What's happening to the walls in my 1930's house 😔

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

We moved in November before which it had been left empty for a month. On move in day I noticed the condition of the fire chimney walk had deteriorated. Bumps where forming and paint starting to peel and flake, this has also spread. I seem to notice cracks in the walls every where but dh sjad they were there before and I'm just noticing things. The buyers survey mentioned no sign of subsidence. Anyone the one room in the house is now showing signs of bubble under the wall its almost a blister after it's been popped. This has definitely got bigger!! I love this house and I've waited forever to buy one like this and now I feel paranoid it's going to fall down and we've brought a money trap! Help anyone have experience with a 1930s house.

Agree with @Longwhiskers14

You need to pray you haven’t just had a valuation/ home buying survey, which would be nothing short of risking financial suicide on a 1930s house!

Dig out the paperwork asap

It's difficult to identify the cause without knowing more. Pre 1920s 1930s buildings have lime plaster and lime mortar and no cavity walls. These materials need to breathe and modern paint, modern cement, modern cladding and modern gypsum plaster added on later can cause damp/condensation problems because the walls can't breathe anymore. What can also cause a problem is blocked up chimneys and double glazing as the moisture cannot escale.

1930s buildings could be either lime or gypsum. If you remove that bit of flakey paint what is underneath? If you sand down the pain further do you have a layer of pink plaster? A layer of grey/white plaster? Does the paint look like it's oil based and non breathable or is it chalky ?

Do you have double glazing? Are your chimneys blocked?

What is the exterior of the house like?

Are your drains sound or leaking against the wall which could cause effervescence and bubbling?

Do not fall into the rising damp /damp course proofing trap - www.architectsjournal.co.uk/home/-rising-damp-is-a-myth-says-former-rics-chief/5204095.article

You need to see the survey ASAP.

if its 1930s it probably won't have a damp course. if you look at your outside walls at the bottom there should be a liar of engineering bricks usually smooth red, then a sort of black membrane then normal bricks. but I doubt you'll have them.

if it is not from a leak somewhere then you'll have to have injections of damp proofing put in the walls. it can be costly and messy because the plaster needs stripping off.

if the damp is high up on the chimney breast then it will be linked to pointing on the chimney breast, or leaky roof.

either way you need to get a specialist damp proofing company in to assess were and why you are getting damp, then they can advise on what needs doing.

You need to look at the survey. Hopefully it wasn’t just a valuation survey. If it was anything other than a valuation survey, it will have picked up this level of damp. Is this the first time you’ve bought a house? It sounds like your DH has ignored this in the survey TBH.

“You need to pray you haven’t just had a valuation/ home buying survey, which would be nothing short of risking financial suicide on a 1930s house! “

That is so over dramatic!

She’s got damp on an exterior wall. She just needs to get a damp expert in. Could be loads of things. Could cost anywhere between 500- 8000 to fix. Not ideal, especially if it’s nearer the higher quote but hardly financial suicide. Drama queen.

or listen to Bb2019

I did read about the the damp course myth years ago.

But pre reading it, when I lived in a 1920s house, I did pay for injections and it did work.

either way you need a specialist in, then you can work out the best way forward for you.

Gtugccbjb While perhaps overly dramatic, I think the point rossKemp was making is that not having a full survey on a 1930s house is a risk because the damp might not be the only hidden issue.

NewYearNewTwatName We didn't pay for specialist treatment, we let the walls dry out over six months once the leaky guttering was fixed (luckily it was over winter so the central heating being on a lot did the trick) but then we had to strip the walls back to the brickwork, put new plasterboard up and re-plaster. Injections would've been a lot quicker I imagine!

I lived in a 30s house with the same problem which started on the outside wall and then spread to the internal wall adjoining the next house. It was rising damp which I had to have treated professionally.

Longwhiskers14 ours on this occasion wasn't due to anything external or anything else to pinpoint that could be fix. other wise we would have done the same as you.

So i just read other PP's posts about rising damp etc.

I had to have a new damp proof course to both the external and internal walls where the damp was. That involved taking off the plaster, taking up floorboards etc then replastering. I got a 20 year guarantee of the work which was transferable to new owners (I've since sold the house and the new byers had a full structural survey done).
The whole job cost in the region of £1500 or so I think.

also even with injections, the walls still need stripping back to brick.

The wall over the sink is damp and this is causing the paint to blister. In that position it might be splash or spray from the tap. Is that blistery thing a piece of wood? Or plastic? Tile? Plaster? You might as well scrape all the loose paint off it and have a look. It could even be an unsuitable paint on an incompatible surface that will not stick, such as emulsion on gloss.

Being under the window it could also be rain getting in round the frame. It is obviously a replacement window. Take some photos of the outside wall including above and below the window, and some closeups of any visible gaps round the frame.

Your other photo looks like a crack that is showing through the wallpaper. The plaster looks like it has previously been patched and has cracked again. As it appears to be just below the picture rail, it might be due to a structural alteration, e.g. where your house or the neighbor has knocked through the wall between two rooms to form one long one. Stand back and take a wider pic. It doesn't look damp related. How far is the crack from the corner of the room and any (present or past) chimneybreast?

I don't see a joint in the picture rail so it is probably not where an overmantel was removed. If you don't mind some mess, strip away the wallpaper round it. If you cut the wrinkle with a stanleyknife you can pull it off.

p.s.

you say it is "internal wall in the living room so not the chimney"

Penetrating damp is unlikely to come through an internal wall, unless the bath is above and leaking.

Rising damp, if it exists (usually not) does not start eight feet above the floor, by the picture rail.

OP, don’t panic. Follow PigletJohn’s advice first of all. Scrape back that area between sink & window. It could easily be as simple as paint that hasn’t adhered & with washing up water getting on it it’s is peeling off.

To me it looks like the vendors bodged things up a bit before selling. This is not a reason to panic. Again, scrape back where the cracks are. Feel the walls - is it damp there?

Don’t worry about damp proof courses etc yet - although try and see if you have one. And don’t call a damp expert straight away. They will want to sell you a solution for damp.

Check the survey etc because it will be helpful to know where you are, but again don’t panic. You haven’t committed financial suicide . I know how easy it is to get in a state over this sort of thing. Beating yourself up won’t help!

Another vote for PigletJohn!

I can't see much from the photos to be worried about. Have you ever lived in an old house before? Don't go reading the survey again as it will only cause you to panic if there is too much detail in it. Those things are to cover the surveyors back so they always say it's about to fall down, just in case!

I couldn't see what you were trying to show on the chimney breast. The kitchen sink one looks as PigletJohn says. The 'bubble' one I'd have a scrape and a poke at to see what's under the paint/paper. Is there more?

And a vote for NiteFlight.