Fix or leave gaps under window?

[Meekyman]

Hi Folks,

We live in a Victorian house and have some damp in one room. The plaster (around 1 sq ft) peeled off like a banana skin! We are currently letting the brickwork dry out before re-covering and decorating and are trying to find and fix the cause.

We can see daylight through the roof when up in the attic and so a roofer will look at the roof tiles.

We also noticed some decent gaps around the window of this room (see photos).

I am led to believe that houses built in Victorian times used lime mortar and relied upon draughts/bad fitting windows/doors/etc to move moisture out of the house. So, should we fix these gaps around the window or are they useful for ventilation? If we fix, OK with cement mortar or does it have to be lime mortar? What about the peeled off plaster inside - seal the brickwork with PVA/water or just use lime plaster?

Cheers

Graham

Untitled

• Meekyman
• 14 Sep 2014
• 1

Window where mortar seems OK

Untitled

• Meekyman
• 14 Sep 2014
• 1

Where mortar appears to be missing

 

[Burnerman]

Fill those gaps with some silicone sealer......it will stop water running in beneath.
Sorry to say though I think it's a wee bit late, as the timbers don't look to be in particularly good order.
John