.

Any pictures of the outside wall?

 

[ajstoneservices]

You need to get that looked at pronto as it looks to be dryrot.

 

[foxhole]

Is the unused chimney ventilated and capped ? Damp walls cannot dry easily with panelling preventing air flow . Wardrobe again external wall need ventilation to prevent mould .Do you dry clothes indoors?

 

[ajstoneservices]

You must have a timber floor under that carpet otherwise you wouldn't have fungi growing.
That patio is too high and looks be bridging the damp course.

 

[Koolpc]

Big issues there. Needs remedial work asap. Take the panelling off and have a look at whats going on under there.

 

[noseall]

hi all
brought a house a few years ago around lockdown ,dream house but now become a nightmare ,most of house fine started having problems with the two chimneys internally one had water marks around chimney on wood chip wall paper ,we don't use this chimney and doesn't always do this

second chimney in lounge has a wood burner ,i notice a splash of water on hearth and walls seemed damp and a musky smell that came and went ,had chimney's done the said need new soakers and they did this and recemented all around the chimney and looked like they did a good job

after this all our wood panelling started to crack and it moved along the wall ,upstairs in same are there is fitted wardrobe and the clothes go mouldy ,we are now having mushroom looking things growing along the edge of wall got on curtains mats etc

we had a dehumidifier running I'm now wondering if its been drawing al the water into the area and actuary caused most of the problem or the walls were very wet before and since chimney's done drying out seems like all the woods cracked ,no point in even redecorating until we know what we are looking at we live on a hill and we do get high winds that could be blowing water up ties the as top part of house is tiled ,at a loss and advice very welcome,we dont really use this room in the summer but cant use it at all now
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Dry rot! Get the Cuprinol out quick and get spraying.

 

[^woody^]

You will need specialist advice to deal with dry rot - even if you DIY the work.

The hyphae (look like spider's web if visible) can travel for metres and behind plaster too, so you need to be sure to treat extended areas. Just dehumidifying won't help, as the affected areas need to be sterilised, all affected timber and some adjacent good timber replaced.

If it is wet rot, then you only need to stop the damp and replace the rotten timber.

 

[amanda14]

 

[amanda14]

ok pic with 2 chimney's the centre one not sure not a major issue but we had it recemented but still shows some signs of water stain around the ceiling ,there is no air brick at bottom of chimney was thinking of getting it taken below roof level as unlikely to be used

the previous owner didn't appear to have all the panelling cracked like that but did get chimney rendered and a log fire put maybe there was a problem i don't know ,we have just watched it over a couple of years and monitored humidity which is between 60 to 80 percent

this all started with the wallpaper coming away hence why we got the chimney done and there was some salt deposits on the carpet near the chimney and the joists in the bedroom that went into the chimney was rotten at the end and wet so put resin on them until we solve the problem but after getting chimney done all the panelling started to crack and work its way along the wall away from the chimney as though the wood had been wet and now drying out hence why i wonder if dehumidifier has sucked all the water away to quick and dried it out

that isn't a patio its a conservatory for a bird of ours it was damp proofed although water was getting down the felted roof due to high wind that blows that side of the house it can be brutal

I am just gathering all info t min i am gonna do damp meter later on chimney walls

 

[ree]

OP,
You need an independent Damp & Timber (D&T) surveyor to examine & report on your property - the survey report can then be used by contractors of your choice to carry out the work.
Dont use the big name D&T companies or any free surveys.

G.R. Coleman, at Remedial Technical Services Ltd. PO Box 16, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3SH is a leading independent expert on D&T - if he's now retired then maybe he can give you names of other reliable, independent surveyors in your area?

Your pics show extensive interior dry rot damage of quite long standing.
The exterior pics show water damaged render - blocked & damaged guttering - & sand & cement fillets presumably in place of lead flashing - no flaunching can be seen on the chimney stacks crowns.

The necessary work could be extensive and expensive ask for pics at every stage of the work esp. roof work.
On completion you will need an insured guarantee from a limited company.
Spraying, humidifiers & moisture meters will do nothing for you - its not DIY work.

