Mushrooms on walls !!!

[Jethro_uk]

A couple of years ago, we found a cracked roof tile had been letting water drip through the loft space onto the top of an internal wall. The wall became damp. I first noticed it because the paper started peeling. Roof was inspected, tile located and fixed.

Shortly after that, we had some of the worst torrential rain "in living memory". There was leak into the kitchen. Roofer was called, and he couldn't find any leaks. However he said he'd had many call outs similar where the valleys in the corners of the roofs simply couldn't carry the water away fast enough. So the water backed up and spilled under the tiles.

Now I have just noticed 2 orange fungi-type things growing at the top of the wall. About 1cm in diameter.

Obviously I am going to get the roof re-inspected.

What is the best way to treat the wall ?

[Baz]

A little Butter and Garlic ??

Baz

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Jethro_uk writes

Are there any soil pipes or drains nearby?

[Jethro_uk]

Ah ! About 1.5metres away there is a drain for the gutter. I see where you are coming from (I think) could the damp be coming *up* ? Although the peeling paper started at the top - the bottom is still perfect.

It's a bungalow, which is "L" shaped. The problem is where the two runs meet at 90degrees. There's also a storm porch fitted to the side with the problem.

Getting a roofer in this afternoon to have a look.

Part of the problem is the loft space where the runs meet is a pig to work in. I'm not as supple as I used to be, and even with it being a bungalow, my head for heights is terrible, so this has to be a job for a professional.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Post a picture somewhere. Rusty red/brown, often with white edges, can be dry rot fruiting body.

[Jethro_uk]

Oh dear :( ...

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Jethro_uk writes

I bought a flat a few years ago which had an obviously damp wall in the kitchen. Over the following few weeks it grew a variety of interesting- looking fungi. The cause was a cracked soil pipe passing through the wall in the upstairs flat's bathroom, above my kitchen.

The owner of the flat above had the pipe fixed and paid for the plaster to be knocked off, the ceiling replaced, the wall dried out and replastered. Since I was ripping out the kitchen and replacing it anyway, it wasn't too much of a bother. It was your mention of the fungi that made me remember this.

[fred]

In article , Jethro_uk writes

I've had similar following the breakage of an internal downpipe. I removed the mushies, stripped back the wallpaper and dosed it with a fairly strong bleach solution. I let it dry out a bit then re-treated it with bleach again, scrubbing it well with a scrubbing brush.

It took over a month to fully dry out.

If there had been more wood involved, particularly if it was partially inaccessible, then I would have let it dry out fully then treated it with wet/dry rot solutions.

[Huge]

That looks like bracket fungus to me, which will grow on wet masonry, or rather the mortar.

[Jethro_uk]

Interesting ... thanks

[polygonum]

I thought it looked more like:

What is its texture?

[Tim+]

Nah. Looks like a Jew's ear if you ask me. ;-)

Tim

[Huge]

I concur. I retract my suggestion of bracket fungus.

[Jethro_uk]

Jelly-like ...

is it unusual to have one growing on a wall like this ?

Roofer found a piece of flashing had slipped leaving a gap in the end of the gutter valley where rain could blow in :(

[Gefreiter Krueger]

ROTFPMSL!

[Gefreiter Krueger]

So somebody is spying on his conversations in the kitchen? Clever trick though, removing your ear. Is that like a glass eye?

[Gazz]

What does it taste like? :)

[Jethro_uk]

I attribute the fact that I got this far in life, in part at least, to the fact that I don't go around sampling dubiously identified fungi ...

[polygonum]

Very, very sensible.

However, if it really is Jew's Ear, then they are supposed to be edible. One of the things that really puts me off eating any of them is the rate at which formerly prized edible species somehow get re-classified as at least questionable, if not worse. (Other things like texture and flavour make damned sure I don't eat them.)

[george - dicegeorge]

I've got two! also due to damp. [g]