Damp patches in bedroom - who is best person to call?

[flyingfox225]

Hi,

I've got some pale damp marks (doesn't look mouldy, more discolouration) and flaky paint on my bedroom wall (first floor flat, exterior wall, between the iron bedstead [head end] and wall, and between a gap between wall and wardrobe).

I'm keen to redecorate (I haven't touched my bedroom since buying the flat 2.5 years ago...funds!) but don't want to simply scrub mould/scrape off the flaky paint if it might be something that would return and discolour my newly redecorated room.

I've googled damp treatments and was concerned that if I got a professional damp treatment company to assess it, they'd see me (live alone, single woman) as an easy target to upsell an expensive unnecessary damp treatment to or maybe i'm just paranoid.

One company I contacted actually said they prefer to have their clients engage a proper surveyor to look at any damp issues before providing a quote for treatment.

I'm just really confused, and unsure what best course of action is. One surveyor I contacted says it will cost £250 for him just to assess the issue, and that's even before I've fixed the actual damp problem.

Then a damp treatment company has quoted me £40 for an initial assessment to look at the problem. Obviously the second quote is a lot more palatable for me.

Any advice on what to do would be super helpful. I have a feeling it might be a condensation thing rather than penetrating damp, but want a professional to say this for certain.

Also, if anyone lives in the Croydon/Beckenham/Bromley area and can recommend businesses/people who can help, please do!

Thanks in advance...

Do not get a damp company to come in and quote until you're fairly certain of the cause. They will only sell you, possibly unnecessary, treatment.

First of all you need to inspect the exterior wall. Is the guttering overflowing/broken? Many damp issues on external walls are caused by this. Could be the downpipes from the guttering, if not the high up stuff.

Next check the brickwork. Has the mortar between the bricks crumbled? If it looks sound then it shouldn't be letting damp in.

Thirdly. Is it damp behind the wardrobe or large pieces of furniture against the wall? It isn't good to have furniture bang up against an external wall. This can cause damp too, especially if you don't often have air coming into your flat with open windows; or you dry washing on radiators etc. Ideally you should have a gap of 5cm behind league furniture to allow air to move around plus open windows/use trickle vents etc.

Also are you sure there is no leak above the pitch of damp? Leaking radiator pipe/water pipe etc. Bathroom ventilation fan not vented correctly (had this in a previous house ourselves).

It is pretty unlikely to be 'rising damp' - there is a train of thought that rising damp is a load of old bollocks used to sell expensive replastering etc etc. After all you don't get rising damp on brick built bridges crossing rivers, as a rule.

I bet you could have a look for all these things yourself and make an educated guess. Then you'll have a clearer idea of how to move forward. Personally I would start with having gutters cleaned and checked and allowing greater ventilation and see if things improved.

Thanks @ThorosOfMyr for your advice. That's really helpful.

I'm happy to check the gutter, but we've had quite a bit of dry weather recently - do I need to wait until it's raining?

The wardrobe and bed are pushed against the wall, but i'd say there's a 4-5cm gap between the wall and the wardrobe, and my room is so tiny that I can't really configue my room with the furniture I need it in any except how it is now.

I do also try to open my window every morning for at least 30 minutes to get some fresh air in the room (I don't like leaving it open overnight/during the day as my bedroom window is above a flat roof and I'd be concerned about security.

I'll see if I can do a bit of an external inspection, and will also check with the other flat freeholders who have been here longer to see when was the last time we had our guttering checked.

Thanks again for your help!

You can check the guttering - it could be full of leaves. If you have someone out to clean it they usually inspect for damage or broken sections. We had damp downstairs when we moved into our current house - turned out to be guttering downpipes which were blocked at the bottom so it held back water when it rained heavily and seeped out slowly creating a damp mossy patch on our outside wall. Anyway suffice to say most times its a guttering issue according to our builders.

Bit of a bummer you can't move the wardrobe off the exterior wall. But maybe pull it a few inches out and keep airing??

I am actually in your area and we used these people in out last house when we had hydroscopic salts on a chimney breast.They were nice and not too expensive but this was 7-8 years ago! But still I am quite wary of any damp proof companies.

Oh and re rain etc. Once a wall is damp it really does take aaaaages to dry out! Bitter experience.

We had 'damp' in our bedroom.... wasn't damp at all. The previous owners had taken out ALL of the loft insulation (don't ask, I've no idea) so the warm air in the bedroom was condensating when it reached the cold ceiling.

What I'm getting at is make sure it's damp before you start paying out £100s

I had a damp "company" (one man) come to quote me for 3 damp patches in my house, he charge £150 for the initial visit and quoted me 5 grand because my house was apparently damp everywhere. It's not and he didn't do the work. Just be careful.

If it's a first floor flat, it won't be rising damp, so a damp proof company won't have any answers! I agree with pp, it could be condensation, which needs airing, or dodgy guttering/downpipe, or the wall could need repointing, or a combination of these. Because the paint is pealing I would think water is coming in, causing the salts to leach from the plaster... if this is happening the plaster beneath the paint will be bumpy.

It's an exterior wall, so it's probably the gutters. Unless there is a bathroom or watertank above.

How old is the building?

please post some pics of the wall, inside and out, and include one that shows the gutters and any other pipework on the wall.

This was me last year!
Had 3 different people out, gave 3 different reasons for the patches.
Personally I thought it was condensation (rented property) despite tenants saying they kept windows open, no drying clothes on airers, radiators etc.
Anyway, tenants moved out. I painted wall with paint that stops damp, painted over it and made sure we kept room warm and well ventilated.
We then redecorated property so it was empty for 3 weeks.
Didn’t have a problem and new tenants haven’t mentioned it.
Condensation is one of the main causes, easily fixed and costs nothing.

Oh and I think there is a test you can do by sticking tin foil on the wall. Google it

taping clear plastic to the wall can tell you if the damp is condensation (water forms on the room side) or penetrating (forms on the wall side)

Hi everyone - thanks all for the suggestions - those are really helpful!

@PigletJohn that sounds like a really good idea!

I'm at work at the moment but if I remember I will try to take a photo and post.

Thanks again!