HELP!!! Is it the plaster or a leak???

[Steveyj]

Hi All. I really need some help, sorry to make this my first post as been lurking in the background reading other posts before but now really struggling and need so help.

My house had a patch in a wall which had all the paint bubbling off, I picked at it and the whole wall started flaking paint to a point. Now this wall backs on to a rented property's bathroom who's tenants are a pain in the arse. I went round to look at there bathroom and it was covered in mould and the whole house damp with mould in hall etc. AFter weeks of talking and getting lardlords number we thought there bathroom was leaking as it was all along the bathroom wall and not really at floor level but above skirting level and so apparently checked all pipework and fitted a new suite straight away over the soaking wall and floor tiles?!?!?

So I picked all the loose paint off mine and scraped all the nasty bits off, primed the whole wall in Cementone plasterers stabiliser as the rest of the wall was still painted. (now my wall at this point was not wet, just the bubbling paint), I then skimmed all the wall and left it (this was in June!!!) It is now worse than before - it is not drying, crystalising on the surface, damp has spread further down the wall, making over bits of paint which were bone dry wet again?????

Now what is this - I'm thinking 3 things mainly:

1: The leak or water problem which caused it isnt fixed??
2: They fixed the problem but due to tiling the floor and walls it has trapped the water in there bathroom and cant escape?? (Nextdoors floor tiles are already cracking and coming up and has alot of mould growth again)
3: The plaster primer is also trapping the damp in (but would this really make bits which were dry before wet again after drying and make other parts of the wall start to blow?? I also spoke to Cementone technical and they said the moisture should dry out through the primer and it wouldn't trap it again???

As I said my wall was never wet, or damp just flaking paint and by putting the plaster on seems to of shown up this huge problem??? As I said this happened in June - No landlord seems to care, I have a house which is crap now, dont know what to do???? I've had a de-humidifier in there since June and still nothing??7

The house isn't old it was built in late 80's. Can anyone give me some advice before I burn out my neighbours!!!! :RpS_cursing:

Thanks for advice in advance!!!! Just want to get this sorted and get my house back to normal :RpS_thumbup:

 

[spunky]

Complain to the council

 

[Steveyj]

Complain to the council

Cheers Spunky - I'm close to getting someone round as I'm proper narked now!!!! but I don't know whos fault it is??? Could it be the cementone, and damp cant escape, and if so would it spread and make dry bits wetter??? If it is I'll cut it all out again deeper and rebond and skim, but don't want to do this if its not the problem?!?!? But is this the problem or is it next door still??? Somehow this is what I need to figure out so I can dish out some blame and get someone to sort it - as I'm arguing with tenants and landlords and not getting anywhere!!!:RpS_thumbdn:

 

[keithuk]

Hi All. I really need some help, sorry to make this my first post as been lurking in the background reading other posts before but now really struggling and need so help.

My house had a patch in a wall which had all the paint bubbling off, I picked at it and the whole wall started flaking paint to a point. Now this wall backs on to a rented property's bathroom who's tenants are a pain in the arse. I went round to look at there bathroom and it was covered in mould and the whole house damp with mould in hall etc. AFter weeks of talking and getting lardlords number we thought there bathroom was leaking as it was all along the bathroom wall and not really at floor level but above skirting level and so apparently checked all pipework and fitted a new suite straight away over the soaking wall and floor tiles?!?!?

So I picked all the loose paint off mine and scraped all the nasty bits off, primed the whole wall in Cementone plasterers stabiliser as the rest of the wall was still painted. (now my wall at this point was not wet, just the bubbling paint), I then skimmed all the wall and left it (this was in June!!!) It is now worse than before - it is not drying, crystalising on the surface, damp has spread further down the wall, making over bits of paint which were bone dry wet again?????

Now what is this - I'm thinking 3 things mainly:

1: The leak or water problem which caused it isnt fixed??
2: They fixed the problem but due to tiling the floor and walls it has trapped the water in there bathroom and cant escape?? (Nextdoors floor tiles are already cracking and coming up and has alot of mould growth again)
3: The plaster primer is also trapping the damp in (but would this really make bits which were dry before wet again after drying and make other parts of the wall start to blow?? I also spoke to Cementone technical and they said the moisture should dry out through the primer and it wouldn't trap it again???

As I said my wall was never wet, or damp just flaking paint and by putting the plaster on seems to of shown up this huge problem??? As I said this happened in June - No landlord seems to care, I have a house which is crap now, dont know what to do???? I've had a de-humidifier in there since June and still nothing??7

The house isn't old it was built in late 80's. Can anyone give me some advice before I burn out my neighbours!!!! :RpS_cursing:

Thanks for advice in advance!!!! Just want to get this sorted and get my house back to normal :RpS_thumbup:

If you line it mate ,its got (hidden)forever ,only a thought

 

[Steveyj]

Thought I'd add some pics;

This is about 2 weeks after it was skimmed - we didn't paint over the un-dried plaster - missus was just fed up of looking at a pink wall and wanted some colour on - Impatient!!!

This is 4 weeks ago - and its got worse since:

 

[gooner59]

Can you identify were the water /moisture is coming is the first stop, then you solve this problem, then you re-decorate ..........

 

[keithuk]

Or hack of the damp area ,a good 12inch past the last sign to the brick work and render in s/c washed 3/1 with 1/2 pint of waterproofer to builders bucket ,or get a Damp company around and see what they say

 

[Steveyj]

Well when I first noticed the problem and went next door (he's a plumber!!) and had rigged up a shower off the taps above the bath and where not tiled had stuck black bin bags to the wall to protect it!!!!!!

