Rising damp?

shiraz99

jeaniemsm said:

aoleks said:

get a brickie to fix that wall end, it looks horrible, like a block of cheese. I suspect that's the problem. alternatively, a leak in that garden pipe...

Thank you 

Who can fix brick work issues - builders/ specialist?

It's a Victorian house so very old 
The original door was at the side of the kitchen but was moved to where it sits now be french doors which is why I'm guessing the brick work on this side of the house looks a bit dodgy.

You want to hire a bricklayer/builder and make sure they can work with lime mortar. Personally I'd recommend all that other sand and cement mortar is also raked out and repointed properly with lime.

shiraz99

jeaniemsm said:

Thanks all for comments, much appreciated, no idea what I'm doing!

We are scheduled to have new door / frame fitted.

Will look into getting reappointed (no idea what that was until an hour ago!)

What type of damp proof course would I need for the area too? 
The garden is on a lower level from the kitchen but decking has been laid so the garden is on the same level as the kitchen

You don't need a damp course but you could probably do with some of the decking cutting away from the wall to allow for proper drainage, at the moment it simply buts up against the wall which isn't very good.

Also, is there a reason why the bucket is there, is that tap leaking?

Grenage

You could remove some of the decking, but there's always the option of simply removing it all.  We had decking much like yours; we took it out to lay a patio, but there was already a patio under it.

Ultimately most damp is caused by damp coming through the wall.  Pointing and ground level are usually strong culprits.

stuart45

When they did the brickwork at the frame jambs, they raked out the joints and never pointed them. One of the bed joints is really empty, and will allow water to track into the wall. 
For those London Stocks I would say a flush joint in lime mortar finished with the churn brush would be the best method.

jeaniemsm

shiraz99 said:

jeaniemsm said:

Thanks all for comments, much appreciated, no idea what I'm doing!

We are scheduled to have new door / frame fitted.

Will look into getting reappointed (no idea what that was until an hour ago!)

What type of damp proof course would I need for the area too? 
The garden is on a lower level from the kitchen but decking has been laid so the garden is on the same level as the kitchen

You don't need a damp course but you could probably do with some of the decking cutting away from the wall to allow for proper drainage, at the moment it simply buts up against the wall which isn't very good.

Also, is there a reason why the bucket is there, is that tap leaking?

No not leaking tap, there was just a random bucket in the garden when we moved in and we just shoved it there to tidy up the garden area! 

jeaniemsm

Grenage said:

You could remove some of the decking, but there's always the option of simply removing it all.  We had decking much like yours; we took it out to lay a patio, but there was already a patio under it.

Ultimately most damp is caused by damp coming through the wall.  Pointing and ground level are usually strong culprits.

Thanks. 
The front portion of the the garden is decked and other half of the garden is grassy area.

At some point when I win the lottery I was hoping to fix up the garden.
One reason why I like having the decking there is when stepping out the kitchen onto the garden it means its on the same level rather than having to step down onto the garden/ step up from the garden to the kitchen.

jeaniemsm

stuart45 said:

When they did the brickwork at the frame jambs, they raked out the joints and never pointed them. One of the bed joints is really empty, and will allow water to track into the wall. 
For those London Stocks I would say a flush joint in lime mortar finished with the churn brush would be the best method.

Thank you much appreciated

jeaniemsm

Thanks everyone, guess I need to start saving again!

In terms of getting pointed, should I do this after or before getting new garden doors fitted?

stuart45

Get it pointed after. You might find they disturb some of the closers at the jambs

canaldumidi

jeaniemsm said:

Grenage said:

You could remove some of the decking, but there's always the option of simply removing it all.  We had decking much like yours; we took it out to lay a patio, but there was already a patio under it.

Ultimately most damp is caused by damp coming through the wall.  Pointing and ground level are usually strong culprits.

Thanks. 
The front portion of the the garden is decked and other half of the garden is grassy area.

At some point when I win the lottery I was hoping to fix up the garden.
One reason why I like having the decking there is when stepping out the kitchen onto the garden it means its on the same level rather than having to step down onto the garden/ step up from the garden to the kitchen.

That is unfortunately precisely the problem (or one of them).

If the ground level outside (whether garden, decking paving, whatever) is at the same level as the floor inside, it is almost certainly above the damp proof course. Which means that moisture in the ground (decking etc) will transfer across to the bricks and penetrate. Note, this is 'penetrating damp' not 'rising damp').

You need to either lower the ground level/remove the decking, or at least provide a gap (filled with shingle?) between the wall and the outside ground so that moisture is not in contact with the wall.