Damp at bottom of external rendering

[RileyW]

Hi guys,

Would really appreciate some views on this, photos attached but can take more if helpful.

We moved into a ground floor maisonette in a Victorian terraced property last year. There were some damp issues in the north-facing front room (some visible damp patches) and our survey recommended having paint removed from the front of the property and repointing (which we did, and it has helped at least - internal patches dried out)).

The brickwork was repointed with lime and a lime render was applied, as in the photo. The bricks underneath the old render were quite damp. That was 6 months ago though, and it has shown no signs of drying out at the bottom half.

My main two questions are:

1. Is this an issue? (We’ve had a couple builders come for other things and they haven’t seemed concerned about it when asked)
2. If so, what could the cause be?

Obviously the bottom of the rendering under the windowsills will get wet when it rains, as will the section by the rainwater gulley, as water will splash onto it from the downpipe. But the water marks didn’t show signs of receding even after 2-3 straight weeks of summer weather with pretty much no rain. So I don’t know if it’s fully rain-related or not (it could be the historic dampness is still drying out through the lime as well).

Any thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

 

[noseall]

Hi guys,

Would really appreciate some views on this, photos attached but can take more if helpful.

We moved into a ground floor maisonette in a Victorian terraced property last year. There were some damp issues in the north-facing front room (some visible damp patches) and our survey recommended having paint removed from the front of the property and repointing (which we did, and it has helped at least - internal patches dried out)).

The brickwork was repointed with lime and a lime render was applied, as in the photo. The bricks underneath the old render were quite damp. That was 6 months ago though, and it has shown no signs of drying out at the bottom half.

My main two questions are:

1. Is this an issue? (We’ve had a couple builders come for other things and they haven’t seemed concerned about it when asked)
2. If so, what could the cause be?

Obviously the bottom of the rendering under the windowsills will get wet when it rains, as will the section by the rainwater gulley, as water will splash onto it from the downpipe. But the water marks didn’t show signs of receding even after 2-3 straight weeks of summer weather with pretty much no rain. So I don’t know if it’s fully rain-related or not (it could be the historic dampness is still drying out through the lime as well).

Any thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

You have masonry/render, in contact with the ground and you are wondering why it is wet? I'd be more shocked if it was dry.

 

[RileyW]

You have masonry/render, in contact with the ground and you are wondering why it is wet? I'd be more shocked if it was dry.

I’m not surprised it’s wet, but given it showed no signs of drying out after weeks without rain, I wondered if there might be another/additional issue.

I’m mainly wondering if it being constantly wet is an issue or not, and whether something should be done in the front garden to prevent water running into the wall