Can anyone help diagnose our damp/leak?

[Dougt]

Please help as I feel I’m going mad!
We have a damp issue in the kitchen/utility.

The bamboo laminate floor is buckling, we have scabbing salty marks rising up walls and peeling paint. Mould on wallpaper. I’ve had two damp proofers out who have diagnosed rising damp/failed damp course as no obvious other causes (well, one did say investigate leaks just in case).

Unfortunately we ended up with an incompetent leak detection specialist visit, as I wanted to rule that out, and he thought it was water spilling from around the kitchen sink, as the wooden worktop is a bit rotten at the back and needs resealing. This definitely is a problem but the damage is not consistent with the amount of water which would overflow from washing up/splash from running the tap.

The outside tap feeds from under the sink, and this afternoon I had the sprinkler on for kids and then hose filling up the paddling pool. The buckling floor is very noticeably worse. There is no obvious leak externally, or internally around the pipes as far as I can see. I’m sure the outside wall felt colder in a patch near the tap.

Could the pipe to the outside tap someone be causing this? Maybe failing where it goes through the wall? DP says the water would be in the pipe all the time so it doesn’t make any sense that the damage suddenly got worse when I had the tap on for a significant time?

We have been using the hose/outside tap a lot this year as laid a new area of lawn so it would explain why it has suddenly got a lot worse this last few months…

We wasted £400 on the leak detection so far and I do not feel the guy knew what he was doing so I have no confidence he considered everything, and I can’t afford to waste any more money.

You need @PigletJohn

Post lots of photos inside and out please

Amazing! @PigletJohn Floor plan, outside and inside utility (external wall)

This is the floor where the kitchen joins utility. It’s not buckled here but it’s had to get a pic of that.
Utility has a solid floor, kitchen boards and joists. Peeling, flaking worse in utility so I assumed it was the where the damage had started.

it was not too bad yesterday morning but now the floors is still totally buckled next to sink. The only think I can think now is it’s the outside tap but is that possible?

Behind dishwasher, under floor and under sink.

Best guess looking at the pictures is you have something leaking somewhere and it’s been doing it for quite a while, it’s been going under the floor and then unable to dry out. It could even be a leak under the floor somewhere.

I would say you will need to take the flooring out and go from there.

sorry not much help but you gotta start somewhere

My thoughts are it’s under the floor. Or at least ponding under the floor from a leak. I too would say you need to floor up. Are there any pipes under the floor? Where does the water enter the house for your water supply? Where are the drains? Can the water exit efficiently? Where is the kitchen in relation to the utility? Are there water pipes under the floor? I think you have to start somewhere.

We had a damp wall, (not sure it was as extensive as yours looks though) and it was indeed the outside tap pipe leaking inside the wall. We asked a plumber to check the tap and it practically fell off in his hands. It might be worth investigating this first before you commit to any major works.

I'm not sure I would have paint your leak detection specialist £400 if he hadn't actually found the leak TBH. However, based on those pictures, I'm wondering if there is more than one issue. The last picture of pipes under the sink unit show green oxidation marks, which indicates a leak either on that joint (likely. Push fit joints are crap) or running down from above. The damp goes very high up the walls, too high IMO to be soaking up from floor level given your flooring hasn't already been totally wrecked for some time. The floor would have blown long before the walls showed signs if water was leaking and pooling under it. Damp like that on the walls is usually either a leaking gutter or breached DPC, but the outside tap is also a likely contender.

Failure of the wastewater pipes where they come through the wall could perhaps also be a possibility. Or rising damp from that drain if it has collapsed or blocked?

Looks like.lots of salt on the internal walls. Plants growing up from the drains. I would be checking the drains , have they been moved or been damaged when the extension was done.

Thanks - at work and only just had a chance to look at messages.

Leak detection was firm Aspect who automatically took the money. I understood they had taken my card details to secure booking only. I have complained but not getting anywhere. I probably have to call them again today to chase this up!

I would get a qualified surveyor in - RICS. They might need to do more tests. If they are professionally qualified they wouldn’t be a rip off company with no professional qualifications. Anyone can say they do leak detection!

Either a waste or a mains water leak

Thank you!

I think it’s def a leak but we aren’t losing pressure. So maybe waste leak makes sense?

It was so noticeably worse after the outside tap was on, but I don’t think this makes sense as it would not be worse when on as the water would always be in the pipe?!

We can’t afford to spend money on anymore investigations really without knowing that is definately the problem. And not competent to investigate this ourselves!

looking at your first pic, it appears to be an inside wall with two damp patches running downwards.

so i deduce there is something in the wall, leaking. Most likely a pipe or drain

please take photographs of this wall, inside and out. stand well back to show the whole wall, as well as close of the areas close to the damp. include something in every pic to show scale. include all pipes, taps, drains, gytters, downpipes, and potential leakage off the roof or overflow pipes above.

due to gravity, a floor can can wet from a leak above it

WE FOUND THE LEAK!

It was in one of the pipes in the floor. Pin hole, gradual drip drip. We did our own pressure test overnight which showed a loss of pressure. God knows how longs it been on for but the joists and ply boards and floor below is sodden in places.

Yay!

Well done.

Now the fun of finding a plumber, a carpenter to assess everything and hopefully, let everything dry out.

Hope it's not too expensive or traumatic for you.