 

[amanda14]

none of this was rotten in 2020 it was wet but dried out after chimney was done all of a sudden, think there may have been a damp problem ,been monitoring humidity over a year the lower one is from the good side of the house the other two is the outside chimney wall upstairs and down stairs ,all the damp meter shows is from 5 percent to 23 percent but wood is rotten think it must have been wet for some considerable time
i know all the gutters need attention but most of that is just dirt we have been doing some guttering a bit at a time
the reason i come on here is to educate assess and not be ripped of so there more i know the better

how can i tell if dry rot as i would have thought wet rot as the wood/floorboard's going against chimney breast was wet

grounds not wet,we live on a hill and water table is no where to be seen ,not a drop of water down the well ,the new part of the house is fine its that outer wall at the side of the house that is where the problem seems to be

we was looking at ripping all panelling off and take all ceilings down but going to completely wreck the room i fell in love with but i know this issue has got to be solved before we can enjoy this house
i don't want someone to come along ,take money and say oh dear u have a damp problem or rot problem i want someone that knows there stuff then i can manage any works without being ripped off

what makes you think its dry rot and what do they do for that

thanks for all your thoughts on this much appreciated

 

[amanda14]

also musky smell even when not rained could be air flow problem as well as no vents in windows or anywhere

 

[Munroast]

We had an old property for 35 years, had 3 outbreaks of dry rot - and that looks very much like dry rot to me. Obviously you need to get an expert in to confirm. But brace yourself, what you are seeing may be just the tip of the iceberg. Dry Rot is about as serious as it gets, horrible destructive fungi. And given the ideal conditions, warm and damp, it can grow very rapidly.

Wet Rot will just stay near the source of dampness, Dry Rot needs a source of dampness, but then it can spread to areas that are entirely dry.

Seriously you need to get on top of this quickly- you must find the source of moisture that it is fueling it, could be a downpipe, could be a gutter, could be a leaking pipe / systern / overflow within the house. After that you are going to have to find out how far it has spread. Take plenty pictures and post them in here, plenty experts on this site who will soon ell you if you are being ripped off

The very best of luck - beautiful house you have. Love the awnings/canopies over the upstairs windows

 

[mrrusty]

Those "mushrooms" are the fruiting body of dry rot fungi. Dry rot puts these out when it is starting to lose the ability to take up enough moisture to continue growing locally. The spores allow it to spread to somewhere else. That is serious dry rot. No amount of chimney sealing, dehumidifiers is going to solve that. I am afraid it requires substantial dismantling of all interior timber (or at least a good % of it). A good bit will need taking back to exposed brick, treatment and start again.

You need a multi-skilled builder you can trust to take this on and project manage the rectification work as it is uncovered. It may well extend in to structural timbers so be prepared for uncovered horrors. There is no way to tell what needs doing until you start the destructive survey.

All the damaged paneling and timber you fell in love with can be replicated, but there is no point keeping it if it is crumbling under the paint as yours obviously is. Lovely house. Worth doing it right, but I suggest plan to do it big, do it right first time. If you cut corners and try and nibble at this problem it isn't going to go away.

To add, I think this is a two stage project. First is to look at the whole roof/gutter/lead flashings/chimneys set-up and repair and modify as required to make sure it's all water tight and the gutters have the capacity to take the required flows. Once the outside/roof is all good, you can then hit the inside to strip/repair/replace what needs doing - Think big. Think ahead because you might want to take the opportunity to incorporate different wiring, plumbing etc. All that paneling with dry rot has to come out, quite likely some of the floorboards, probably some joist ends, maybe a fair bit of the plaster, so you have a great opportunity to change all sorts of things.

I know it seems daunting, but the best way to go at this sort of thing is just to pull everything out, get a blank canvas and start again; it often takes as long to patch-in and fiddle about in small areas, as it does to replaster/board out, and fit all-new joinery in a whole room. As @^woody^ says above, the hyphae of the fungus can spread many metres, so don't think you can just repair a panel or two - it's probably all the way along the wall.

Personally I don't think there is much point paying to get a damp and timber treatment survey because they are only going to tell you what is already obvious! - there is a long standing issue with leakage which has caused an infestation of dry rot - no point spending £££ to be told that!

Neither are you going to be able to get a fixed-price quote for the internal work because there is no way of telling what needs doing without taking it apart, so I'll re-emphasise you need a multi-skilled builder you can trust, and be prepared to have some of the work done on day rates + materials. (the more you strip out and expose yourself, the easier it will be for a builder to see the extent of the work - and stripping out could be a DIY job if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.)