Damp proofing - dim question

[NC4Now]

I’ve just moved to a new (old) house. I knew there was some minor damp and with the rain these last few days I’ve seen a few patches on the kitchen wall.
I’d like to get it fixed. Who do I speak to? A builder? Specialist damp proof firm? Plasterer?
I suspect there’s a bit of pointing needs doing but I’m fairly clueless.

Specialist damp proofing company will detect where the damp is coming from. My dp has a damp proofing company and he is always very honest and if it’s not a job for him he will direct clients to the right place. Make sure you find someone with excellent reviews, maybe from check a trade.

From experience get an independent damp surveyor round, worthy every penny!

Damp is water. The water is coming from somewhere. You need to find where it is coming from and repair it. "Damp proofing treatments" are usually about hiding the water. Chemicals do not cure leaking pipes or leaking roofs.

Do you mean the water appeared after rain? Depending where it is, you might have a leaking roof, or gutter or downpipe, or maybe puddles lying against the wall. In winter it is usually condensation from people throwing buckets of water at the wall, or draping wet washing on radiators, which amounts to the same thing.

Is it an internal wall or external wall?

I had damp on two internal walls which got worse when it rained. A man from Peter Cox came and said whole ground floor would need a new damp course at a cost of £000s. Paid for an independent damp surveyor. As PJ says above - it turned out to be condensation, made worse by the fact that the lime plaster on the walls had been covered with non breathable paint/wall paper.

It’s the external kitchen walls, so you can see dark patches on the plaster. That’s why I thought pointing.
It could be condensation though - I tend to notice it when I’m cooking, but then that’s when I’m in the kitchen. I don’t dry washing inside.
Hmm...

photos please

It’s dry at the moment but I’ll post some next time it appears...

This is how it looked last night when I was cooking.

I'd say that looks like water leak rather than condensation and is too high up to be rising damp? Is there a pipe running through that boxed in bit in the corner?

There could be water leaking from above. Is there a bathroom or kitchen up there?

If it started while you were cooking it might be condening steam, but the shape looks to me like there is a pipe, either buried in the wall or perhaps on the outside, or above.

Please photograph the outside of the wall.

In the corner of your room appears to be a duct or boxing. Are there pipes inside it? You might be able to see something behind or between the units under the work surface.

Haveyou ruled out a leaking gutter/down pipe? Is there a flat roof or change in roof levels?

We had leaks around our chimneys in the bedrooms - sorted by getting roofers to repoint the chimney stacks outside.