Rising damp quote

[JohnD]

thanks for the quick response

so do you mean the wet patch is on the wall below where all those pipes are?

And a shed with no rainwater guttters?

If water is not coming from there, it will be a surprise.

Looking at it from the outside, which part is wettest?

As for the floor, I see that the hearth area, and the solid floors, are wet.

The hearth is likely to be wet because, beneath the hearthstone is a mass of infill rubble, going down to the ground, with no dampcourse, which is very absorbent.

If the ground beneath the house is wet, it would also soak into the solid floors.

Unless the house was built on wet ground, I still hold to the view that there is a plumbing or drain leak.

Water pipes often leak after a hundred years.

Clay drainage always has cracks and leaks.

It's not condensation,

Silicone injections will not repair the defect that is the source of water, neither will fancy plaster.

 

[RebeccaMoll]

thanks for the quick response

so do you mean the wet patch is on the wall below where all those pipes are?

And a shed with no rainwater guttters?

Looking at it from the outside, which part is wettest?

As for the floor, I see that the hearth area, and the solid floors, are wet.

The hearth is likely to be wet because, beneath the hearthstone is a mass or infill rubble, going down to the ground, witth no dampcourse.

The worst of the damp is directly behind where the shed is but there’s also moisture in the walls all along the red line on the plan, particularly to the back of the property in the kitchen and dining room.

And yeah the solid floor is wet I think there’s probably just ash below so that moisture is just coming up through the floor and potentially soaking up the walls via the plaster? It’s very hard to make a diagnosis though

Aaah ok interesting I’ll look into that re the hearth

 

[noseall]

I don’t think it will cure but I am hoping it will help. Damp is essentially moisture within a structure so if either the moisture source is removed or the building can breathe sufficiently then symptoms should improve. I imagine there are other causes too, I’m just trying to think of every possible cause

Removing wet clothes from that house will not cure that problem. You would need to remove the humans too in that case, or stop them from breathing out, sweating and cooking. That is a damp problem, through and through.

 

[RebeccaMoll]

Removing wet clothes from that house will not cure that problem. You would need to remove the humans too in that case, or stop them from breathing out, sweating and cooking. That is a damp problem, through and through.

I know that! It is just one of the many solutions. We are also going to reduce the external ground level, install a new floor with dpm, remove the shed, replaster and perhaps repoint sections where inappropriate cement has been used… but ventilation and heating is always important and it’s something that’s been neglected here

 

[JohnD]

Aaah ok interesting I’ll look into that re the hearth

if the floors are being broken up, dug out, and relaid with a DPM and insulation (a good job), you can do the hearth at the same time. That will prevent the floors being wet, but it will not remove the source of water.

If you can find the source, and repair it, the house will dry out.

I'll wager you 50p that if you remove the shed and have a good look at the pipes and ground behind it, and the hundred-year-old drains and gullies that the water goes into, you will find the source of water.

 

[JohnD]

would you take a bet, @noseall ?

 

[RebeccaMoll]

if the floors are being broken up, dug out, and relaid with a DPM and insulation (a good job), you can do the hearth at the same time. That will prevent the floors being wet, but it will not remove the source of water.

If you can find the source, and repair it, the house will dry out.

I'll wager you 50p that if you remove the shed and have a good look at the pipes and ground behind it, and the hundred-year-old drains and gullies that the water goes into, you will find the source of water.

Ok excellent, we are definitely wanting to redo the floor so that’s helpful.

Interesting… I will have a look for a water source there. Could there be a leak beneath the concrete in the yard?

 

[JohnD]

I think I can see a grey gutter downpipe behind the corner, close to the black soil and wastepipes.

Depending on age and district, they probably go into the same "manhole" in salt-glazed brown clay pipes.

Between 1940 and 1945, these were broken or cracked in most towns and cities due to movement caused by bombs, and have been leaking for 80 years.

I have never see an old house where they didn't leak. I'm told there is one, but I have never seen it and I don't know where it is.

The water supply pipe probably comes in from the road at the front, under the floor. If you have a back lane, it might come from there. It is also likely to be leaking.

 

[noseall]

would you take a bet, @noseall ?

No amount of work to the floors will cure a problem with walls wicking damp.....?

 

[RebeccaMoll]

I think I can see a grey gutter downpipe behind the corner, close to the black soil and wastepipes.

Depending on age and district, they probably go into the same "manhole" in salt-glazed brown clay pipes.

Between 1940 and 1945, these were broken or cracked in most towns and cities due to movement caused by bombs, and have been leaking for 80 years.

Ok thanks. This one here?

That is definitely something to be looked into. There is a back lane too. Although sounds difficult to remedy? I don’t know whether to just run a mile with this house but it’s such a difficult market at the moment!

 

[noseall]

I know that! It is just one of the many solutions.

Not for your symptoms though. you could empty the house of airborne moisture and it won't matter a jot to your problem.

but ventilation and heating is always important and it’s something that’s been neglected here

Yes, very noble and essential in any house.

 

[JohnD]

yep. to my eye the bricks round the tap look wet as well. See the difference in colour?

Digging up old drains is not a bad job, in warm sunny weather. You need a couple of strong women to do the heavy digging, but it's not a complicated job.

The problem is common in hundred-year old houses. Bodging will nor cure it, but repairs will. The DPC has probably been bridged. The gravel trough against the wall might be an attempt to let water drain away or dry out.

 

[noseall]

I's say it could be a drainage issue as per John D. The terrain around the outside of the French doors is not ideal in that it is a moisture trap, with little chance for wetness (especially in winter) to escape.

 

[RebeccaMoll]

yep. to my eye the bricks round the tap look wet as well. See the difference in colour?

Digging up old drains is not a bad job, in warm sunny weather. You need a couple of strong women to do the heavy digging, but it's not a complicated job.

Yes there’s a definite difference in colour.

Ok thanks, we are going to get rid of the concrete when we reduce the ground level outside so will look at the drains then!

 

[RebeccaMoll]

I's say it could be a drainage issue as per John D. The terrain around the outside of the French doors is not ideal in that it is a moisture trap, with little chance for wetness (especially in winter) to escape.

Yeah that would make sense really… we will explore that for sure