Damp Proofing

Wet patches on internal kitchen wall

Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 2.59 PM

Hi all, I wasn't sure whether the damp section was the correct place for this question or not really. Please help, this is stressing me out!! Apologies in advance if this is long (it will be!) - I want to include everything as I'm not sure what's relevant. Basically, we have really bad wet patches on our kitchen wall, which is an internal wall, shared with our neighbour (we're end of terrace). They're quite random, spread over a couple of metres of wall and they are particularly bad around the plug socket (weak area of the wall I guess). There's also a thin, wet line running upwards from the plug socket which is over a metre high. There are wet patches along the bottom or the wall above the skirting board and little wet spots here and there. I feel like the wooden floorboards by the wall also feel a bit damp and cold. It's hard to describe how it looks without pictures - I can send pictures for more detail if anyone fancies taking a look?! The patches on the wall are very wet to the touch and seem to be getting worse quite quickly - they first appeared a few months ago and they have got maybe 7 times worse in that time. These wet patches only started to appear a few months ago when we got or kitchen repainted (that could be coincidence). The other side of the wall is our neighbour's utility room but she assures us that all appliances are plumbed in properly and she hasn't had any leaks etc. Although, to be honest, we haven't really pushed her or asked her in the last month or so. A few months ago we had a really heavy rainstorm in the night, the drains in our road overflowed and our neighbour's garden and I think even her utility room flooded - although the 'flood' only lasted a couple of hours max. Could there be a bit of a time lag and the flood water is now coming through the wall? If that's the case, will they finally just dry out? Fundamentally, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions about what could be causing these wet patches and the damp feeling to the floorboards? I don't mind having problems with my house if I know how to fix them but I just don't know how to get to the bottom of this one or who to ask. I don't really think a damp proof company is the best place as they won't be able to get to root of the problem I don't think. Does it sound like a leak somewhere perhaps? Could the drains be blocked? Could there be a burst pipe underground near the wall? I'm worried it's a sign of some really bad problem? Is it a sign of problems with the foundation? If we leave it, will the whole wall finally saturate and collapse?! If anyone has any ideas/advice about all this I would be HUGELY grateful. I just don't really know where to go from here and I'm finding the whole thing really stressful. Many thanks in advance.

JWSurveys Ltd

Rating: 5 out of 5

5/58 reviews

Hythe

The fact that the plug socket wiring "chase" is visibly darker than the rest of the plaster suggests to me that the walls have been "treated" / "tanked" at some past point and then been re-wired later and the builder/electrician hasn't used the correct mix/product to match what is already there basically compromising the waterproofing integrity of the the finish. It sounds like a hack off and re-do am afraid. Alternatively check for guarantees and call the installers back in.

Answered24 October 2013

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Rpaj Contractor Ltd

Rating: 4.9 out of 5

4.9/599 reviews

Willenhall

Hi can you check upstairs wall in the room around same place of kitchen wall Sometimes water could come through valley where you roof match with your neighbours roof this only will happens if you have wet patch on upstairs room If there is a issue with raising damp than the problem will solve with damp proof injections or capsule

Answered29 May 2021

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