Water leaking near the front door

[pleeljm]

Hi all,

We bought a house (1960’s semi detached) few days ago and just found out that rain leaks inside and outside the top of the front door frame area. Please see the photos outside and inside the areas.
When it rains, we can actually watch water coming out through the mortar (outside) where some chunks of materials formed there. Inside, water also leaks between the ceiling and top of the front door frame. I poured a bucket of water onto the roof (no hose due to the recent ban), but no water leaks for now!

Could I have some advice on the suspected origin/source of the leak please? It’s our first home and would like to repair it sooner rather than later!

Kind regards,
J

 

[Mr Chibs]

I will have a guess... presume there are no cavity trays being of 1960's construction and water is leaking into the inner and outer skin of brickwork.

Have you been into the loft to see if there is and sign of water ingress?

Presume again you are on bitumen felt under the roof tiles... has it disintegrated at the bottom near the guttering?

Apart from obvious entry points, water can make it's way in via capillary action.

 

[foxhole]

No underckoak at verge( but lots of cracks and gaps) so rain can enter the soffit where is runs back to wall to create a waterfall over the front door.

 

[HERTS P&D]

What did the survey say?

Andy

 

[pleeljm]

I will have a guess... presume there are no cavity trays being of 1960's construction and water is leaking into the inner and outer skin of brickwork.

Have you been into the loft to see if there is and sign of water ingress?

Presume again you are on bitumen felt under the roof tiles... has it disintegrated at the bottom near the guttering?

Apart from obvious entry points, water can make it's way in via capillary action.

Thank you for your reply, Mr Chibs. I just had a look at the loft and there’s no obvious water ingress in the visible area (maybe down there where it was too dark and far from the loft in this type of roof). There was the bitumen felt, so it may be helping keep the loft dry, but I couldn’t see the end bit due to the above reason.

 

[pleeljm]

No underckoak at verge( but lots of cracks and gaps) so rain can enter the soffit where is runs back to wall to create a waterfall over the front door.

Thanks a lot for the information. I should check it with a bucket of water tomorrow.

 

[pleeljm]

What did the survey say?

Andy

Hi Andy, the survey said (before completion) there seems to be rising dampness around the front door and he was worried about the floor rather than the roof. He did report a small number of cracks and chips but thought to be ok given the age of the building (and with the underlying felt). I may need to call a roofing contractor to have a look, but slightly worried about the potential scaffolding cost!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Hi Andy, the survey said (before completion) there seems to be rising dampness around the front door and he was worried about the floor rather than the roof.

Your photos are of the upper part of the door, that is not rising damp, but if you post some photos of that as well....?

 

[pleeljm]

Your photos are of the upper part of the door, that is not rising damp, but if you post some photos of that as well....?

Hi Harry, that’s a good point! but unfortunately I don’t have the photo now. The surveyor measured the moisture of skirting boards near the door (which was high) and spotted some small stains on the wall around the boards and became suspicious of the damp along with the salt formation on the brick outside.

 

[Odds]

Have you checked to see if rain water is spilling over from the guttering and into gaps behind?
The angle on the corner may collect leaves and crud to allow water to back-up and cause water damage above the door, then spread through the brickwork.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Hi Harry, that’s a good point! but unfortunately I don’t have the photo now. The surveyor measured the moisture of skirting boards near the door (which was high) and spotted some small stains on the wall around the boards and became suspicious of the damp along with the salt formation on the brick outside.

What the surveyor assumed to be rising damp, might well be the rain water spilling down from above the door and collecting at the lowest point. Your priority is to deal with that problem above the door, then see what happens to the 'rising damp'. Buy your self a cheap damp meter, if you don't have one, they are not expensive.

 

[Pat ex]

The damp above the door is probably condensation.

 

[pleeljm]

Thanks everyone for all the replies. I started getting quotes to estimate the job needed to stop the leak! Just had a quote from a roofing company yesterday saying the whole roof (front and rear) needs replacing due to the age, but would wait and see what other companies say! Will update in a new thread!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Just had a quote from a roofing company yesterday saying the whole roof (front and rear) needs replacing due to the age, but would wait and see what other companies say! Will update in a new thread!

That seems a bit excessive, when what you have seems to be in pretty fair condition. Maybe they were short of work, I would suggest you seek alternative quotes.

Some while ago I requested a quote to deal with a tiny amount of damp on my chimney, where it entered passed through my loft space. My own suspicion was that the pots just required the flaunching to be redone. The expensive quote suggested the entire chimney needed to be taken down and rebuilt, so I had another guy take a look, he agreed that reflaunching would fix it and he could do it there and then. No more ingress since then and at a cost of just a few pounds.

 

[Odds]

Thanks everyone for all the replies. I started getting quotes to estimate the job needed to stop the leak! Just had a quote from a roofing company yesterday saying the whole roof (front and rear) needs replacing due to the age, but would wait and see what other companies say! Will update in a new thread!

Shop around. I had cause to find a roofer recently to do a small job and one of 'em tried to sell me a scare story that would've cost £1800 - only needed to spend £250 in the end.