Airbricks and water damage

[Annette Brown]

Hi
Could an upstairs bedroom external airbrick cause water damage to neighbours lintel in patio Doors?
House was built in 1930s and we have owned it since the 1970s this is first time a neighbour has said they think water is getting in and down to a lintel??
I wondered if it was more likely a fault from the installation of their patio doors and or the rendering they have had put On?
Any Advice? Thanks.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

If the air brick is undamaged and the pointing OK, it is very unlikely water is getting by that route. Most likely it is an issue with their installation which was faulty. Have you any signs of ingress around the area? You would usually suffer it before them.

 

[JohnD]

more likely a dripping gutter or boiler flue, or round a window frame (especially a plastic replacement).

in very rare occasions, a pipe passing through a wall, such as an overflow pipe, can make the wall wet if the pipe is faulty

 

[Annette Brown]

Hi apparently now they say it is due to flashing around chimney stack and cracked tiles that have apparently had sealant put on them??? No recall of the sealant aspect .
So now apparently there attic beams are wet and that's how the lintel in their patio doors has been water damaged...
Starting to feel like they are looking for a way to blame us ...but checked our attic and can't see any major signs of damp.Beam into wall looks a bit darker but brickwork looks OK...

 

[Mr Chibs]

Sounds like they are clutching at straws. Wonder what it will be next week.

is the chimney stack yours/theirs/shared?

Putting sealant on is a shortcut to sorting it properly.

You may get more replies if you can take a pic or two, there are some eagle-eyed on here.

 

[Notch7]

Hi
Could an upstairs bedroom external airbrick cause water damage to neighbours lintel in patio Doors?
House was built in 1930s and we have owned it since the 1970s this is first time a neighbour has said they think water is getting in and down to a lintel??
I wondered if it was more likely a fault from the installation of their patio doors and or the rendering they have had put On?
Any Advice? Thanks.

If they have had patio doors fitted in the past then they should have had either a catnic type lintel with an integral cavity tray or they should have had a separate cavity tray fitted


either way cavities are designed to vent water -thats why we have cavity trays.

tell em to pith off

 

[Annette Brown]

This is our beam in our attic which looks OK to me...no damp smell or musty smell, no salting on the bricks, which if it had been allowing water in long enough for it to seep down to next door I would think there would be greater damage.
Also the flashing that is worn is on our side of chimney and the stack seems to be more on our side of roof than theirs.
I agree that they are looking to blame us somehow.
Anyway I am doing what I am legally obliged to do and if they still have a problem I think the onus is on them to get a surveyor in .Thanks .