Damp in chimney breast and wall - photos . . . . . . . . . .

[TheSalad]

Hi Folks, we recently moved in to a bungalow that is suffering with damp in the lounge. The photos below show damp patches that appear much darker after a downpour. Some of it is aligned with the chimney breast some (to the left) is on the wall behind which was a garage space and is now a newly converted utility room.

We have had a newly tiled roof 3months ago when at the same time we took down the chimney which now opens in to the loft space.

The utility room behind this wall also has a brand new roof. Guttering is sound.

Damp patch is constantly there but appears much darker after rain.

Any thoughts as to what it might be?
View media item 98304View media item 98303View media item 98302View media item 98301

 

[Burnerman]

Roof pictures of the outside, please!
Are there any flashings in the area immediately above?
John

 

[TheSalad]

Yep, so this first picture is where the chimney used to be, right in the middle of the shot. The damp is on the walls immediately below the guttering in this photo.

Second photo is just to the left of this above the garage doors.

IMG_5519

• TheSalad
• 8 Sep 2016

IMG_5518

• TheSalad
• 8 Sep 2016

 

[chappers]

If it's getting wetter when it rains then clearly water is leaking in. it's either getting in from the flat roof under the guttering, but more likely it looks like that outlet is twisting the guttering back towards the building so when it rains it spills out of the guttering and maybe behind the fascia.
Did you see how the roof was done, with that flat roof that close to the eaves I would have turned the flat roof covering back up the pitched roof a bit. But I wouldn't mind betting that if you cut the bottom of that outlet down so the guttering sat square that, that would solve your problem. test it with a couple of buckets of water thrown up the roof and see if the water is flooding back over the gutter.

 

[vinn]

I think that above is a good spot ref the outlet and pitched roof gutter - no way did I see that.

OP,
You have a little ponding at the bottom of the flat roof - not really good enough for a new roof.
Do you still have a chimney breast on the other side of the stained wall?
Does that wall have cavity insulation?
Would it be possible to discharge to a down pipe, at either end of the gutter run, instead of across the roof. Or at least use an angle and short length of RWP to carry the discharge from the outlet area?
Was this issue raised on the mortgage surveyors report?

 

[chappers]

I think that above is a good spot ref the outlet and pitched roof gutter - no way did I see that.

I had a similar issue recently fitting some new guttering above a dental course, not anywhere near as pronounced as that but enough to spill water, when it bucketed down

 

[Burnerman]

Anyone.....is the guttering really necessary? (Tiny screen, can't see)
John

 

[chappers]

probably not, apart from the extreme left hand end, which could just run onto the roof.can't see t'other end though

 

[Burnerman]

Cheers for the reply Mr. C - maybe we'll get a full picture of the guttering in due course, but the fault seems obvious.
John

 

[TheSalad]

Just to complete the picture, this is how it looked back in May. The same damp was reported in the survey when we purchased the property back in December 2015.

IMG_5100

• TheSalad
• 11 Sep 2016

 

[Burnerman]

That is one hell of an improvement!
So long as the new flat roof material is well tucked up under the pitched roof and the gutter can attain it's normal profile I'd guess that would be the end of your problems.....as others have said, it seems the gutter has been tipping it's contents in the wrong direction.
Would it be possible to connect the running outlet to a length of down comer pipe so the water falls directly into the lower gutter? In torrential rain it could cause an overflow though, maybe.
Thanks for the extra pic! That was surely an original mess.
John

 

[vinn]

Back to back with the wall stains do the remains of the chimney breast (or a full c/breast) still exists in the next room?
Can you post a photo of the c/breast or chimney breast area in the next room?

 

[scruffybiker]

Could easily be salt damp. It's something not alot of people know about and end up spending lots of hard earned cash trying different things. Get a humidifier and leave it running and see if the patches get worse. I had mysterious stains in my house. It turned out to be hygroscopic salts in plaster