Possible rising damp or just condensation?

ross1562 · Post by **ross1562** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 12:24 am

Hi all,

I am in the process of redecorating my downstairs toilet. It is approximately 1m x 3m and used to have laminate flooring on top of concrete. I have taken the skirting boards off and pulled up the laminate flooring.

The 3m side of the room is the rear wall of the house and under the sink it used to have MDF covering the pipes up the length of the room.

Problem is, when i removed this MDF i noticed that the pipes were wet and the floor seemed to be damp and the skirting boards had mildew/mold on them. Also, the brickwork seems to be a bit brittle right at the bottom. This appears to be isolated directly under the sink and in one corner of the room.

Is this rising damp or just condensation built up from the MDF boxing?

Cheers,

Ross.

ross1562 · Post by **ross1562** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 12:47 pm

Some pics to help.

Internal

Internal 2

External.

Cheers,

leebwk · Post by **leebwk** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:43 pm

Hi,

A little difficult to diagnose but looking at the plasterwork i think it is just water that was beneath tiles/board and was unable to escape,
You will find that cold water pipes tend to condensate and will drip,
i would make sure you have 150mm clear down from the dpc externally and try and let the floor area dry out before re-covering,
and check the wall internally (low down with a damp meter) if it's dry no rising damp