After some arguing they said the will put a shower in and refit a suite but apparently found no leaks??? I am not saying this is true as his floor and walls are still showing alot of damp hence tiles loose and cracking from the new suite?!?!?

If they say there is no leak now (and was no leak then) then what?? I dont believe any of them - as when I went round after I said its not going away, and had a look round I found the condensate pipe pissing out from the boiler and that made the floor soaked which they had just ignored and this has now been fixed. This would add to the floor wetness but cant see it effecting the walls. Troble is all pipework is boxed and tiles and he says he dont want to take it all off again as there is no leak!?!?! :RpS_confused: I'm close to knocking a huge hole through the wall and then he'll have to fix it!!!:RpS_thumbsup:

 

[Steveyj]

Or hack of the damp area ,a good 12inch past the last sign to the brick work and render in s/c washed 3/1 with 1/2 pint of waterproofer to builders bucket ,or get a Damp company around and see what they say

Thanks Keith - was thinking this but to be honest when it was originally stripped you couldn't really see a dampness to the wall - no excessive render fell off at all?? It has only showed big time since the skim went on??

Would what your suggesting cover up if there was something still leaking from next door?? I've had a damp company round and he thinks its a water leak and not a damp proof issue due to the year/build/position of damage in house etc. Also said all my skirting be mushy and laminate flooring be popping up everywhere.

 

[johniosaif]

Sounds like you need to report their property to the council ie environmental section. Your wall is saturated and the plastering ie a skim will not help, the plaster needs to be taken back to brick work. 1.2 m high and 300mm wider than the last section of damp, I would personally take off all the render up to a metre 200 where damp is shown on all walls. have it dried out properly and then damp proof it with sika in the water at ratio ten to one and two coats of sand/cement at four to one. possibly an insurance claim against next door, you may end up with wet/dry rot in your floors and walls if un attended, it is also a health hazard..best of luck

 

[flynnyman]

where are you? have you not had a plasterer round?

 

[carlos]

You need a good surveyor to find exactly where the damp is coming from. All the advice regarding replastering may provide a dry surface for painting but won't cure the damp.

If you only want a dry surface for painting, then battern the wall out and plaster board it.

 

[bubbles65]

Well when I first noticed the problem and went next door (he's a plumber!!) and had rigged up a shower off the taps above the bath and where not tiled had stuck black bin bags to the wall to protect it!!!!!!

After some arguing they said the will put a shower in and refit a suite but apparently found no leaks??? I am not saying this is true as his floor and walls are still showing alot of damp hence tiles loose and cracking from the new suite?!?!?

If they say there is no leak now (and was no leak then) then what?? I dont believe any of them - as when I went round after I said its not going away, and had a look round I found the condensate pipe pissing out from the boiler and that made the floor soaked which they had just ignored and this has now been fixed. This would add to the floor wetness but cant see it effecting the walls. Troble is all pipework is boxed and tiles and he says he dont want to take it all off again as there is no leak!?!?! :RpS_confused: I'm close to knocking a huge hole through the wall and then he'll have to fix it!!!:RpS_thumbsup:

Does that back directly onto your damp area?

 

[Steveyj]

You need a good surveyor to find exactly where the damp is coming from. All the advice regarding replastering may provide a dry surface for painting but won't cure the damp.

If you only want a dry surface for painting, then battern the wall out and plaster board it.

Surveyor came round and says he thinks its water as not sign to damage on floor so cant see DP failure. I want the damp to go and dont really want to resort to covering up just yet.

Would the skim coat and the coating make the damp on the wall increase in which case should I look at cutting it off and re-do the whole lot again?? Or is it still a leaking damp problem??? I'm thinking if his is all tiled his bathroom full height will the damp be able to escape through the wall and therefore trapped behind my plaster??

 

[Steveyj]

Yep - exactly!!! Bath was in corner - now shower (and the top of it is 24" from floor (original bath height level) all waste pipes and supply pipes run along wall to where roughly where my socket in wall is then it runs into soil stack.

 

[Steveyj]

Does that back directly onto your damp area?

Yep - exactly!!! Bath was in corner - now shower (and the top of it is 24" from floor (original bath height level) all waste pipes and supply pipes run along wall to where roughly where my socket in wall is then it runs into soil stack.

Sorry for above post - didn't quote with reply

 

[bubbles65]

Get the council in as said then, your neighbour - who has nothing to lose property-wise - is taking the p!ss mate.

 

[malc]

there is a hell of a leak! the answer lies next door,that pratt is soaking the wall. black mould is a health risk as the spores cause pneumonia. phone the council.

 

[Steveyj]

there is a hell of a leak! the answer lies next door,that pratt is soaking the wall. black mould is a health risk as the spores cause pneumonia. phone the council.

Thanks for everyones replies!!!!! Next door now have it fully tiled so not showering in bin bags but have just tiled all over the damp. Think I will ring the council next Monday and get them to deal with it now, didnt know they could help to be honest but will speak to environment dept.

But can anyone comment on if the plastering dampness shown in the 2 pictures could be growing due to my skim coat, or if the skim had trapped water inside would it just stay the same as when initially skimmed and not get worse?? Hope that makes sense?? Just to give me more power and answers when speaking to council and landlords about it, having had some knowledge from some pros!!!

Thanks Again!!!

 

[malc]

the damaged plasterwork must be cut off back to block work, the leak must be cured, wall must be dried out, then replastered.

 

[Choko]

Yea i,ve seen this before,
Stop pissing in the corner and it clear up in about a week,:RpS_lol:


Just kiddin looks likes damp proof failure of some sort, def get a surveyor out for that one.