Damp front wall in wet weather - working it out

[dankombi]

Hi all.

Been trying to work this out for a good few weeks before actioning anything - and after reading a lot of posts on here there's some good insights, so want to see what people think.

In wet weather our front wall around the entrance door gets damp. Has been doing this for years, but this year I want to try action something to stop it.

It's a sold 9" wall, pointed in lime, with an abutting wall outside.
There's also a rain drain outside that I'm going to have inspected for damage / leaks as that would make quite a bit of sense.

But on inspection after hacking back plaster, the brickwork is mostly dry - but some concrete posts used as an outer door frame just seem to suck up moisture and dump it in to any finish that's on the wall. I've attached images of inside and outside.


Outside is paving put in maybe in the last 20 years. I've removed slabs near the wall that were close to the DPC and covered area in some gravel to help with splash back. Underneath is original concrete slab I think, and the step I think is an original concrete step that's been tiled.


Also at some point the council have rammed a gas pipe through the wall which definitely won't help things - but as said, the concrete post by door frame seems to be wettest.

 

[JohnD]

Do you mean it get wet near the ground, or somewhere else? I can't see wet patches

How old is your house, and where is the original DPC? When do you think the tiled step was added?

Please take photos all the way up to the roof, showing gutters, downpipes, gullies and drains.

Climb up and take photos of that rooflet over the door. Pour water on it. Where does it run to?

Is it concrete? Covered in bitumen or lead?

 

[D31IY]

The interior wall gets wet, being most intense by the concrete upright door frames (if that makes sense) “. Also the threshold the door is sat on (mortar etc) is damp.

The DPC is level with the top of the step / you can see the double width mortar line behind the boot scraper on the left by the step in the wider image.

Above door is a parapet wall the only down spout on this wall is the one to the right of the door. I’ll take a wider image for you tomorrow with more daylight.

Externally, the damp patches are at the sides of the step, and the abutting wall gets exposed in weather too.

The rooflet is concrete / just painted at the top. Will give it a dose of water tomorrow and let you know. There’s a drip groove cut in to the bottom and in heavy rain I can’t see too much pouring from it.

As said / house is 1950’s and I assume the step is original / but probably tiles were added to it.

Thanks so far.
I’ve attached a few images of the bases of the concrete frame and walls which show how wet it is after wet weather. I’ve also scraped away paint in that area to let it breathe a bit more and definitely helps the exterior of the concrete dry out

Have also attached another internal image showing damp after wet weather on left of door. The dryer square was a plasterboard patch I did that resisted the water better, but you can see how wet it is next to doorframe.

 

[dankombi]

Hi all - bumping this thread as had a drain survey, and the drain just to the right of the door is knackered - which would explain the amount of water coming up in to the walls. This will be fixed through insurance over the next month or so.

However. - I have a main question re the concrete door surrounds.

Has anyone had any experience / thoughts on removing the concrete surrounds? These seem to be the main issue sucking up the moisture as theyre porous and crap essentially. My thoughts would even be to try grind away a few inches on the bottom, and sit them on top of a fresh DPC.

But wondered if completely removing them would be a better shout. Image attached here for reference

 

[JohnD]

Do you mean the portal surround to the doorframe? If it was site-moulded it would be mortar, but if precast concrete I'd expect it to be very hard and dense.

Please show the bottom of it where it meets the dpc.

 

[D31IY]

Do you mean the portal surround to the doorframe? If it was site-moulded it would be mortar, but if precast concrete I'd expect it to be very hard and dense.

Please show the bottom of it where it meets the dpc.

Here you go

 

[JohnD]

I can't make out what I'm looking at. Step back a bit and include something to show scale. Which way is up?

 

[foxhole]

So the step breached the dpc?
Brickwork above door slab looks very dark ? Wet?

 

[dankombi]

Do you mean the portal surround to the doorframe? If it was site-moulded it would be mortar, but if precast concrete I'd expect it to be very hard and dense.

Please show the bottom of it where it meets the dpc.

here you go - few images

Other notes

Door step is in line with the DPC

See attached some better images from inside after just hacking off plaster the other month, along with an image where dpc is visible under the concrete upright.
We've since dug out and put DPM under the door and rebuilt step a little lower (see new exterior images) - but water is still coming up through the concrete uprights which are sat on DPM.

We just can't work it out. New door and frame will go in soon as it's shot - but we just dont know why the concrete portal is drawing in so much moisture.
Part of me thinks should try seal the back of the concrete posts - but surely that's just going to force water higher up the wall.

 

[Mr Chibs]

Cold bridging maybe the cause, warm inside temps meeting cold outside temps.
Cold water pipes frequently have condensation around them, in cold weather, gas pipes can also.

Breeched DPM/DPC is frequently a culprit.

Are you planning on removing the concrete surround when you get your new door?

 

[dankombi]

Cold bridging maybe the cause, warm inside temps meeting cold outside temps.
Cold water pipes frequently have condensation around them, in cold weather, gas pipes can also.

Breeched DPM/DPC is frequently a culprit.

Are you planning on removing the concrete surround when you get your new door?

It’s definitely water ingress rather than bridging. I think the original step just didn’t have DPC - just concrete.

Ideally we’d remove the concrete surrounds - but don’t have a clue if they’re supporting or not yet, so need to chat to a surveyor / builder re thoughts.

Hopefully just the top portion / canopy lintel is what’s supporting the wall, and the concrete side surrounds are simply for aesthetic.

I feel It would really help to just be rid of them and have a wider door in!