Leak in external wall

[Glastoun]

We have water coming into our porch - not a huge amount, but enough to make me worry about how much water is coming through the external wall but NOT making it down into the porch, and where it might be going....

The porch is built into the house, i.e. above the porch is the front bedroom. Most walls are cavity but I'm not sure about around the porch, it may just be single skin.

In a storm last week a small area of render fell off (or just a layer of paint? see photo), and parts of the render aren't in great condition, particularly around the sticky-outy-brickline halfway up the house. The windowsill in the front bedroom has the metal bar showing but I don't think this is the source of the leak as there is no sign of moisture anywhere in that bedroom, walls nor floor.

So,

1) What type of render is on the house at the moment? If I wanted it patched up, I have no idea what to ask for

2) Is the render likely to be the problem, or if water is also getting through an external wall is that more serious?

3) What needs doing to the first floor windowsill?

I'm not averse to taking down some of the ceiling plaster in the porch to have a look, but don't really want to be taking up floorboards upstairs or drilling into external walls at this stage.


Inside of porch, small amounts of water seems to seep down most of the left and far walls from the ceiling:

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External walls, not great condition:

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Top layer that came off in a storm:

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[Chri5]

Picture 3, above the damage area is that water staining on the painted render?

Have you looked outside in heavy rain and checked the guttering isn't overflowing due to blockage, damage or a failed seal / join.

I'd also look at the quality of seal between the top of the tiles at mid level to make sure there isn't any areas that rain water running down the wall could break through.

Final thought, has an overflow pipe being working overtime anywhere and allowed excess water flow down the walls?

 

[Glastoun]

Picture 3, above the damage area is that water staining on the painted render?

Have you looked outside in heavy rain and checked the guttering isn't overflowing due to blockage, damage or a failed seal / join.

I'd also look at the quality of seal between the top of the tiles at mid level to make sure there isn't any areas that rain water running down the wall could break through.

Final thought, has an overflow pipe being working overtime anywhere and allowed excess water flow down the walls?

Nothing to do with guttering as far as I can tell - never noticed any drips coming down the walls, and the guttering was cleared last year by a roofer who said it was really new (done by previous owner, we've only had the house a year).

Will get a ladder to check the tile seals, as that looks the most likely at the moment.

Is there a risk that water would have got into the cavities along the external wall to the left?

 

[catlad]

Was that porch open plan when the house was built and the windows added later?

 

[Glastoun]

I don't know - 1930s, I presume it was built like this as the blockwork around the porch is exactly the same as the ground floor of the rest of the house, so I can't see how it would have existed without the windows in their existing positions.

Someone else suggested that the ridge of tiles at first floor level could be the source of the problem, so I'm getting a ladder tomorrow to investigate further.

 

[Glastoun]

Okay, so now that it's tomorrow ;o) I got some photos of the externals, and took a corner of the plaster out from the inside of the porch. It's pretty minging up there, black wood and possibly black masonry, and it feels wet. (it's been raining for 24 hours)

I keep saying porch, but it's actually underneath the 3rd bedroom, it doesn't stick out from the rest of the house. So I'm concerned about the first floor joists above. We've started getting a pink-plaster style patch in the internal hallway now.

What steps should I take next to investigate further? (e.g. take the whole porch ceiling down to see what's going on?)

And if it's Serious Stuff who should I get involved to fix it - a standard builder, or some kind of damp-fighting company (which I'm guessing might have more knowledge, but be more expensive).

More images -

Minor damp patches on the porch ceiling, the first one isn't on an external wall so the moisture must be travelling away from the external walls:

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Plaster removed from corner of porch ceiling - are the thin strips of wood lathes, from a lathe and plaster ceiling?

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Couple of shots of the outside - paint and render doesn't seem damp itself, but it's eroded over the years so I'm guessing this is where the moisture is getting in:

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