Damp patch in brand new house

I was just finished snagging when I spotted a small damp patch on the wall near the downstairs toilet which is the exposed wall in my semi-detached house. I didn't see it before so I'm pretty sure it happened over the Christmas period. I was expecting new houses to be so well insulated that you'd never get damp patches. Is this something that should be added to the snaglist that the builder can fix or is it something that's inevitable until the house has been lived in and has properly dried out?

Joe Nonety said:

I was just finished snagging when I spotted a small damp patch on the wall near the downstairs toilet which is the exposed wall in my semi-detached house. I didn't see it before so I'm pretty sure it happened over the Christmas period. I was expecting new houses to be so well insulated that you'd never get damp patches. Is this something that should be added to the snaglist that the builder can fix or is it something that's inevitable until the house has been lived in and has properly dried out?

Click to expand...

It could well be just still part of the drying out process. I had similiar issues - two spots that I was really concerned about as if it was water ingress, then its a 'major structural defect'. To cover yourself, you should bring it to the attention of the finishing foreman - get him to give him your opinion on it. The fact that you do not include everything on your snag list doesnt mean that you cant come back and get other issues address ...within a 12 month period ..i *think* - and major structural stuff should still be covered under homebond/premier guarantee for 10 years.

We found something like this in our new house a couple of years ago. Finally discovered it was due to a blocked drain on the exterior, the water had to go somewhere. Could be something as simple as that?

Without full details of wall construction, exact location on wall, photos etc I would take a guess and say it could be down to a dirty wall tie which is allowing moisure to pass from the outer leaf to the inner leaf if it is a wall of conc. blocks.

It could be as a result of a badly fitted piece of DPC if its close to a door or window.

It could be from a water pipe. It could be condensation. It could be any number of things but include it in your snag list no matter what it is and dont be fobbed off with "it will dry out in a day or two"