Hello. Looking for some info as I'm out of ideas.
Just moved into a house built around 1900. It's an end terrace with a shared chimney stack. On my side of the chimney, in the lounge, just above the main fireplace opening to the right there is a damp patch. After taking the wallpaper off I've noticed there are a few cracks in the plaster as well. The area is approx 220mm x 220mm and is noticeably damp. The rest of the chimney stack appears fine and nothing rising up.
The area is approx 1.3m up the wall. I can't imagine it's coming from the roof as surely it would register further up, on the first floor or in the loft but these areas are bone dry. There is a dual fuel wood burner in the fireplace which I believe is fully functional but with it being sept has not been used for some time. Given the time of year I doubt it's
condensation from the flu as it is not hot.
Does anyone have any ideas what the source could be as I'm at a loss. I can hack off the plaster and treat the brick work. Does anyone have experience with this? Would I just be covering up the real problem?
I've got plasterers coming over. Next week so they could re plaster. What solutions should coat it with if the advised route?
Thanks in advance.