High damp readings on re-plastered wall

O

Owner

New Member
We had some plaster stripped back to the brickwork as we had a damp issue. We stripped beyond what we thought was the damp area just to be on the safe side. As far as we are aware, the source of the damp had been fixed by then. The wall appeared to have dried out in most places before we re-plastered (normal damp meter readings), but our plasterer recommended using limelite renovation plaster just in case. 8 weeks after re-plastering, we are still getting high damp meter readings across the whole of the re-plastered area. Would this be expected even if only part of the underlying wall was still damp? Is there anything in limelite renovation plaster that would elevate damp meter readings? The readings have been replicated with a very high quality professional damp meter. Any other suggestions about what might be going on?!
 
Owner said:
We had some plaster stripped back to the brickwork as we had a damp issue. We stripped beyond what we thought was the damp area just to be on the safe side. As far as we are aware, the source of the damp had been fixed by then. The wall appeared to have dried out in most places before we re-plastered (normal damp meter readings), but our plasterer recommended using limelite renovation plaster just in case. 8 weeks after re-plastering, we are still getting high damp meter readings across the whole of the re-plastered area. Would this be expected even if only part of the underlying wall was still damp? Is there anything in limelite renovation plaster that would elevate damp meter readings? The readings have been replicated with a very high quality professional damp meter. Any other suggestions about what might be going on?!
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That meter is a con /scam
info on damp issue you had ?
 
It does take a long time to dry out . You could hire a dehumidifier for a couple of weeks that would pull some of the water out of the wall.
 
According to the builder surveyor (damp specialist), water ingress from the chimney, slightly raised external land levels & possibly bridging of the cavity walls due to rubble/deteriorated foam insulation. Our damp meter readings mirrored his professional damp meter & thermal imaging readings, and those of the cavity wall insulation firm who have cleared the cavity ready for installation of bead insulation. We had fans running & a large industrial dehumidifer in there for a week - that got humidity down to 20% & was only drawing out about 2cm of water in 12 hours at least some of which I expect was due to some humid air getting back in through the chimney vent as outdoor humidity levels were high. It made no difference to the damp meter readings on the walls.
 
Owner said:
According to the builder surveyor (damp specialist), water ingress from the chimney, slightly raised external land levels & possibly bridging of the cavity walls due to rubble/deteriorated foam insulation. Our damp meter readings mirrored his professional damp meter & thermal imaging readings, and those of the cavity wall insulation firm who have cleared the cavity ready for installation of bead insulation. We had fans running & a large industrial dehumidifer in there for a week - that got humidity down to 20% & was only drawing out about 2cm of water in 12 hours at least some of which I expect was due to some humid air getting back in through the chimney vent as outdoor humidity levels were high. It made no difference to the damp meter readings on the walls.
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Sounds like your damp specialist didn’t really know what was causing it so he’s thrown everything he can think of at you
Is the damp on the chimney breast or directly adjacent? If you want some help post some pics
 
Owner said:
According to the builder surveyor (damp specialist), water ingress from the chimney, slightly raised external land levels & possibly bridging of the cavity walls due to rubble/deteriorated foam insulation. Our damp meter readings mirrored his professional damp meter & thermal imaging readings, and those of the cavity wall insulation firm who have cleared the cavity ready for installation of bead insulation. We had fans running & a large industrial dehumidifer in there for a week - that got humidity down to 20% & was only drawing out about 2cm of water in 12 hours at least some of which I expect was due to some humid air getting back in through the chimney vent as outdoor humidity levels were high. It made no difference to the damp meter readings on the walls.
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That piece of electronic gadgetry that does NOT measure water content - it measures conductivity……

@You cannot deduce the moisture content of a masonry wall by the use of a moisture meter! You can't even guess at it! Don't even try!
 
000 said:
That piece of electronic gadgetry that does NOT measure water content - it measures conductivity……

@You cannot deduce the moisture content of a masonry wall by the use of a moisture meter! You can't even guess at it! Don't even try!
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And the dirtier the water the more it conducts
Useless factoid: pure water does not conduct electricity but it is the contaminants within it that conducts so damp masonry will give different readings according to the masonry type anyway
 
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