Damp

olgadapolga

Doozergirl wrote: »

Do you mean they'd built a false wall in front of the actual bad wall?

No, it was just a small piece of cardboard, about the size of a breeze block, that was stuck to the interior wall (the damp one).

I've taken some photos of it all now so will work out how to add them on. We've stripped back the painted layer now so the extent of the damp is clearly visible.

olgadapolga

We think that the guttering may be the problem as there appear to be water stains down the outside walls. We are going to take a look this morning and clear them if necessary. But here are the photos:


This is where the flue enters the house (DH removed the boarding in front of it). It's dry on one side and damp on the other (damp on the right, which leads to the corner of the extension)


This is the air brick in the corner that's damp.




This is the other wall that's affected - the damp also spreads across the top of the patio door


We removed the paint from the one wall to reveal the extent of the damp upwards:



We don't know if the concrete floor is affected yet, I guess that's the next thing to explore once we've checked the gutters.

need_an_answer

I wonder if now you have cleared a lot of the plants that were covering the walls and presumably getting in the way of the guttering,you may have fixed not all but a good part of the problem that's probably been manifesting for years.

Have you seen how rain travels down the guttering since you moved in or as yet its not rained...a good downpour might also help you see whats going on.

Doozergirl

need_an_answer wrote: »

I wonder if now you have cleared a lot of the plants that were covering the walls and presumably getting in the way of the guttering,you may have fixed not all but a good part of the problem that's probably been manifesting for years.

Have you seen how rain travels down the guttering since you moved in or as yet its not rained...a good downpour might also help you see whats going on.

This.

I suspect that the plants in the gutter have caused it to overspill and the water has travelled down across the foliage over the wall. It looks like you need a bit of repointing up in the too corner, perhaps.

Just check, when it's raining, that the guttering isn't leaking anymore.

Leave that wall to dry out a for a good while. The insulation may be soaked too. Might take a while.

The air brick looks like it might have been ventilation for the fire to meet regs.

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

The air brick looks like it might have been ventilation for the fire to meet regs.

That would have been my assessment too. Judging by the flue and the lack of cowl over the air brick, a poor job of installation (would have expected a soot door externally). The air brick can be removed and the wall made good both inside and out - Should reduce the draughts and make the room a little warmer.

olgadapolga

Thank you all for taking time to help me.

It's not rained here since we completed on the house.

The gutter was totally blocked. Lots of moss and dead plant matter, plus there was a large piece of thick black plastic covering the exit to the downpipe. I cleared a bucketful of debris from the gutter altogether. The gutter actually looks to be in good condition (I couldn't see any cracks in it when I brushed it out earlier). The downpipe will need to be replaced before it rains as it's two smaller lengths taped together with black electrical tape. Hmm.

We're going to get rid of the moss on the extension roof asap, especially as the weather is dry and it will just brush away with a stiff brush.

The foliage was up and over the gutter before we cleared it away. It looks as though it's crept into the space above the extension. This was originally a flat roof which had a pitched roof with tiles added on after the extension was built so we are disinclined to pursue that at the moment.

You're right about the pointing in the corner up by the guttering, there's at least 30mm depth missing from there. The mortar that's left is crumbling and damp, so I guess that this needs to dry before raking it out and re-pointing?

The air brick was blocked off with a piece of cardboard (!)

And, lucky us, we discovered some more hidden gems today.

Should I still speak to the surveyor? Is this something that should have been picked up?

markin

Get a dehumidifier running as soon as possible, That is going to take weeks to dry out, It may even be best to knock a small hole on the inside and remove the wet insulation, or just to help it dry out, and check its condition.


You could rent a dehumidifier or just buy.
https://www.argos.co.uk/browse/appliances/fans-heaters-and-dehumidifiers/dehumidifiers/c:29441/

G_M

Lots of good advice above and you are taking sensible steps. It will take a while to dry out though once the cause(s) is/are fixed!

5) Not sure if this is relevant but we had a cavity wall survey carried out on Tuesday and we were told that the insulation had all settled in the lower part of the cavity (which I read could be a problem?).

Well it's cerainly a problem in the sense that the upper part of the wall is no longer insulated which affects heat loss.


But there is a distinct possiblity that the insulation is sodden through. Not sure if it's easy/feasible to remove it as if not it could result in a long-term source of ongoing damp.........

olgadapolga

Well, the good news is that the walls are starting to dry out:



We're clearing up (!) later as DH wants to remove the rest of the fireplace around the flue so we can see how sodden the cavity wall insulation is. Hopefully the flue will be gone tomorrow.

Gutters are clear and this well-constructed downpipe has been replaced with a new, shiny one.



And this was another delight discovered yesterday, hidden in a cupboard. The cistern was hanging on the wall by a single, poorly fitted screw:



We only discovered this whilst clearing some of the virginia creeper from the front of the property and found an overflow that was running water. Oddly enough, when we took the water meter readings on the day we got the keys, we thought it odd that the meter was ticking round despite no water being used. Now we know, and found a small wildlife pond underneath the creeper, complete with frogs and other beasties. The base of the creeper is massive and looks like a coiled up snake, so I have nicknamed it Nagini (purely to add some humour to the situation). And whilst dealing with this leak, we also discovered that there was a free-running water supply to the rear garden that went up from the (seized) stopcock in the kitchen to the loft (where the mice are), across the loft, out of the side of the loft and down the side of the house.


I have accepted that we are, in fact, going to be living in a building site for a while, something I was attempting to avoid as I have a six year old on the loose. The idea was to decorate the house and make it habitable during the month between getting the new house and handing the rental back. Ah well, all the best plans go wrong sometimes.

Will be talking to surveyor next week so get his take on it all.

It's going to be a harder slog than anticipated but should be worth it

AdrianC

The shape of that damp patch is as good a pointer as you'll ever get as to the location of the cause. Gutter has to be number 1 suspect - you've cleared it. Great. Have you poured a watering can or three down there, to see if it's peeing out or actually doing its job?

As for this...


That white downpipe - I guess that discharges onto the lower roof. Any pics of that?