Damp coming in and exterior paintwork bubbling! HELP!

[BlogOnTheTyne]

Panic!! It's rained a lot where we are this year, especially over the last few days and today. Just noticed that there's a spreading damp patch around a window frame in the dining room and round the door leading to the garden from this room too....

Went outside into the torrential rain and saw, to my horror, that the paintwork (whole house is painted over the bricks) has a massive 'bubble' of paint coming away!

This whole area is where there was once some 'movement' before we moved in but it was discounted as subsidence and said to be stable. It's always been prone to fine line cracks that need filling but nothing major.

The upstairs and also the downstairs windows are old and need replacing and it's round the rather 'rotting' frames that the damp is getting in.

Panicking here today as it's so near Christmas. Do I need to take urgent action or can it wait till the New Year?

Is the first thing I need to do, 'phone the home insurance company? I've never made an insurance claim before.

Is what I'm describing going to end up VERY expensive and disruptive works - eg new windows and frames upstairs and down, whole back of house repainted - or might it just be a simple matter of filling cracks round windows and in walls, after it all dries out later next year and repainting a bit???

Hoping someone is reading this today who had knowledge about this kind of thing and can reassure me?

have a look at the guttering and downpipe during rain. Leaks and overflows put a lot of water into a wall.

Thanks, PigletJohn. The guttering and drainpipes are probably on their last legs and there has sometimes been a gushing overflow leak but this is further along from where the damp patch is.

Do I need to do anything right now, today or do you think that little could be done anyway, even if it wasn't almost Christmas, given the rain is continuing and presumably reparatory works can't be done until it dries out?

Oh dear...could this mean I'm going to need to find the money for new drainpipes/guttering, new windows and frames and exterior repainting???? (Mind panicking about thousands and thousands!)

Would home insurance pay for any of this?

Your insurance almost certainly won't cover any of the cost because it's the result of poor maintenance. The only time that sort of damage might be covered would be if it was the result of a storm.

Oh dear.....anyone any idea whether I need to take urgent action or can I wait until the New Year? Not sure anyone will come out at this point, nor if they'd be able to do anything short-term....

Would the bubbling in the exterior paintwork imply general spreading damp throughout that entire wall - ie the whole back of the house????

In my experience insurers are more likely to pay out if the damage was because of a break in the guttering rather than if poor maintenance has led to a blockage meaning that there's an overflow.

The first step will be to get the cause of the damage rectified; insurers won't pay for that anyway. While it's all drying out you can open a claim with the insurers. They almost certainly won't pay for the damaged window frames; if they were fully maintained then they shouldn't have rotted.

Good luck - the worst they can do is say no!

Thanks GrandPoohBah. What kind of professional should I call in the first instance to find out the cause of the damage? Not sure if I need a surveyor, a builder, a handyman or what?

I'd ask a builder to come and quote for the repair and remedial works (separately). If they look flummoxed, you might want to get a surveyor in but there's no point in paying massive professional fees when someone who just knows about buildings may be able to identify the problem.