Hello Have a issue where every time it rains we get: - moisture (not rain water!) running down across a stretch of wall in the kitchen - greasy, wet to touch ceiling patch (but water is NOT running through) This happens along the wall that contains a chimney breast that is no longer in use. We have had the roof recently cleaned and acropol / cement used to tidy up bits and pieces (it is an old roof) but it appears that these haven't fixed the issue as after the rain today the patch is wet to touch again. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!
Punch hole (neatly) and look through with torch. See where water is coming from. If you have a leak that area will be rotting anyway
Thanks... do you think there is any use checking the loft directly above to see if there is any sign of water / water damage up there?
Yes. Get up there. If not sure where water is dripping lay newspaper and the print will run with any water drops. Sometimes it drys a bit quick or only small amount of water so newspaper will show that
thanks! i have done so. the damp patch / discolouring is in line with the protruding brickwork here... is anything visible that isn't quite right to someone who knows more about this than me!
What is the wall construction and internal finish? You could possibly be looking at different temperatures on your wall causing condensation in different places. This will be more noticeable during rain (higher humidity levels). For example if your walls are insulated and there is a section that just has a big hollow space behind (chimney), the chimney part will be colder and moisture will condense on it before other parts of the wall. The greasy area will also be a slightly different temperature as well as having a greater surface area, so moisture will condense there sooner too. Might be worth buying a cheap humidity meter and checking the moisture levels. Is the room heated and well ventilated?
Thanks! When you say wall construction (Sorry!) are you meaning internally or externally? The room is south facing and does get v hot when sunny. I will try to check humidity levels. I am still unsure whether it is a roofing issue (flashing around chimney as per picture), guttering (as per picture) or humidity as you say! I think I can hear a slow drip when we have rain but perhaps I am just imagining the worse!
I’m thinking along the lines of say a cavity brick wall with a chimney in the middle. If there’s a big open space behind the chimney that could make that part of the interior wall colder. Thanks
Could this also cause moisture to the touch on the ceiling? I have noticed today that even with no rain today / yesterday, it feels wetter on ceiling and upper parts of wall. (You can see discoloration - just about - at top of wall join with ceiling...)
Not in a way that is noticeable (i.e. water spilling down to floor) but the gutter looks like it sits on the brick ledge which looks a little weird to me... (as per picture above) and something that could easily cause an issue?
Thanks for the help on this. Proposed fix is to bring the flashing around the corner of the chimney and ensure it is going behind the gutter. Fingers crossed!
Update on this... We have had the flashing replaced around the chimney and had all the pointing around it and on chimney stack redone. This has stopped the drip noise that I mentioned above. However we are still getting the weird greasy patches on the ceiling near the chimney and condensation running down the wall. If I knock at different points along the wall I can definitely feel that it goes from brick to big empty space but I am not sure how that would impact the ceiling patches we are getting? Could the previous owner have painted this corner of the kitchen with a special paint that goes greasy when there is moisture on the other side? I am also running a dehumidifier in the room to keep humidity between 50-60%. If I leave it off then it climbs to approx 70% as is kitchen (cooking, washing etc.) Puzzled to say the least....