Internal Water Leak or External Water Ingress - Help Please

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Hi;

This weekend we noticed a damp patch on a new carpet, on closer inspection it looks like the carpet grippers may have damaged a water pipe or where the concrete has been cracked it has indirectly damaged the pipe?

The area under the carpet does not seem to be getting any wetter though?

We had a plumber round who thinks that if it were a damaged pipe the carpet would be get wetter and wetter and not as it currently is.

It may possibly be that the water has seeped through from the outside.

The property is 1930 mains water coming in from the mains supply under the front door and under a concrete floor branching off under the stairs to the combi boiler and into the kitchen (all pipes are under the old concrete.

Its a brick built cavity wall built on a layer of slate pieced with a DPC between the two.

Outside the property is an old french drain which the next door neighbour had filled over with concrete to build a shed breaching the DPC. About 10 years ago, when we bought the house, on advice to sort out a damp problem, I re-opened the French drain by removing the concrete, the damp got better.

Over the years the next door neighbour has constantly kept filling the gap behind his shed with building off cuts, drain pipe plastic sheeting etc, which I have just removed thinking that this may have caused the water ingress.

On looking further there are a couple of areas that are in line with the internal problem where water catching / pooling on the rubbish could have seeped through - is this the possible cause?

Can I fill the gaps in the slate with mortar and if so what mix, I have standard cement and sand?

Should the entire slate are be rendered over with sand / cement (as it is in some other areas) or will this stop it breathing?
GALLERY]
 
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whats that cable doing there?!

are you saying the damp deffo only started when the carpet was laid? were the gripper rods there before? odd that they are nailed down to concrete - all the ones in our gaff are glued. If its a ch pipe then your system will have lost pressure - has it?

sort out the outside anyway as it needs to be done - just dig down past the dpc by 6".
 
whats that cable doing there?!

are you saying the damp deffo only started when the carpet was laid? were the gripper rods there before? odd that they are nailed down to concrete - all the ones in our gaff are glued. If its a ch pipe then your system will have lost pressure - has it?

sort out the outside anyway as it needs to be done - just dig down past the dpc by 6".

Cable is a phone cable.

I was not here when they laid the carpet (it was about 5 months ago) but we have only just noticed the wet patch.

Yes they should have glued the gripper and not nailed it.

There are no CH pipes under ground.

When you say sort out the outside - how? Fill the gaps with Lime and Mortar? Render over the stone work?

There appears to be a Bitchumin? DPC between the stone layer and the Brickwork.
 
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The dpc appears to be being bridged by mortar/render as well as soil. Clear that alleyway or whatever it is and let the wall breathe as a first job.

The pipes in our screed are set just below the level, so even small nails could pierce them, so its possible that has happened to you if you believe a pipe is in that corner.
Other experts will be along to offer advice on what to do to the wall outside.
 

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