Water Pouring into House (maybe through Brickwork??)

[smittydj]

Hi guys, hoping for a pointer in the right direction with this problem that is driving me to my wits end....

I will try and explain as best as can with my level of knowledge.

I have been having water come into my house where the hallway extension meets the original front of the property. It was originally noticed coming in through where the ceiling of the hallway meets the original part of the house.

I have cut out 2 inspection holes to see where the water is coming in from and have included some pictures of what i see - see end of this post for link. (i will also put up some photos of the exterior of the house as it is too dark to take them now)

Tonight with the massive downpour we had, we have had a lot of water come into the lounge from above the bay window. This has only happened 3-4 times in the last few years.

I had the small roof done 2 years ago, the front of the house re pointed a couple of months ago, also a lead soaker was put in where the main ingress of water is coming in & I have dug out and 're-leadmated' around half of the leadwork / flashing to see if this cured the problem. None of these appear to have worked

My question is have any of you seen anything similar and if so what is the likely cause? Porus bricks? Something else?

If you need any more info, please ask and I will do my level best to answer.

Any help would be much appreciated as this has been going on for too long now and I am losing the will to live with it.

Thanks in advance,

Dan.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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Image taken from right side inspection hole, looking up into roof area.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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Image taken from left hand inspection hole - looking left into roof area.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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Image taken from right side inspection hole, looking up into roof area.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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Image taken from left side inspection hole, looking up into roof area.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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image showing water coming in - taken looking up from right side inspection hole.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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image showing water coming in - taken looking up from right side inspection hole.

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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image showing water coming in - taken looking to the right from inside the right side inspection...

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• smittydj
• 8 Feb 2014
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Front of house - main house with the extension part which has previously been added.

 

[ree]

Its difficult to help you with the info that you've supplied.

Most of the pics are meaningless to me because i cant put them in any context.
Where did you cut the inspection holes?
Why not number and include little explanations at each interior pic, and indicate where its located on the gable pics?

Your PVC barge boards, fascia and rainwater goods appear new? So does the undercloak and undercloak pointing.
Is the roof relatively new?

The gable brickwork has been re-pointed in patches but in other patches, esp. on the right, the mortar appears to have been washed out of the beds.
Have the bedroom window frames been recently replaced?

 

[smittydj]

Thnaks for your reply!!Hi, sorry i was doing it last night late on and just wanted to get the bones of what was happening on the post. I will put a few more pics and a better explanation on tonight as I am just in the process of looking at the problem again at the minute.

I know little about when the extension was built or by who as we bought it like this 4 years ago.

The photo of the house is an old one that i found prior to it being re-pointed, i wil put a new pic on too. I will also put comments on each photo to indicate where it is taken from.

Below is a photo of inside the hallway showing the 2 inspection holes i cut out. They holes are where the old house and the extension part join.

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• smittydj
• 9 Feb 2014
• 1

The 2 inspection holes - inside extension where the old and new builds meet.

Also, is there any chance of claiming for this on buildings insurance?

 

[themiddleagedun]

It can only be water getting through the flashings were it's tucked into the
mortar beds, are they pointed with mortar, or sealed with lead sealant. Or else, soaking down through the brickwork due to lack of cavity trays. (it appears to be stepped flashings? so no trays present? With the wet & windy weather lately this would seem the most likely cause.

 

[smittydj]

Thanks for your reply - I attempted to re-point the flashings, the old lead sealant was a bit cracked - i dug out all of the old lead sealant in it, allowed it to dry (as it was wet behind) and filled it full and 'smoothed it off. I did this on the right side of the pitch (from ridge down) to see if this was where the water was coming in from. It passed the water soak test i did for 10+ minutes. I will be replacing all of the lead pointing around the flashings all across.the roof on the whole length of the house.

I wondered if it is the brickwork - maybe the tray is my next option - i do not know if there are trays, i would assume not.

What would be the likely cost of getting trays put in? Also, would using a brick sealer such as Thompsons or Storm Dry or similar be of benefit?

Cheers,

Dan.

 

[stuart45]

Brickwork will normally allow water through in these conditions, so trays are needed.
A water test is more to pinpoint where water may be coming from, rather than proving the leak is fixed.

 

[themiddleagedun]

If you are re-seling the flashings make sure you use the proper stuff-lead sealant.
The water seal may be worth a try...?

If water still comes in you're looking at fitting cavity trays. Not a big job really, a decent builder would do it in a day. looks to be about 8 trays each side required.

 

[smittydj]

A water test is more to pinpoint where water may be coming from, rather than proving the leak is fixed.

Thanks for your reply

I did the hosepipe test that to try and eliminate it being around the flashings and that my fix on that part worked - it did leak in when i wet around the flashings (almost instantly) so i figured i must have a 2 part problem once that was sorted.

Dan

 

[smittydj]

If you are re-sealing the flashings make sure you use the proper stuff-lead sealant.
The water seal may be worth a try...?.

Thanks.

The stuff i have used is Cromar Lead Seal - is that stuff ok? It was all they had at my local builders merchant.

Dan.

 

[smittydj]

I have included some pics of the front of the house - the brick / mortar etc looks really wet in places. What do you think?

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[limerockconstruction]

Bricks are porous end of story - you have a serious lack of cavity trays and this will be the problem. What troubles me from the picture with the wires in, is that there is some form of DPC skirt in there, but its been cut off and is torn....this requires an explanation.

 

[smittydj]

Bricks are porous end of story - you have a serious lack of cavity trays and this will be the problem. What troubles me from the picture with the wires in, is that there is some form of DPC skirt in there, but its been cut off and is torn....this requires an explanation.

Forgive my ignorance - How do you mean an explanation?

As far as i know i haven't done it - i have packed it with insulation a few times to prevent draughts etc but that shouldnt cause the rips / tears. I would assume it has always been like that. Does it need replacing / repair?

 

[limerockconstruction]

On my phone it's a bit tricky to tell. But people don't just bed a flappy piece of DPC into a wall - it needs to be bedded into the outside skin to send water away....