Is this brick damage anything to worry about? (Potential damp)

[rystaman]

Hi all,

Currently in the process of purchasing a 3-bed semi-detached house built in 1971 and have a couple of concerns about the condition of some of the bricks at the front of the house (which is north-facing).

Firstly the below - I have no idea what this would be but looks like a crack all the way along on the second row of bricks (below the cable that's running across)? I'm slightly concerned this could be letting in water and causing damp. Not sure if this could be a structural issue that could affect the house years down the line also?

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Secondly - The very green and then pale bricks moving upwards on the property. Slightly concerned this could be damp from the bottom right? Not sure what would cause the bricks to discolour that way too?

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Thirdly - The wall below the bathroom window looks very "wet". On inspection, I couldn't see any presenting damp in the bathroom but where the bricks look wet would be under the bath which as I'm still in the process and the vendors live in the house cannot rip out or look underneath.

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Any advice, help, or ideas on what these could be and if they present any issues would be very helpful!

Thanks in advance

 

[blup]

The second row of bricks seems to be the dpc and is cracked mortar.

The green brick is probably damp from a waste pipe pipe that has been removed (see new brick above). The white pipe running through the air brick pipe seems to discharge into a gully in the same location.

You can ask to look under the bath but the wet brick could be caused by other things like a leaking gutter, or just saturated bricks given the north facing location.

An appropriate survey would assist.

Blup

 

[stuart45]

It looks like they really bumped up the joints on the DPC, could be they got the footing brickwork a bit low and needed to get up to the house level.
Being such a thick joint, they have tried to cover it with mortar, but over the years some of it has dropped off.

 

[rystaman]

The second row of bricks seems to be the dpc and is cracked mortar.

The green brick is probably damp from a waste pipe pipe that has been removed (see new brick above). The white pipe running through the air brick pipe seems to discharge into a gully in the same location.

You can ask to look under the bath but the wet brick could be caused by other things like a leaking gutter, or just saturated bricks given the north facing location.

An appropriate survey would assist.

Blup

Brilliant thanks for this, I spoke to someone else today who seemed to think that the row just needed repointing and like you said the mortar has cracked.

In regards to the green bricks I meant these bricks on the low level on the right rather than the one above the new waste pipe

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I was concerned this could be due to the cracked mortar by the DPC and potential rising damp?

Good to hear that the wet bricks above might not be damp and could just be saturated bricks due to the north facing location of the front

 

[rystaman]

It looks like they really bumped up the joints on the DPC, could be they got the footing brickwork a bit low and needed to get up to the house level.
Being such a thick joint, they have tried to cover it with mortar, but over the years some of it has dropped off.

Sorry for my ignorance but is the solution to this just to get it repointed or do you think the DPC might need a replacement? Also, I'm assuming this won't be a structural issue? I was concerned with the greening bricks in the lower right corner above the DPC and cracked mortar potentially letting water in

 

[blup]

Its possible the dpc has failed in the corner, or a gutter has leaked over that area.

It might even be rain etc splashing from the slabs as there is normally two bricks below dpc level. Difficult to tell from pictures and without knowing the history

You could check if the inside is damp

Blup