Dpc

[Charlie George]

Measured it & it comes out where top of brickwork is , so I scraped away a bit of paint & you can clearly see dpc.

Hopefully these pics are a bit better.

Level with internal FFL then ?

 

[5oysterman2]

Level with internal FFL then ?

Yes

 

[5oysterman2]

Removed a couple of blocks & behind it was full of expanding foam(pic 1)

Removed as much as I could & where it attached to outside wall was very damp. I cleaned out quite a lot of mortar, broken block/brick & foam/CWI.

If I put my hand down into the cavity LHS as you look at wall i removed CWI which was very very wet.

The CWI to the left & right of the opening above the dpc are dry, only wet if i reach down into the cavity.

I am looking at replacing CWI in the near future anyway but is there a way of checking whether the render has had it's day too.

I thought about using a dehumidifier to dry out anything that was damp in the cavity & then wait until we have rain & see if any does come down or is that too simplistic?

 

[ree]

OP,
Well done for your continuing investigation & finding the damp CWI & rubble that I referred to in post#8.
If you remove block down to FFL level then it would be clear if there now is a DPC at that level or does the DPM go under th blockwork?

You need to remove as much rubble as possible, and to remove all the reachable CWI - you could open the wall up further to the right? Wall openings should be a few feet apart for structural safety.
The render looks fine but definitely observe during rain - or when the exterior is being hose pipe sprayed.

Despite the render looking fine moisture is still maybe penetrating the wall? I think moisture is rising in the cavity rubble & CWI.
Has the gully trap been cleaned out?

 

[5oysterman2]

OP,
Well done for your continuing investigation & finding the damp CWI & rubble that I referred to in post#8.
If you remove block down to FFL level then it would be clear if there now is a DPC at that level or does the DPM go under th blockwork?

You need to remove as much rubble as possible, and to remove all the reachable CWI - you could open the wall up further to the right? Wall openings should be a few feet apart for structural safety.
The render looks fine but definitely observe during rain - or when the exterior is being hose pipe sprayed.

Despite the render looking fine moisture is still maybe penetrating the wall? I think moisture is rising in the cavity rubble & CWI.
Has the gully trap been cleaned out?

Gully trap is clear.
Must admit i was concerned about taking anymore blocks out, thinking it might weaken the wall too much.

Will get on it again today. Didn't check the DPC/DPM DOH.

Will do that later

 

[5oysterman2]

DPC is slightly higher than the internal one, which was below a row of bricks below first row of blocks if that makes sense.

 

[ree]

OP, So, now we can clearly see that the membrane is acting as the DPC, & all you now need to do is clear out whatever rubble & CWI you feel needs to go. Leave a clear cavity for 150mm below FFL.

The latest pics also confirm that the outside skin is blockwork that was built on a few brick courses and then rendered over.
Moisture might continue penetrating through the outside skin - but where you've cleared out CWI moisture will presumably drop or evaporate in the cavity not on your new decorated interior surface?
I've not noticed any wall ties but it doesn't seem to matter.

 

[5oysterman2]

OP, So, now we can clearly see that the membrane is acting as the DPC, & all you now need to do is clear out whatever rubble & CWI you feel needs to go. Leave a clear cavity for 150mm below FFL.

The latest pics also confirm that the outside skin is blockwork that was built on a few brick courses and then rendered over.
Moisture might continue penetrating through the outside skin - but where you've cleared out CWI moisture will presumably drop or evaporate in the cavity not on your new decorated interior surface?
I've not noticed any wall ties but it doesn't seem to matter.

Cheers Ree, many thanks. I'm going to wait a few days as expecting heavy rain later tomorrow & Friday. Hopefully might be able to see if there are any issues.

Anything i need/should do before bricking it back up?

 

[ree]

Presumably you have some temporary support in the openings?

 

[5oysterman2]

Presumably you have some temporary support in the openings?

Yes. Using off cuts of wood