Hi,
I have noticed that mould was forming on the wall of our dinning room and was slowly growing. As a result I decided to investigate to see if I could locate the cause. Please keep in mind I am a novice but due to having no job at the moment I need to do the work myself.
My intention was to remove the top lairs of plaster/plasterboard until I reached the brickwork. Once I reached the brickwork I was going to remove a small section of the brick and have a look in the cavity and perhaps fill the cavity with smoke and look outside to see where it was escaping.
When I removed the plaster & plasterboard on the affected area I was surprised to see that 1 lair of brickwork had been removed from a large area under the window, which has me worried as I don't know if this will cause structural problems. In addition there was a small hole in the second lair of brickwork and I believe this is the place the water is travelling from outside to inside.
***I have included pictures of the area at the bottom of my post.***
When I looked and felt in the cavity I can feel rubble and foam (this is just below the window ledge) and I reckon this is creating a bridge between the outer and inner walls and is letting moisture/water travel to the inside of my house.
I have not actually identified the exact source of the water and have yet to put smoke in the cavity but I thought it best to seek advice before continuing. My intention is to identify the source of the problem, fix that, replace the brickwork I removed, put plasterboard over the brickwork by dotting and dabbing it and then plater over the plasterboard to get a nice finish.
So here are my questions and I would be really grateful for your expert opinions.
1. Will my smoke method identify holes in the exterior wall?
2. Do I need to remove the rubble and foam in the cavity?
3. If I remove the foam will this cause my window ledge to drop?
4. Is it safe for me to remove a few bricks from the inner lair so I can clear the cavity and get a better look?
5. Do I need to reinstate the brick work that has already been removed?
6. Do I need to remove all plaster and plasterboard on this wall or just from the affected area?
7. Do I need to apply a damp proof treatment to the affected area? If so what do you recommend?
Thanks for any advice you can provide.
http://i61.tinypic.com/fu702h.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/xgi0k9.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/vxfazs.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/fkmro3.jpg
I have noticed that mould was forming on the wall of our dinning room and was slowly growing. As a result I decided to investigate to see if I could locate the cause. Please keep in mind I am a novice but due to having no job at the moment I need to do the work myself.
My intention was to remove the top lairs of plaster/plasterboard until I reached the brickwork. Once I reached the brickwork I was going to remove a small section of the brick and have a look in the cavity and perhaps fill the cavity with smoke and look outside to see where it was escaping.
When I removed the plaster & plasterboard on the affected area I was surprised to see that 1 lair of brickwork had been removed from a large area under the window, which has me worried as I don't know if this will cause structural problems. In addition there was a small hole in the second lair of brickwork and I believe this is the place the water is travelling from outside to inside.
***I have included pictures of the area at the bottom of my post.***
When I looked and felt in the cavity I can feel rubble and foam (this is just below the window ledge) and I reckon this is creating a bridge between the outer and inner walls and is letting moisture/water travel to the inside of my house.
I have not actually identified the exact source of the water and have yet to put smoke in the cavity but I thought it best to seek advice before continuing. My intention is to identify the source of the problem, fix that, replace the brickwork I removed, put plasterboard over the brickwork by dotting and dabbing it and then plater over the plasterboard to get a nice finish.
So here are my questions and I would be really grateful for your expert opinions.
1. Will my smoke method identify holes in the exterior wall?
2. Do I need to remove the rubble and foam in the cavity?
3. If I remove the foam will this cause my window ledge to drop?
4. Is it safe for me to remove a few bricks from the inner lair so I can clear the cavity and get a better look?
5. Do I need to reinstate the brick work that has already been removed?
6. Do I need to remove all plaster and plasterboard on this wall or just from the affected area?
7. Do I need to apply a damp proof treatment to the affected area? If so what do you recommend?
Thanks for any advice you can provide.
http://i61.tinypic.com/fu702h.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/xgi0k9.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/vxfazs.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/fkmro3.jpg
