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Asking here as this has come from looking into roof repair and/or replacement so trying to ascertain if I do need to deal with the roof.
We have lived in our house (a 1930's semi) for over 25 years with no problem. We moved to Thailand for a few years and when we got back we saw there was damage to the chimney flaunching (most had broken off in the storms), so water could have been getting in for up to 3 years.
The chimney breast was removed maybe 30 years ago and next door don't have one either. We noticed damp patches in the wall near to where the chimney breast would have been so we assumed water was penetrating between the two houses and finding its way through weak spots.
In the dining room directly below, we had a water marks around 6 inch high but only where the fireplace would have been, nowhere else (photo attached).
So, we had both chimneys recapped, flashing checked and reset and the chimneys pointed. it seems to be a good job but didn't fix the problem
Pics attached of the chimney in question.
The damp patches seemed to improve but returned after some heavy rain so we assumed it was a botched job and got further roofer out....oh dear.
We got told to just replace the whole roof for £6000+, or to replace all the flashing for £500, even take the chimney stack down for £1500. Only the 'full roof' guy 'promised' this would solve the problem. The rest weren't so sure, most wouldn't even go up and look for fear of doing some damage.
One guy looked and said, I don't think its your roof mate, it looks like hydroscopic salts from the old chimney. I Showed these pics to a damp proofing company and they said its rising damp. I just told them the mark has gone downstairs and they said it cant be rising damp if a dehumidifier improves it that quick.
So, I bought a dehumidifier and, after 6-8 hours the wet mark is almost completely gone downstairs and the bedroom wall, aside from a little discolouring from the persistent damp is much improved. Humidity in the bedroom was over 70% and now its at 55, downstairs was in the 60's.
The idea now is to wait until it rains and see if any of this returns, which (I think) should indicate its penetrating damp. If not, we know its ripoff the plaster back to the wall and damproof it all, or learn to live with a dehumidifier keeping it in check. We have just renovated/decorated the house so really don't want it all ripping out
We are exhausted from the various quotes, suggestions and differing opinions so would appreciate any thoughts you may have, especially if you have had similar experiences. We just want someone honest and reliable to tell us what the problem is likely to be rather than trying to sell a full roof replacement in the 'hope' that will fix it.
We have lived in our house (a 1930's semi) for over 25 years with no problem. We moved to Thailand for a few years and when we got back we saw there was damage to the chimney flaunching (most had broken off in the storms), so water could have been getting in for up to 3 years.
The chimney breast was removed maybe 30 years ago and next door don't have one either. We noticed damp patches in the wall near to where the chimney breast would have been so we assumed water was penetrating between the two houses and finding its way through weak spots.
In the dining room directly below, we had a water marks around 6 inch high but only where the fireplace would have been, nowhere else (photo attached).
So, we had both chimneys recapped, flashing checked and reset and the chimneys pointed. it seems to be a good job but didn't fix the problem
Pics attached of the chimney in question.
The damp patches seemed to improve but returned after some heavy rain so we assumed it was a botched job and got further roofer out....oh dear.
We got told to just replace the whole roof for £6000+, or to replace all the flashing for £500, even take the chimney stack down for £1500. Only the 'full roof' guy 'promised' this would solve the problem. The rest weren't so sure, most wouldn't even go up and look for fear of doing some damage.
One guy looked and said, I don't think its your roof mate, it looks like hydroscopic salts from the old chimney. I Showed these pics to a damp proofing company and they said its rising damp. I just told them the mark has gone downstairs and they said it cant be rising damp if a dehumidifier improves it that quick.
So, I bought a dehumidifier and, after 6-8 hours the wet mark is almost completely gone downstairs and the bedroom wall, aside from a little discolouring from the persistent damp is much improved. Humidity in the bedroom was over 70% and now its at 55, downstairs was in the 60's.
The idea now is to wait until it rains and see if any of this returns, which (I think) should indicate its penetrating damp. If not, we know its ripoff the plaster back to the wall and damproof it all, or learn to live with a dehumidifier keeping it in check. We have just renovated/decorated the house so really don't want it all ripping out
We are exhausted from the various quotes, suggestions and differing opinions so would appreciate any thoughts you may have, especially if you have had similar experiences. We just want someone honest and reliable to tell us what the problem is likely to be rather than trying to sell a full roof replacement in the 'hope' that will fix it.
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