Men that come around to your house in place of the ones who live in it.

[smearedinfood]

Hi

We have a damp problem on the wall between the spare room and the bathroom. I have no idea where to start and DH won't be nagged into action. Can anyone recommend a company or handyman around the N8 area that knows his moist?

Also has anyone used Fix It Man? Slightly nervous, but I will have my fireplace reaffixed to the wall...eventually....

Cheers

I don't know anyone in N8 but you need a damp-proofing specialist. Causes of damp can be difficult to diagnose and costly to fix. You don't want to shell out money on someone without specialist knowledge if they are not going be able to diagnose and fix the problem.

You might want to start by checking possible sources of damp- loose joints in pipework, splash area from the shower/bath where water puddles, condensation.

That would give you an idea if you need a plumber or plasterer.

Is it the spare room behind the wall where the shower/bath is? We had damp in the hallway that backs onto our shower (IYSWIM) and just had the tiles re-grouted/masticking round bath re-done - which hopefully has fixed the problem.

I could see tiny hairline cracks in the grouting and over time water must have seeped through to cause damp and mould.

We're not far from you, so let me know if you want the chap's number who fixed it. :)

If you ask someone from a damp-proofing company, he will tell you that you need damp-proofing.

The most common cause of condensation, damp and mould in UK houses is people who drape wet washing around their homes.

If you tape a piece of clear plastic tightly to the damp wall, see if you get water forming on the room side. If you do it is condensation. If it forms on the wall side, it is a wet wall, but I can't tell from here if it is wet from previous condensation or some other cause. Condensation usually forms on the internal surface of an external wall, especially behind furniture, but if bad can be anywhere. Condensation can be cured by opening the windows, and prevented by not hanging water around the house.

If it is wet on an internal wall, with the bathroom on the other side, it is quite likely to be a plumbing leak, especially if there is a shower on the other side, or if it starts at the height of the top of the bath and goes downward.

p.s. you mention a fireplace. Is the damp on a chimney?

This seems to be a consumer-led sort of website?

do all the tradesmen on there have 100% positive reviews, or are there some dissatisfied customers somewhere?

Good point PigletJohn!

I can recommend the Handy Squad. They are fab if you have a bunch of things that need doing around the place that you or DP don't know how to sort or don't have the time to sort. And they show up when they say they will.

Thank you some much for your tips!