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Stupid question about damp/house repair

3 replies

AluckyEllie · 08/10/2022 20:35

Embarrassing question from a completely non handy person. We have damp (and mould) that has appeared on the ceiling above the external wall of our bedroom- the length of the wall. It is just the one room and not on the same wall/ceiling of the room next door. We had a much more minor case last winter that was just in one corner and went when we had the gutters cleaned, so I assumed they had been blocked and we had sorted the issue. It was then summer and we didn’t have any problems.

The gutters have been cleaned and we always have the windows open for an hour or so each day for ventilation. I’ve been into the attic and can’t see any leaks, the roof looks okay from the ground (no missing tiles etc.) Who do we need to contact to get this sorted/find out the cause? Would it be a roofer even though we can’t see an obvious roof problem? I looked online and google recommended a damp proofer but the websites seem to suggest they work more with properties that have widespread damp from poor insulation/old buildings. Our damp is in one particular place. It is annoying though as the room has started smelling dank and I’m worried it may lead to a bigger (and more expensive) problem.

Any advice would be great, thank you.

OP posts:
Cantthinkofanewnameatm · 08/10/2022 20:59

You’ve checked the gutters are clear?
Do you have a water butt? If you do make sure it has an overflow hole and it’s clear. ( if it doesn’t, water backs up and bursts out somewhere as I once found out…..)
If you’ve had problems with blocked gutters the downpipes could be partially blocked so rainwater backs up.
Do you have any ventilation ducts from bathroom ceiling fans? These often go across the loft and get condensation on them which drips, but it sounds like your damp mould is more extensive than that.
You could get a general builder in for an opinion/ quote for whatever is needed.
Or try a loft insulation company that’ll do a survey first.

Cantthinkofanewnameatm · 08/10/2022 21:02

Just thought of another cause. Where the damp is, is that on a cavity wall? Once had a damp problem in just one place in one room. Turned out the cavity was blocked with building rubbish. A lazy builder couldn’t be bothered getting rid of excess mortar and just chucked it into the cavity. It caused a bridge, which caused damp.

AluckyEllie · 08/10/2022 21:07

Thank you so much for that, that’s really good advice. I’ll have a check of the down pipes and go up into the attic again to see where the bathroom fan vent is- we do have one. I’m pretty certain it is a cavity wall as well- looks like there’s a few different things it could be. I might try the loft installation company as we were planning on getting that sorted in a while, we might just need to move it up the list of priorities (we’ve been in this house for 2 years now and still ticking off the jobs!)

Thank you so much for the advice, it’s so hard to know where to go/who to ask when you have no clue yourself!

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