damp around chimney breast walls?

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Everything You Need to Know About Maintaining Your Home by Jeff Howell for £6.21 and it's excellent.

Given that your Chim Breast gets damp at the bottom particularly after heavy rain I would guess it's rain related and that the water is not coming from above but from below.

I suspect you probably have suspended timber floors and that the water table where you live is high. You may have insuficient (or even blocked) ventilation under the floor which will not help the natural damp in the soil to dry out.

Next time you have heavy rain, pull back the carpet and lift a floor board - use a torch and maybe a mirror to take a peek down below. If you see moisture then check and or improve the ventilation.

The smell may be because of the lack of ventilation - I hope it's not connected with defective drains.

Good luck...

Peccavi
August 2009