Damp patch on chimney breast

[Rach-B]

Hi

I'm new to this forum so am hoping someone can help. We had a dampproof company re-do the DPC about 4 years ago. Last week we discovered a damp patch on the chimney breast which had been injected with a new DPC. There is a patch about 7 inches wide about a foot above the ground. The plaster has completely blown away from the wall in this one spot & the paint looks like it's bubbled. It's on the side of a chimney breast & it's had something resting against it (a colouring book!) for a few months (didn't realise the book was there). You can poke your finger through the plaster in this one spot. The floor is a solid floor (tiles) and the house is about 100 years old.

Can anyone shed light on whether the DPC failed or is it just salts coming out of the plaster & if we just hack off this bit of plaster & re-do, will this sort out the problem?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Rachel

[Deleted-user-3]

do you know if the damp company injected an 'upstand' either side of the chimney breast? (a vertical series of holes right in the internal corner where the breast meets the wall)
Place I worked for would not guarantee chimney breasts, there is no damp proof membrane inside a chimney breast...
Is there a cap on the chimney pot(s)?
Is the breast ventilated at fireplace level? (a louvered vent where the fireplace used to be)
Theres a few more threads only recent to this one of a very similar nature, some further explanations in there...