Bloody smell in the hallway!

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We had the damp course done last Jan when we moved in.

Now the hallway has a musty smell from front door. We thought it must be the laminate so we lifted that and binned it. Hated it anyway.

Now the smell is worse than ever. Have lifted a couple of the wooden floorboards and can't see any mould...

Any ideas, am going mad! Have called the damp company who installed the DPC, they are going to book us in, but any help in the meantime appreciated.

Is there possibly a dead animal under the floor boards?

I've had a much of a look as a can - I'll send DP in to check that one!

If you had damp, it must have been caused by something, for example water getting in where paving has been laid against the house; leaking pipe, broken drain. Sometimes absent or blocked airbricks that prevent the void being well-ventilated.

Finding and repairing the fault would have taken away the source of water.

"Damp Treatments" that involve applying a chemical to the wall do not repair leaks.

Around a front door is often leaking water pipe (will be in a straight line between the outside stopcock and where the kitchen sink used to be when the house was built) or rainwater penetration e.g. from badly built porch or broken downpipe.

Reach under the floorboards and feel the ground or concrete with your hand, you may find which area is wettest.

Thank you PJ!

We did have a dodgy down pipe which has now been fixed. That was done prior to the damp treatment

Fair enough.

Does the downpipe go into a gulley near the front door, and is it brown glazed clay with an iron grid?

Our front step is wood and when DH powerwashes Window sills etc water comes in and soaks into wood floor, could yours be similar?

Sadly not! Stone and UPVC. This will drive me batty!

photos please

Have you got a water meter?

No water meter

No picture - at work til midnight!

It's a Victorian terrace. So solid steps up and UPVC door

Previous owners had a cat at ours, turned out the smell we had was cat pee that had soaked through to floor boards.

I have absolutely bugger all to input but just wanted to say PigletJohn is the bees knees. You really know your shit man!

Have been trying to post all day - app completely buggered, hope this works!

PIGLETJOHN.... had a homeserve plumber round today via our water company. He checked and there are no leaks. He thinks it's the washing machine

He says we have an L shaped rather than a ubend pipe and therefore all the smells are emanating out. He says it could well smell damp because we use liquid tabs and 30 degree washes which leave a lot of grime etc in the pipes

He's advised us to get our plumber in and fit a ubend pipe

Would be v interested to hear your thoughts. I'm not sure - as it doesn't smell horrendous there, smells worse at front of hall by the door

And yes, pigletjohn totally knows his shit!

A photo of the trap and the flexible waste hose under the sink could be interesting. And of wherever the downpipe from the gutters (including bay window and porch, if any) goes into the ground.

But I still suspect a leak near the front door.

Have you got a stopcock in the garden or under the pavement? And a young person with good hearing? Or a glass milkbottle?

ON IT! Stay tuned....

Re stopcock. The homeserve guy turned the water off and checked that we weren't using anymore water.

Here is the downpipe that is closest to the smell.... do excuse the mess, I was scraping off old paint from the fence today!

"Re stopcock. The homeserve guy turned the water off and checked that we weren't using anymore water."

how did he do that?

h'mmm

looks like a rusty old iron downpipe poked into the ground with some cracked concrete patching round it.

Get your garden tools out and excavate around it. Lift off the loose patch. Look for any of:

wed mud
red worms
hole filling up with water
cavity under the concrete
rust-holes or cracks in the iron pipe

I would expect to find a brown glazed clay socket (like a teapot) at about the level the ground used to be when the house was built.

Will do! Will report back tomorrow