Damp or stains on paint?

[Jacko1992]

Height of the marks behind TV are slightly higher - above the bay window sil level. These are the corner - external pics of wall behind the TV. 3ft to right is gable end of next door. They don’t have any issues as I speak with them regularly. Think they’ve had little bits on chimney upstairs but I suspect that is typical condensation from warm air meeting cold. Sorry they are dark! Additional front corner below!

 

[Jacko1992]

Front corner below

 

[JohnD]

Are the bricks near the ground dark blue?

 

[Jacko1992]

Are the bricks near the ground dark blue?

How far are you from Accrington?

more pics below. We’re probs an hour! Down the M62

 

[JohnD]

How far from Staffordshire?

 

[Jacko1992]

More pics above. Ohh a good hour by road. We’re in Salford mate! It’s basically Manchester lol..

 

[JohnD]

That clay pot coming out of the ground is part of the drain. I don't recognise the shape but no doubt it has been broken. I presume that is the rainwater pipe running into it. I can't make out what the other thing us. Very likely that's where the damp is coming from.

In your case it looks like the DPC is a few courses of engineering bricks rather than slate. They are very dense and impervious to damp. If there was a railway station or canal near you when the house was built the materials could have come from anywhere, but there will have been a local style. Looking at your ceilings and brickwork I think the house was built to impress.

(Those areas are noted for brickworks specialising in engineering bricks. Accringtons are dark red. Staffs are blue. There may be another local variety in your area. )

There should be at least two courses clear above ground or paving level (we don't use them round here, a more local person will know the score). Drilling for silicone was ridiculous. The original brickwork looks like it was done to a good standard when new at the front, and not so costly at the sides.

Sometimes builders like to hide rubble under the floorboards and this can contribute to damp, but yours looks bad enough to be a drain or plumbing problem.

 

[martin hill]

You have a downpipe outlet going into a drain in the picture. Maybe the pipe cracked under the ground and water saturating the soil and penerating the wall. Is the drive and path the same height as the floor inside. If any DPC or Slate style DPC below the flags outside any water will be soaking up the bricks. Older houses without DPC are a right pain. Had 2 failed damp remedies done and trust me most company 25yr guarantee's worthless. Lift a floor board or two after a good downpour and see if any standing water under the boards in the void.

 

[martin hill]

Also if it had a damp proof injection and walls inside chipped off to 3 ft and sand and cement render put on that maybe the issue if sub grade sand used with a high salt content.

 

[Jacko1992]

Yes, that is correct the down pipe is going into what you can see in the ground. The drive flags are below the air brick and they are flat in that corner.. as you can see there is like little stones and soil around the gable end and around the pipe at the bottom.

The other pipe you can see might be something to with the gas meter being there? I’ve just pulled the TV out to check all of the wall. The skirting is rotten at the back of the gas meter but nothing is damp at all. It is bone dry. I noticed this when I moved in and absolutely nothing has changed since July. when we moved in; it’s basically identical. None of the wall is damp at the base or around the skirting etc.

How could the wall be damp but nothing underneath if it’s coming from the ground?? I get the under the bay because the pointing is old and it’s directly under the window so it could be water coming through. The corner doesn’t make sense!

I’m convinced this corner is just historic considering the new boards. Possibly the wall has been stained from previous damp??

 

[Jacko1992]

Here is gas meter. That sits under a little white box in the corner. I don’t leave the box right up to the wall so it can get some air. You can see there is rotten skirting and a little on the wall but it’s bone dry and exactly the same as July.

 

[martin hill]

I'd lift a few boards in that corner and check your joists too. If the skirting board rotten that will be from the wood soaking up any moisture coming up the wall. Cutt out the rotten skirting board so it doesn't speard along more.

 

[Jacko1992]

Presuming that hasn’t been done because the gas metre is there... you’d have to remove the whole thing to get to that corner.

 

[martin hill]

Dam i made a right spelling boob on that last reply. Well you got a few bits there that need doing to tick off in the courses box.

Pointing at bottom of walls where missing.
Around gas pipe coming in to house make sure sealed.
Cables coming in thru wall to be sealed around.

The damp won't show up all over your walls. It soaks thru the more porous areas. The damp i had was in low and high spots in random places so it is hard to pin point where the issue is.

 

[martin hill]

You can cut out the skirting with a electric multi tool with a wood saw blade.