Debris in wall cavity - assessment

BlackwellP

I own a ground floor flat and have been experiencing some damp issues with the external walls. A builder removed a couple of bricks to fit vents and add ventiliation however he confirmed that he had to remove a significant amount of debris from the cavity. He is certain that the cavity wall is breached and is causing the damp issues, however the property management company are being difficult in addressing the issue. I want to get somebody to come out and undertake a proper check of the cavity, perhaps removing some bricks or drilling holes to insert cameras and check the extent of the issue. I'm however having difficulty finding somebody on the internet who can do this. The flat is in Kings Heath, south Birmingham - does anybody have any suggestions?

OldFartPlumber

You might try googling " borescope survey walls " that`s the piece of kit that`s used

Furts

Any reputable local Chartered Building Surveyor, or Clerk of Works who has a boroscope can cope with this. Do some research to come up with names, and ask about the boroscope. Do not rely on someone hiring a boroscope - they may not know how to use it!

This will incur costs for you. I am guessing with a report it could be £500.

A good bricklayer could work out a lot cheaper. You pay him to remove the obstructions.

Just beware, if you have cavity wall insulation then reflect - do you really want to go down this route? You could be opening up a can of worms.

LisaLou1982

Do you have cavity wall insulation within the cavity?

Its not unusual to have rubble within the cavity but obviously it poses a problem if you have bridging.

Can you post some photos so we can see the damp patches and how far they span?

atrixblue.-MFR-.

i had this very issue that saw a massive hole develop under high rainfall to my kitchen wall.

cavity wall insulation by vertue is a good idea but it can also aid a bridge in the cavity if there are snobs of cement mix left in there from when it was built on the ties making water run down the inside of the wrong wall the internal wall and then if you have nice fluffy cavity insulation remains damp and wet and this is where your mold spour trouble then ensues.

i had trouble with damp all on west facing walls where driving rains and winds often batter the house from that direction it doesnt help that i am on a exposed mountain top open to elemants.

we had heavy rains relentlessly batter the west facing walls for about 10 days, when i started to notice that water was dripping out from above the back door below the cavity tray, i reported it to our HA, who cited that because the cavity wall insulation had failed and had been removed the previous year, that excess water held in by the london brick type the house i built with and internal breeze blocks getting wet it was just seeping a little bit! and they would have to let it dry out over 2 dry seasons (thats 2 years/summers), i was displeased with the theory that this serveyour from our HA had come up with, so i arranged with my uncle (a builder with 30years plus experience in building homes) and the serveyour's manager to meet at the property.

my uncle turned up with my cousin about 15 mins before, i had also taken photo's of the plaster and breeze block actually starting to crumble exposing the metal support beam and cavity tray, my uncle quickly said that if that is left like that the rain water will continue to travel along the lintle and cavity tray and expose and weaken the whole wall.

the serveyour turned up (i neglected to mention the fact my uncle and his son are builders) and he started with the same babble that the previous one had said (i think they had rehearsed it verse for verse) untill my uncle stepped in and introduced himself and my cousin, and gave him is expert opinion and building regs related to when the house was built (my uncle laid the first built street foundations), looking very red faced the serveyour turned around and blamed it on the insulation company saying that had not completely removed the cavity insulation and they will call them out to get them to borescope the cavity, 2 days later they came out.

took 4 bricks out from gable end where west wall meats NW wall, no inslation in there, he had trouble boreing in above the cavity tray.

so took out bricks as he went to get access for the scope, wich revealed a rather flooded, broken cavity tray with approx 6inches in hight by 10 inches lengh of pure concrete, that has shrunk in the rain rain fallen down the cavity and peirced the cavity tray. it took a mini kangoo to prize it out in chunks, the guy took photo's as he was fed up of the HA slandering his name getting him back to do jobs that was not his doing and trying to claim warranty from him, i also wrote a witness statement out for him to say it was builders concrete in the cavity he charged the HA for the work and completed the job. he also scoped put vent bricks in, and scoped the rest of the 2 walls affected by damp, there lots of snobbed up wall ties in there that he simply took a brick out and tapped the snobs out of the ties.

i havent had damp since.

cyclonebri1

I had damp under a window in our bungalow, took 4 bricks out from the inside, (we were doing other work at the time).

There was a triangle of broken brick and rubble, as wide as the window and from the bottom of the cavity almost up to the window:eek::eek:

I 1/2 barrows full of the stuff. The window was obviously cut in after the original build, and the idlearse filled the cavity below:mad::mad:

Been perfect since.

South123

It may be difficult to see the rubble/debris using a boroscope due to the material being in the cavity.

I would suggest for you to take out a few bricks, just above the damp course and look in the cavity this way

atrixblue.-MFR-.

South123 wrote: »

It may be difficult to see the rubble/debris using a boroscope due to the material being in the cavity.

I would suggest for you to take out a few bricks, just above the damp course and look in the cavity this way

huh?

a borescope has its own lighting with ability to zoom in to places the eye couldnt possibly see with a few removed bricks.

if its blocked by debris then theres the problem!.

South123

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

huh?

a borescope has its own lighting with ability to zoom in to places the eye couldnt possibly see with a few removed bricks.

if its blocked by debris then theres the problem!.

That was just my advice.
Wasn't sure if he had any cavity wall insulation in the cavity as well as rubble.
Have you used a borescope to look into a cavity that is filled with insulation?

atrixblue.-MFR-.

South123 wrote: »

That was just my advice.
Wasn't sure if he had any cavity wall insulation in the cavity as well as rubble.
Have you used a borescope to look into a cavity that is filled with insulation?

depends on type of insulation, beading or fibre wool.

pointless on fibre wool unless your close to the problem area where you push your way through, with beading its a little easier.

with non insulation its a doddle it been done 8 times on my home already they had little issues with insulation with pushing through it, if you have cavity faom boards in there like no new builds its impossible.

they little isues with it when insulation was in there and no issues when they took it out.

cyclonebri1

South123 wrote: »

That was just my advice.
Wasn't sure if he had any cavity wall insulation in the cavity as well as rubble.
Have you used a borescope to look into a cavity that is filled with insulation?

I have to agree with you, it may well prove difficult if any form of cavity wall insulation is involved, if it's foam polystyrene, then :eek::eek: