Before starting on a round of decorating, we want to figure out if we have to do any work first on some symptoms of dampness but we aren't sure what the problem is (probably there is more than one).

First, for background, the house is a detached bungalow built in the 1930s. It is pebble-dashed, not painted. There is a damp course but no cavity wall insulation. The surveyors report from when we bought the house back in 1998 noted some dampness on an internal wall that was put down to a leaking pipe which had been repaired satisfactorily, but no other problems. Roof and guttering were replaced a couple of years ago and we think they are working OK - the attic seems dry, there are no leaks and no water running down outside walls from overflowing guttering.

Now here are the symptoms.

In our main bedroom, if we leave clothes in plastic storage boxes under the bed for more than a couple of months they sometimes come out smelling a bit damp. Two corners of the room that are on the external walls build up a small black mark on the wallpaper over a period of months if they aren't wiped off (at the bottom, just above the skirting board). We were away for a couple of weeks recently (with the heating being off and no-one living in the house) and when we got back there was a faint smell of dampness in the room.

The wall paper tends to peel off the walls underneath windows in two other rooms although it isn't noticably damp to the touch. We had some problems with this many years ago, which we thought had gone away when we had double-glazing installed, but it seems to be happening again. In one of these rooms we also notice that clothes stored for a long time in drawers underneath the bed also tend to smell a bit damp.

There is a crack in the pebble-dashing near one of those windows may explain the problem in one case. Clearly, I should address the visible crack in the pebble dashing - how do I know how much of it needs replaced or can I just fill in the small crack?

Is it worth investing in a dampness meter to measure how serious the problem may be? I see that some devices are marketed as being for wood and others seem more general - is there anything I should be looking for?

Is this a job for specialists to assess and how would we select one that is reliable?

Any advice would be welcome.

It sounds like most of your problems could be caused by condensation rather than penetrating damp, although that crack needs fixing too.

What is the ventillation like in the property?

Do you have a shower? if so do you have an extractor fan in that room?

Do you have a kitchen extractor fan and use it?

If you have wooden floors are there vents installed on the external walls to vent the void under the floor? If you have vents are these clear?

_________________
DIY | Donnas dream house

We have a shower and we have an extractor fan, but it doesn't switch on automatically when the shower is working and quite often we don't use it.

We don't have a kitchen extractor fan.

We have wooden floors, but they are varnished and carpeted over. One room (which doesn't have a dampness problem) has a vent in the floor. There are vents in the external walls under the floor level and they are all clear.

So, is the best plan to fix the crack(s) and ventilate the house better?

It would be a good start.

Condensation can be a real pain. We have an extractor fan in out bathroom, but if you shower with the door closed the room soon steams up so a better fan is being fitted soon.

There are no signs of damp in any of the upstairs rooms apart from the main bedroom, which is right next to the bathroom. I'm hoping that the new improved fan will mean that we can shower with the door closed, which will prevent the condensation in the bedroom!

_________________
DIY | Donnas dream house