Hi folks,

My recently deceased mother in laws house is in the process of 'being looked
at by me' and due renovation.

A few years ago she had a grant for cavity wall insulation ( CWI ) and it
was installed ( 82 yo and disabled ).

The installation used a blown in mineral wool type of insulation.

The property is about 100 years old.

On the front wall about 5 feet above ground level there is internally a damp
patch prevoiusly not identified - behind furnishings - and it's not drying
out. There are a few other damp patches here and there above the 1 metre
damp proof course fault boundary. Possibly external mortar pointing also.

External mortar pointing/gutter downpipe leak in that area of the wall was
found to be substandard and is now fixed - but it's still not drying out
after 3-4 weeks.

What is the possibilty that the mineral wool insulation has become sodden in
the area and - given the lack of ventilation in the cavity due to CWI - will
take an age to dry out.

Today I have drilled the damp wall in 2 places from the inside to try to
recover some insulation to test for soddenness - can't recover any
insulation to test - just couldn't hook it out.

Maybe I need to remove a brick on the inside to gain access.

Is the mineral wool insulation they use water repellant or can it become
sodden and retain the dampness for long periods.

What are the implications for other external walls in the property being
that I've identified several areas externally where pointing is defficient.

I have nightmares of sodden CWI in various pointing deficient areas that
would be verry difficult to fix without removal of the CWI.

Should mineral wool CW insulation actually have been used in this situation
where external pointing was in some need.and would have been obvious at the
time it was installed.

I know there are other possibilities for the damp in other areas but in THIS
area the wall above is not damp.

How to fix it - thats the question.

Recommendations welcome.

TIA - It's me