Efflorescence bricks

murphy_joe

Hi, we bought a house in October and had damp in the hallway.
A builder used a dry zone damp course cream to try and stop this.

we now have white bricks outside that seem to be rising.

Does this mean that it’s working as it’s drawing out the damp?

FreeBear

murphy_joe said:  A builder used a dry zone damp course cream to try and stop this [damp].

Oh dear.... That was a waste of money... What you should have done is track down the source of the damp and fix it. Chances are, it is either elevated ground level externally, leaking gutter/downpipe, or a blocked drain. Fix the problem at source, and the wall will dry out naturally.

murphy_joe

I should say it was a friend that did it. Obviously it’s dried out now due to the weather. However, would you suggest checking the Downpipe. We are on a high water table and I know a lot of properties in the area are in a similar position 

FreeBear

murphy_joe said:  would you suggest checking the Downpipe.

The downpipe would be my first suspect. But you have a problem that the bottom is concreted over. Checking to see if it is blocked or that the underground pipes are clear and/or the soakaway is functional is going to involve some destruction... Why builders do that sort of thing.... You may be lucky and find the downpipe will wriggle free and you can check everything is clear. If not. get the big hammer & Kango.

There is one other possibility, but it would require a borescope... If the cavity has a build up of debris from construction, it is possible the cavity is bridged internally. A couple of holes drilled through a mortar joint and insertion of a camera may reveal if there is an issue.

murphy_joe

Really appreciate that. It could possibly be a build up of debris as you can see from the photo. I’ll try and loosen the down pipe and check for a blockage. 

Thanks again