Recent content by newforestcottage

Yes, it’s mostly about low temperature, I’ve found. Whilst it does happen after it rains, I find dry but cold mornings produce more/stronger stains compared to mornings after overnight rain. So perhaps the rain is irrelevant? If it’s due to the cold, what’s the cause, and possible solutions...

You can see some of the pointing has been affected by metal planting ties, which the previous owner put in. I’ll remove these and fill the holes, but even then, that shouldn’t be enough to breach the cavity to this extent, should it?

Gutters are fine. No downpipes. I’ll add some photos of the external wall …

I’m not adverse to getting into that cavity, if required. I’m wondering if removing the window might help (not that I’ve done that before) as it’ll be a very central location from which to remove any rubble?

Yes, certain. We’ve done structural work on other parts of the house, and it’s cavity wall. Early cavity wall.

I have a damp / water ingress issue, which I'd like to understand better, and solve. We live in an early c.1900 red brick cottage, with uninsulated cavity walls. This is the only room suffering from this problem, on all three external walls. As you can see in the photo below, there are some...

Yes, the paint itself is generally fine. There is some discolouration which suggested damp or condensation (which hasn’t changed in area in 4 months). Using a mould remover on a test area does appear to have reduced it a bit.

Are there reasons why a blue speckled pattern would be expected or normal? Can’t imagine it’s the plaster itself?

Moved into an early 20th century cottage a few months ago. Various parts need renovating. In one ground floor room the paint was bubbling, so I took a spatula to reveal this. I’ll also be testing for moisture levels when my meter arrives tomorrow. Would I be correct in assuming this is mould...

It does, however the cable is poor and on the verge of breaking, so would ultimately be better to replace it.

Yes, this is my second option, and your very good points are making me think this is a better solution all round. I believe the incoming cable in the loft is a 2-pair. Should I buy more of that, route into the loft from below, and join with connector crimps? That aspect is new to me.

Our BT line comes into the back of our property, entering the loft, through the length of the building, outside the front elevation and back down through the porch (which is collapsing and subject to breaking the wire) and through the front door wall to the Master Socket. I’d like to simplify...