Damp Proofing

Ongoing damp issues with removal of a chimney stack in Victorian house

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 2.59 PM

Hello I am hoping you can help me. I own a ground floor flat and am having ongoing damp patches emerge. I have been told that this was because when the Victorian house was converted into two flats, the builders removed the chimney and in the first floor flat put in a cupboard and downstairs covered the fireplace up. Both areas are now damp with black mould, which I understand could be a condensation issue but have also been told it is penetrating damp is well. It looks like in the upstairs flat, part of the wall in the cupboard has had plasterboard put up in some parts, which is probably I am guessing not allowing the wall to breathe properly and therefore causing further problems? What is the best one to solve this? There is what looks like is an outside vent on the external wall where the first floor cupboard is located and I have been recommended to block it - but is this advisable? What is the best way to resolve this? Understand that I will probably have to hack the wall back and start again, but obviously want to resolve the cause first. In the same room, I also have rising damp, and am thinking that as there are vents on the outside wall at ground level, these could be getting blocked as rainwater accumulates there in a courtyard and we have had very wet weather recently. Again if anyone could please advise? Last thing, do DPC work and insulating internal walls on Victorian properties? Thanks Joseph - thanks for the info. I did ask about having a vent put in the room but was told by another builder that with the chimney stack that it was not an air flow problem and that it was stagnant water coming through? It is very bizarre as appears in patches in the middle of the wall and going upwards - I would think when it was converted if the owners didn't do a proper job when it was removed, then it is likely there would be rubble in the stack. Is it costly to put a vent in and remove any rubbish or am I better off removing that section of the wall and starting again? Thanks Also there was damp on the other side which was coming from the upstairs bathroom, and I have been told that when some areas of the bathroom were re-tiled that the wall was very damp? Is there any way now I can tell how damp the wall is without removing the tiles? Thanks