Plastering/rendering/building help needed-complete novice!!

Floozie

Can anyone give me advice on how to approach various tasks that need to be done and in what order to the front of my north facing bungalow situated on a steep hill in a high rainfall area which has a front lounge and a front bedroom.
Both rooms look as if they might need some plastering work done around the windows as when I tap against the wall it sounds hollow. It is worse on the front bedroom window area, the wallpaper I notice is starting to come off the wall behind the radiator-is this damp?? On the top corner of the front bedroom window wall which is at the top side of the bungalow the coving is starting to come away from the wall-is this damp? We had fascia put around the bungalow around 6 years ago so there cannot be a problem with a leaky old gutter. Would it be advisable to get the window walls replastered and if so how long would it be before we could redecorate?
In the front outside of the bungalow there are cracks but as they are not deep I am guessing they are due to movement. We had new windows put in the front of the bungalow 4 weeks ago as we felt we had to make a start somewhere with trying to improve the front of the bungalow. When this was being done some render came out of the top of the window so I am guessing we need to rerender the front of the bungalow as well then paint. Beneath the window sills there has always been what appears to be damp patches - are these anything to worry about? We do not know whether we also need to rerender the brickwork underneath the windows as there are slight cracks between the bricks-is it worth getting this done at the same time as the other jobs?
Any help/advice gratefully received as we are not knowledgeable and do not want to get ripped off by unscrupulous builders.

Ruski

Regardless of a new fascia it can still be a poor condition underfelt on your roof - unless you had that changed at the same time - I doubt it - not the sort of job that a fascia company will be interested in unless instructed to do so.

So I would lift a few tiles above the problematic windows and have a look at the state of the underfelt - it could well have perished and literally be pouring water into your cavities above the windows.

HTH

Russ

phil24_7

You'll need all of the render repaired (no need to re-render unless it is looking tired or in a bad state) and then painted. Double check the guttering, facias and underfelt to rule it out as it may have been done badly. Make sure the windows have been sealed around properly and make sure the ground level is below the dpc. If you house is old and does not have a dpc, make sure it is either below the hight of the floor joists or it has some kind of drain around the outside (french or linear). Then you will need to let the wall dry out properly before doing internal works.

It may also be worth checking to see if you have cavity wall insulation and checking to see if this is waterlogged at all.

Regards
Phil