Damp walls problems (Ed.)

[Reno104]

Your brickwork badly needs repointing as it will speed rain penetration as it is.
Damp in fireplace will be from chimney, either not capped and ventilated and / or problems at roof level .You don’t have rising damp .

We have repointing booked in for a few weeks time so hopefully will make some difference. The damp is coming up from the floor of the fireplace not the walls as that’s what we originally thought.

Probably should have mentioned that we’ve had damp on every wall of the ground floor including internal walls. Had a membrane put on before the new plaster to stop it coming through but obviously the root cause is still causing us grief.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Start by going for a walk when it rains heavily, everything may suddenly make sense and if you don't do this you're only guessing.

Would still look at lowering the ground level. That's never going to be dry, slate and injections are not impervious to water they only resist it. If you had a survey the ground level should have been reported, if not then you may have a claim against the surveyor. If there are other identical houses in the neighbourhood then have a look at their ground levels.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

You definitely need to look here when it's raining, then check with a spirit level...

From the photo it looks like the driveway may be running off towards the wall. But impossible to say without checking properly.

If you don't have a long spirit level then buy one.

 

[lostinthelight]

Do you know the age if the property , if it has solid walls, who did the damp survey and were they the ones doing the work?

 

[JohnD]

Thanks guys. The old slate dpc supposedly has failed

Of course it hasn't. Slate lasts for hundreds of millions of years. The reason it doesn't work is that some ignorant dolt has raised the level of the concrete paving. Sadly this is quite common.

Who gave you that story? Was it the same person who talked you into having the bricks drilled and silicone or ceramic rods pointlessly injected into them?

The concrete seems to have covered up the old drains. See if you can take some pics down the gaps round them. Also any signs of cracking or patching of the concrete above and around them.

Scrape out the chippings as deep as you can with a garden trowel. This should expose the real DPC. Look to see if the trench fills up with water after rain or after a bath.

You have some patches where the damp rises quite high. There is probably a source of water at that point. Might be a dripping gutter above, might be a broken pipe or drain in the ground, might be rainwater pooling in a puddle against the wall.

Can you draw a sketch plan of the house, please. Include drains, downpipes, gullies, waste pipes, jznhole cover, taps, bathroom and kitchen plumbing. And the position of the external and internal stopcocks. Look at them for any signs of water leakage.

Do you have a water meter?

 

[JohnD]

Do you know the age if the property , if it has solid walls, who did the damp survey and were they the ones doing the work?

It has cavity walls.

Edit
Correction, I see some headers now.

 

[JohnD]

You definitely need to look here when it's raining, then check with a spirit level...

From the photo it looks like the driveway may be running off towards the wall. But impossible to say without checking properly.

If you don't have a long spirit level then buy one.

Please stand back and take a wider pic of that entire wall, all the way up to the roof, and especially the gutter.

 

[JohnD]

So basically we’ve been told that the reason the soil/ground under our house is wet is because rain is running down the external wall of the house and collecting at the bottom.

In ordinary UK houses, gutters are provided to prevent that.

I live in a coastal region, and in storms, torrential rain can be blown onto one side. It is slate hung to prevent penetration. Cladding throws the water away from the wall at the bottom, but the paving is 9 inches below the DPC so the wall is not damp, despite the splashing.

My paving is deliberately laid with a good fall.

 

[Reno104]

Please stand back and take a wider pic of that entire wall, all the way up to the roof, and especially the gutter.

I’ll just reply here with more pictures as lots to reply to again really appreciate all you guys! Very helpful indeed. It’s raining currently and I can’t see any dripping from anywhere

 

[JohnD]

For that wall, all the way from roof to paving.

As well as possible defects, there may be witness marks left by water.

Does the wind blow rain off the gable end?

I found this pic of my clad wall.

View media item 4849

 

[RandomGrinch]

It has cavity walls.

Could it still have a cavity, if it had..

Looks like Flemish stretcher bond, which is normally used.on a solid wall.

?

Who gave you that story? Was it the same person who talked you into having the bricks drilled and silicone or ceramic rods pointlessly injected into them?

...and blimey, if ever there was proof injections don't work (...or the installers don't know what they are doing), this place has had two lots of them!

 

[JohnD]

For that wall, all the way from roof to paving.

Especially as I now see a balanced flue, and a boiler vent, both of which may drip. Sometimes there are overflow pipes as well.

 

[Reno104]

Especially as I now see a balanced flue, and a boiler vent, both of which may drip. Sometimes there are overflow pipes as well.

This is as good as I can get in one picture my back is against my neighbours wall haha

 

[JohnD]

My eye is drawn to the very wet area around that very old cast-iron drainpipe.

Almost as if the drain was broken or blocked....

As expected, the silicone injections did not repair the drain.

Time to get out your pickaxe.

Don't allow your "damp expert" anywhere near your house again.

 

[JohnD]

And I see another downpipe. Would I be right in guessing that it is close to another wet patch?