Anyone live in an old (ish) property?

[flagnogbagnog]

We moved into a house 2 years ago which is about 120 years old. Previously we've lived in fairly modern houses but really wanted a character property. DH and I are both completely rubbish with DIY or repairs etc but this property attracted us because it had been completely renovated and didn't need any work. We had a full structural survey done which threw up a few small, manageable issues but nothing major or frightening.

Anyway I'm starting to worry that we might have a damp problem but don't know where to start to check this out or sort it. Just cleared out a sideboard which we were using to store shoes. These shoes have literally only been in the cupboard for a month or two (from the summer) and they are covered in mold. And I mean covered, it's really disgusting. Also coats on hooks up the same exterior wall that this sideboard was up against are getting mold on them too. I have a feeling the damp might be coming from the floor though as we have exposed floorboards there and anything picked up from the floor can feel damp. Also my son's room on the other side of the house, upstairs,smells damp.

Would these things throw up alarm bells in your home? Or are these things I should accept are part of an older property and get on with it. I hate idea of ignoring something which might turn into a huge problem.

I don't think you can ignore damp that bad. Where is it worst, and what's the other side of that wall? I bet piglet John will be along soon with his Handy Dandy Diagnose Your Own Damp Problem Chart, but in the meantime

Is it an outside wall? Have you got a leaking gutter? Crap pointing? Covered air brick? Raised ground level outside?

Is it a chimney breast? Has somebody nicked the lead flashing? Need a chimney cowl?

Otherwise, is it worse when it rains? Or might it be a burst pipe?

If you're new to the curation of old houses, get a copy of the Haynes manual for the Victorian house (there's another for the 1930 s house). I bought one thinking it'd be a laugh, but it's seriously good for a sketch outline of maintenance issues.

Check for causes of damp - if you've got damp upstairs I'd be looking at gutters/roof or condensation problems.

Ah thank you both. The Haynes Manuel sounds like it would be great for DH and me as we really are not very clued up. Yes it is an outside wall, guttering etc looks all present and correct. There is a drain out there that the down pipe goes in to and I've wondered if this could be cracked or partially blocked. Will have a really good look when this storm clears and it's daylight. No chimney breast on that side. The drains do all run along that side of the house though eek, I wonder if they could have a problem ( they have been replaced in the last 7 years so hoping they are pretty sound)

Watching with interest. I think we may have rising damp at the back of our house (140 yo)

Btw OP we've lived in this house for nearly 10 years and had no damp problems at all before now so no I don't think is just one of those things with older houses!

This site has loads of great info and I used them too to add extra air bricks in my 1870 cottage.
www.ukdamp.co.uk

If you do decide to use them and after you have rang the main number and you have the main guy coming around don't be surprised if you ring his mobile and he has a very political message on it....I hung up a few times as I thought I had a wrong number...

Hi Flag, we have exactly the same problem and after extensive research and a visit from a surveyor we have uncovered some serious problems. I am not saying you have the same but have a look at a website managed by Peter Ward of Heritage House builders. It will tell you everything you need to know about old houses and why they get damp and what to do about it. Believe it or not most damp is caused by condensation.

We bought our house 3 months ago despite knowing it had high damp readings we went ahead as I was due a baby and wasn't thinking straight. The previous owner (an estate agent) had kindly painted over and hidden much of the damp so we weren't phased by the prospect of a bit of damp however the problem has turned out to be much worse than imagined. I noticed various patches of damp when we got the keys and also the moisture in the air. When we moved in I noticed how painted surfaces felt tacky and paper went limp. It wasn't until I discovered mould on all my clothes and shoes that I realised how serious it was. After that my cupboards got mouldy and I had to throw several things away.

Turns out that our rear and side walls have huge stone walls butting up against them drawing in water from high ground levels behind the house. This had been partially held back by damp proofing but this was never really the right course of action to deal with the problem. The house had been cement rendered and damp proofed which destroyed it's natural breath ability and made the house unable to remove moisture itself. In fact it just trapped moisture in the walls making them colder and more prone to condensation. Added to that the roof space was converted with no vents adding a further problem of bad ventilation. All this combined has led to very high humidity levels hence all the mould.

Our solution is now to install a balanced ventilation system to deal with the immediate problem of humidity levels this should help a great deal but we have been advised that eventually we will have to knock off all the plaster downstairs and have membranes installed to stop the moisture coming through. The other option is to strip the house of render and remove the damp proofing internally but the cost of that would be massive.

I suggest you have an independent damp surveyor come, one that knows about old houses and breath ability. I am in the South West and can recommend the guy I used if you wanted to know. As it sounds like humidity is your problem it might be an idea to investigate a ventilation system which could solve your damp problem without any further need for work.

Hope this helps.

I have to watch my built in wardrobe. There is an air brick inside it and if it is damp outside and I have extra stuff inside restricting the airflow it can get a bit mouldy.

Generally I find that about once a year I clean the walls inside with bleach, and ensure the air can flow inside then everything is ok.

DH's wardrobe is on the same external wall, but not an external corner and his wardrobe is fine.

Thank you all again for your replies. You have made me more determined to get it looked at. I've found some other things getting mouldy in the cupboards along this same wall including kitchen units so that really is a no no.

As far as I can see there isn't any damp on the walls, I still think it's coming up through the floor so seems to point towards a leak or similar underground outside. I like the idea of a specialist damp surveyor, will look one up.

flag be very careful who you choose.
Have a search on here about what people say about specialists. If it's a free visit, it's probably because they intend on charging you for something that you might not need. We paid for our visit (£250 approx I think) but i knew I would get good advice, they were recommended to me on here.

We was getting snap and ours was solved fairy easy (our house was built in 1900) it was just out guttering. Cost us about £100 but now all sorted so maybe worth getting someone to check that 1st.

There has to be something causing it, sounds really bad!

Our current home was built in the 1890s, brick, solid walls (we think) with an extension. It is easy to get condensation related damp if we are not careful. It needs adequate heating and daily opening of windows, especially in winter when drying washing indoors. We used to get lots of mold growing in the extension until we added extractor fans in the bathroom and kitchen. We've not had a problem since. You can see areas where there has previously been mold but we've cleaned it all and it has not come back so we are confident that we are sorted. Bathroom extractor is great, it works on a humidity sensor so it comes on whenever it needs to. Our house seems to funnel the air that way (downstairs bathroom) so often if drying washing indoors the bathroom fan comes on.

A previous rented home we lived in for a year was a totally different story. It was stone walls but had been rendered and the things with stone is that it needs to breathe and it couldn't. The house had black, horrible mold in every room in the house. If we hung clothes in the wardrobes they came out smelly. We had to keep all food in the kitchen in plastic tubs. Literally everything. AS soon as I got home form the supermarket I emptied all packets into tupperware tubs and kept them sealed. Even a bar of chocolate would grow mold if left out of a tub in the cupboard. From the sounds of things this is more like the sort of problem you are experiencing.

Definitely get a specialist in. In the meantime you could try to hire a couple of heavy duty dehumidifiers to dry the place out?