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Thanks, yes it all seems to sound like a vacuum. The stack actually terminates at a level somewhere below the bathroom window sill, in a ground floor extension roof space. In the past it used to run up the back of the house to the roof, but was reduced in height to avoid having to tile around...

Bit of an update on this... we now have bubbling from the shower waste trap, the bath and the toilet despite there having been no rain for a number of days. This happens whenever water drains away. The shower drains slowly, but there is no blockage in the pipe. There is a faint smell of sewage...

I've noticed during the recent bout of rain that our upstairs plumbing exhibits some strange behaviour when the rain is heavy, with the toilet and bath gurgling and bubbling. Our waste water and surface water drainage are on a shared system, so my guess is that the influx of rainwater into the...

I’m hoping it’s okay as I think the water table is quite low here. I grew up in two houses a few streets away and have only recently moved 15 houses down. I’ve seen a few holes to 6ft and we reached sand each time. It’s a good point though, and something I’ll bear in mind should it start getting...

I live in a detached house built sometime between 1901 and 1906. I know there was a cellar under the house as there are steps under the stairs which lead downwards, and the former owners told me that one had been filled in by the owners before them (who had owned the house for around 40 years)...

It wasn’t obvious to me as I couldn’t see it, but now you’ve pointed it out I see what you mean. There is charring and molten metal on that bar.

I’ve been stripping wallpaper in one of the rooms at home. Didn’t use the steamer near any sockets (used used a dry scraper) and powered the steamer directly from another room, away from the steamer. Today I was spraying the walls with sugar soap to scrape off remaining adhesive and all was...

Just as an update for anybody interested... This damp corner section of wall has been drying out for around 3 weeks and the plaster is now visibly drier. It felt damp before but is now dry to touch. Yes I know this is not an accurate measure, but it's enough to determine whether or not the wall...

We have three CO alarms in the house including in two bedrooms, sounds like this customer didn’t think things through. I bet they never tested their smoke alarms either! Think I’m just going to brick up the opening, job done then! I’ll keep the surround in the garage as it’s original to the house.

Really? Used an open fire for years previously in conjunction with the burner. The mid feathers had gone there too but if the burner was lit (as it was almost constantly in the Winter), the open fire exhausted straight out of the top of the stack as there was no downward ‘pull’. It’s only my...

Hi all, I have an open fire in the front room which I’d like to use. Previously I’ve used burners as I have ample free supply of timber from local furniture factories. I’ve had it swept and visually the stack looks in good condition. I lit a fire yesterday to act as a smoke test and small...

Had a look this evening and the damp on the other interior wall I had mentioned (in the dining room) appears to be a false alarm. I raised it as a concern as when I removed the wallpaper two days ago (which was totally sound and dry), I found a darker, tacky patch of plaster underneath. At this...

The wall to the rear of the one pictured in post #1 shows no signs of damp at all. I remember taking the lining paper off it in July to reveal bone dry plaster. Sadly I’ve since laid Herringbone LVT and don’t fancy taking it up to look under the floor. Before I laid it though, I did stick an...

It was built in 1906. The rest of the house has had chemical injection (done many years ago) on the external walls and there’s no visible damp there — just this section and another interior wall. I probably should have said, but both walls are around the entrance to what was the cellar (filled...

Hi all, internal wall was showing signs of damp (paint had gone darker, damp to touch). I took the lining paper away and found the plaster damp. I then removed the skirting board to find what you see in the pictures. There is a water pipe somewhere in the general vicinity of this wall, which...

Bit of an update on this — all the recent rain gave a great opportunity to stand outside and see what was happening. No water gushing down the valley and no visible leaks form the guttering. However, there was a long streak of water running down the wall. This was behind the guttering and...

Yes I did think that, as it must have been there for a reason, but it terminated straight on block paving and was causing damage. We considered removing it and having confirmed the rainwater from other remaining downpipe goes into a private drain, decided to remove. That drain has since coped...

Yes the issue was present long before then. I bought the house in May with the damage present and the downpipe in place. It used to deposit straight onto the driveway and flood it.

Neither would I

This pic shows the nearest downpipe. There was one and the same position but to the right of corner, but I removed it as it didn’t deposit into a drain (and kept flooding the driveway). The issue was still present before the removal. Next time it rains hard when I’m at home, I’ll stand out...