Bathroom floor raising due to damp!

[Courtney10891]

Hi,

I moved in to a housing association property 2 years ago. When I first moved in the bathrooms walls use to get so wet and peel off. I called the housing association and they send someone to put a new extractor fan in. Just to add my bathroom has no windows. After that I got someone to paint the walls with special bathroom paint. Everything seemed fine. I then paid someone to put down Lino in the bathroom floor. Everything was fine but last month I noticed the flooring was raising. Like there was big bumps in it. I called the guy to have a look because it was still in the guarantee. He came and lifted it up and basically said there is a damp problem in there which has caused the flooring underneath to raise and he can't do anything to fix it. It's now starting to smell pretty bad! I just don't know what to do. I'm a single mum and I struggled to get the money to the get the flooring down so to hear this was really upsetting. My housing association are pretty useless and to be honest I don't have a clue about things like this! What would my options be??

Is the bathroom floor concrete? Or chipboard?

How old is the building?

Is the bathroom on the ground floor?

Hi,

I'm on the first floor. Have two properties above me and one below. It's not a very old building. I lifted up the lino and he has just put in on today of the old floor boards that was there when I moved in.
I did notice though that when he put the flooring down he didn't seal around the edges. Could this have added to the problem?
I have two small children who obviously splash a lot. I do have a bath mat though and wipe up any excess water.

Do you mean floorboards like planks?

Or do you mean chipboard?

This is what is under my lino. The old flooring.

The source of the dampness needs addressed or this problem will never be sorted.

Is there a leak anywhere?

I don’t think that’s floorboards underneath, it looks like laminate the previous tenants have laid down that’s become damp? I’d suggest the toilet or bath or something is leaking and that needs found to fix it?

Is the house below HA too, could it be that they have a damp internal bathroom too that they don’t know they can get a free extractor fan from the housing to sort? You could tell them and the ones above so they know. If they sorted their dampness it could help yours if it’s coming up through the structure like rising damp (although I thought you’d only get that on the ground floor but you’re the first floor so I’m not sure)?

yes I agree there is most likely a leak. Start by looking under the bath. The bath panel will pull out but may have a few screws. If some plumber has glued it in with silicone sealant, that will have to be cut.

However, if the old flooring has not lifted or bulged, then it might be something getting under your new vinyl flooring, such as bathroom splashes. Roll the new vinyl back for a while and look at the surface beneath. If you can get some cotton bathmats, that will give you an idea of how much splashing occurs. Towels will also do and are easier to wash and dry.

The Housing Association will be responsible for plumbing leaks, so notify them. A short letter is less likely to be fobbed off than a phone call.