Is damp usually condensation?

[VioletG]

I have what looks like rising damp in my living room of an old late 1920's house. It's below the bay window, on the bottom above the skirting board and stretches about an inch above. I can see the paint peeling and the plaster is discoloured.

The flooring is just the original suspended wood flooring, so has gaps between the planks.

No heating in the room either.

I had a 'specialist' come to visit who used a meter and said its damp.

But then I read the link below which suggests in most cases its not rising damp, it talks like it isn't even a thing.

https://www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/managing-damp-in-old-buildings.html

I don't want to part with my cash for something I don't need.

I have stuck on a dehumidifier too.

Is the above link correct and it's more like condensation?

 

[jj4091]

If you post some pics of the areas you are describing it will be easier for someone to give you advice. It could be rising damp, penetrating damp or condensation, but the latter does not usually form in the places I think you are trying to describe.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The "rising damp doesn't exist" conspiracy theory has been doing the rounds for decades. Total rubbish, spouted by idiots.

Here's a more informed opinion...

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

I had black mould in a couple of places inside the house, always a top corner, always an outside wall. One wall was damp. I also had condensation at the base of each window in the morning. If you spend time in your house, the air inside will get saturated, and may condense on cold walls. Perhaps that area in your house is particularly damp? Do you have condensation at the base of that window i.e. on the glass?

I now run a dehum for a few hours every day, which collects several litres of water a day, and can be used to dry washing more cheaply than a tumble dryer. It is said to reduce heating costs too as dry air warms more easily. Running a typical home dehum costs about 7 pence an hour.

I’m sure there is much truth to rising damp often being a scam. My house was treated a long time ago before I lived in it, in walls that are 1 meter above the soil level, as the ground slopes.

I would say give it a week and see how it goes.

 

[VioletG]

If you post some pics of the areas you are describing it will be easier for someone to give you advice. It could be rising damp, penetrating damp or condensation, but the latter does not usually form in the places I think you are trying to describe.

My partner painted over it with some damp stain, so the picture might not tell much. I'm not sure why he did that before we discovered the source.

There was a point where the room really smelt to damp but I couldn't find it, then the smell went. Then I pulled out the TV to clean and there was the culprit.

The only change I can think of is that the TV was placed there, so was wondering if the heat out of the back of the TV was causing some sort of issue.

The area is also behind the air brick. So the other theory I had was if water was coming in through that?

The house is covered in a layer of pebbledash from decades and decades ago and it looks fine from the outside.

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

Damp due to condensation often forms behind an object such as a TV because the airflow is reduced, and it may be cooler.

 

[^woody^]

I had a 'specialist' come to visit who used a meter and said its damp.

He's not a specialist then, more like a salesman.

Condensation damp and rising damp can be determined just by looking at it. There are specific signs, stains and colours.

Damp does rise.

 

[VioletG]

He's not a specialist then, more like a salesman.

Condensation damp and rising damp can be determined just by looking at it. There are specific signs, stains and colours.

Damp does rise.

It feel a bit like that. He basically tested the walls with the thermometer gadget and said they were all damp.

I used the dehumidifier and moved the TV and now it seems all fine. We have had lots of heavy rain and I can't see any more damp patches.

My concern is that it's not damp. We have sold our house and the survey people will likey use the same gadget.

 

[^woody^]

Walls will always be damp to some extent, that's normal. The issue is when they have excessive damp, and the damp is in places that indicate a problem.

There are no common damp meters that are calibrated for use on walls, so any reading is inherently wrong. It always comes down to how readings are interpreted. The common tactic is for the salesman or inexperienced to show you the reading and proclaim "Its damp".

 

[JohnD]

do not allow anyone who sells silicone injections into your home.

they do not repair spilling gutters, damaged brickwork, leaking pipes, sloping paving, broken drains, cracked render or any of the other building defects that cause excess water.

 

[stuart45]

The "rising damp doesn't exist" conspiracy theory has been doing the rounds for decades. Total rubbish, spouted by idiots.

Here's a more informed opinion...

There's also been a 400 page document produced by Salford Uni after a long investigation into rising damp. They received massive funding to spend several years doing the work. The first few chapters go into the book by Jeff Howell, and the influence of Peter Ward. The main findings were that rising damp exists, but is difficult to reproduce in the lab. It's caused by old brickwork losing it's ability to desorb moisture after many years of absorbing ground salts.
New brickwork and mortar is generally good at stopping moisture going up too much, which is why Jeff Howell failed in his attempts with brick piers.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Total nonsense, cherry-picked evidence. One daft study that defies common sense in every way.

Any bricky knows that building a wall with wet bricks is a nightmare because... they absorb water, shock horror. Because they're made of porous material.

Instead of staring at a screen, pick up a brick and put it in a puddle. You don't need 400 pages, just try it for yourself.

 

[drpepe]

As there's no heating in the room, then you're going to get condensation damp.

 

[stuart45]

Total nonsense, cherry-picked evidence. One daft study that defies common sense in every way.

Any bricky knows that building a wall with wet bricks is a nightmare because... they absorb water, shock horror. Because they're made of porous material.

Instead of staring at a screen, pick up a brick and put it in a puddle. You don't need 400 pages, just try it for yourself.

Have you read the report?
It confirms rising damp exists.
I'm a time served bricklayer, by the way, so I've picked up more than one or two wet bricks in my time.

 

[JohnD]

rising damp exists.

Were you surprised to learn the effect of the different pore size in mortar and in brick, limiting rise by capillarity?