Need opinions - is it possible vertical DPC has failed?

[VerticalTobe]

My long standing battles with renovating my property continue

The house has cavity walls but somehow rain water is bridging it and causing major damp patches around the windows and doors.

All the windows and doors were replaced last year but if the spurs the guy was wearing were any bigger he would have killed the horse he rode up on with puncture wounds. So, getting him back is not an option (I wouldn't have him back on my property if he was the one paying me) and I've tried various ways to fix this myself.

So far I've re-sealed the windows and re-done the render to the reveals with water proofer in the mix, but that hasn't stopped it - the house dried out over the summer but with the recent bad weather the water is coming back in and on windows it wasn't even doing it t before (the problem is confined to the front and one gable end which catch the brunt of the driving rain).

The next thought is that somehow (either from the guy fitting the windows and doors or some other means) that the DPC has failed.

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• VerticalTobe
• 13 Jan 2015
• 1

Untitled

• VerticalTobe
• 13 Jan 2015
• 1

Untitled

• VerticalTobe
• 13 Jan 2015
• 1

Untitled

• VerticalTobe
• 13 Jan 2015
• 1

I know it's virtually impossible to tell but from some photos but does that look at all likely from these images?

I've had someone out who suggested if it is this then the window can be taken out and the DPC corrected before refitting the window - I didn't think that was possible without some major work to take out bricks and propping up?

 

[foxhole]

Looks like a similar problem.
http://www.diynot.com/forums/windows-doors/damp-around-window-frame.423406/

 

[Gazman16]

Bottom corner leaks look a bit more like this problem
http://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/upvc-window-reveals-damp-patches-bottom-corner.423643/

Or it may all be getting in from above and working its way down, There does seem to be some leaking above it for sure.

Can you post some pics from outside. Showing the head of the window (close up to see the sealent) and anything above the window and finally the roof area above the window.

 

[VerticalTobe]

I'm back again and totally fed up / lost.

The guy who claimed they could apparently fix this changed hid mind. He reckoned whoever fitted the windows couldn't have foamed them in properly and reassessed that the solution was to hack the internal plaster off (and the window render), re-foam it and then trim the windows internally before water proof rendering the outer reveals. I was sceptical to say the least, but I thought I'd give it a go.

When he hacked the plaster off it confirmed there was DPC between the windows (I could see it for myself) and so he was even more convinced this was just a case of not being foamed properly. The day after he did it, it rained and lo and behold there was no water... until two weeks later when it started coming in again.

I've now had another builder look at it who says that :

- there's no question about it, the windows need taking fully out, disc cutting to insert a new DPC and then wrapping about an inch of the DPC back on the inside to prevent water bridging

but

- he can't guarantee that will fix the problem until I have the whole of the outside rendered.

That last one is a massive job that's going to cost an arm and a leg. So some questions if anyone can help

1) I thought the render on cavity walls was pretty much cosmetic and didn't serve any real purpose in water protection? Even if the rendering was blown or cracked then surely it shouldn't be breaching the cavity around the windows?

2) No one else seems to really have heard about wrapping DPC around UPVC windows in this way. Is this actually something that's supposed to be done?

3) Is it possible that this is getting in from above? The wooden soffit and fascia's aren't great but don't look too bad - is it possible during prolonged rain that it is somehow getting under them, tracking down the external wall and collecting on the heads or reveals? Or would I be expecting to see much worse damp all along the walls before that would happen?

 

[Gazman16]

We still need pics of the outside.

This may have nothing to do with the windows. Im about 90% sure the damp patch above the window will be a leak from higher up somewhere, And that could also be running down causing the other damp patch's.

Most houses don't have vertical DPC's and they are fine.

Without seeing the outside I can only guess, but assuming this is an upstairs window the first thing I would do is get up on a ladder and take a couple of roof tiles off to check the condition of the felt.
Old felt quite often shrinks and cracks at the edges which lets water into the soffits, It can then make its way down the cavity's. If this is the case its an easy and cheap fix with some felt support trays.