Wet window walls. Advice sought please

[Vass88]

Hi,

My south facing front of the house has been subjected to all this rain.

The walls inside the front windows are saturated on both sides, but not at the top of the window, the plaster is wet, causing the paint to flake off.
I've checked the sealant around the upvc windows, seems intact
I think it's simply the bricks have become saturated and cannot dry out in time before the next onslaught of bad weather.

Q. Anything I can do now?
Or, when it finally drys(September?) can I coat the bricks with breathable water seal or something similar?
(Pointing may need doing too)

Any advice appreciated.
Many thanks

 

[Flyboytim]

The installers of the UPVC windows have possibly left uninsulated voids around the window frame and have just used sealant to close the gap In effect, there is a cold area communication between the outside and internal window reveals which then get cold, and drenched with condensation. The windows themselves may not get much condensation if the double glazing unit is good.

If you can get the glazing company to rectify it under guarantee, do so, but don't hold your breath.

I the wet reveals are hollow-sounding plasterboard, it may be possible to inject polyurethane foam to fill the void, but there also may be unclosed cavity walls that the expanding foam just gets lost into.

So wipe off the moisture each morning, and if you have a fan, point it at the window to make sure it has moving air over it.

If your bricks are saturated ( unlikely), if you drill into one, the stuff the drill gets out will be like mud or clay, if dust comes out, then the brick is dry.

 

[Vass88]

Hmm, I can pick the cement out between the bricks, it's sodden and clay like now, not dust.

The bricks are saturated they really are

We used to have water pouring into the porch from the same wet bricks, a small pitch roof over the porch sorted this.

Dunno if this helps.

 

[Flyboytim]

If sodden and clay-like, it is old lime mortar, not cement - it will get wet, so it sheds water off the outside wall in driving rain. It then will nor absorb any more.

The drill test is into the middle of the brick, especially on the inner leaf to rule out sodden bricks from penetrating, rising or damp from a leak, and to confirm that the damp is only surface deep.

On the up side, the mortar will be easy to rake out and re-point. Over the last 20 years, opinions are shifting towards re-pointing with a mix similar to the original lime mortar, rather than a more impervious cement/sand mortar mix. This will allow the wall to breathe, shed moisture more evenly, and suffer less from cold weather damage and movement, and require re-pointing less often. Impervious pointing seems to keep moisture trapped in the wall, rather than letting it out.

 

[Vass88]

Awesome thanks

Seems obvious now, drill the brick and see

I'll do this tomorrow

Thanks

 

[Vass88]