I have found a damp wall.... Please help!

[Quinteszilla]

Our house is south facing end of terrace. Our south/east corner feels damp to the touch near the floor.

What sort of professional do I need to come around?

It's possibly broken pointing on the wall allowing the damp in. In which case a builder should be able to reprint it or you could even do it yourself.

It would be worth checking for something obvious first.

Is there a gutter nearby that has overflowed? A roof tile blown off or cracked? Any visible damage to the outer wall? Cracks etc (as above pointing or similar). Is it near a big puddle and water has gathered against the wall? Do you have damp proof course?

Is this something new? Have you lived there long?

It is new. I will check pointing.

It is 1 meter away from a gutter. However, there is a man hole 50 cm from the corner of the house.

Can a missing roof tile have caused water to drip to the bottom from the top?

There is no cavity wall insulation.

There are no vents in the roof either. We have been told we need to install roof vents, or suffit (sp) vents.

Isn't it more likely to be something in the ground, like a drain, that's causing the problem, since it's low down, rather than water coming from above?

I think I would google 'damp specialist' but maybe a normal surveyor would do it?

Sorry I've just reread your op in the light of later answers and realised I had visualised it in my head as a first floor problem rather than ground floor. Don't know why.

Could be something as simple a blocked or broken gutters letting water fall on to a path and bounce back on to a wall. If it's raining have a look to see what is happening.

It stopped raining for long enough this morning to investiage the outside. The pointing looks fine. The bricks are old, some have small cracks. Not sure this is enough. You can sort of see that the wall is a big wet, as the pointing is darker in some areas, notably between the drain, and the corner.

I cant remember if we have done new damp proof course since 1999 or not. But the bricks have white deposits under the damp proofing.

There is condensation inside on the toilet window, so I think the problem needs fixing.

I am just not sure what sort of expert to call on?

we found damp at the front of our house so call the damp man in. He checked it and told us it was drying washing on raidiators and clothes horse at the back!
we moved the clothes drying up stairs and low and behold we now have a damp wall upstairs... just bought a tumble dryer and going to by a dehumidifier (cant spell that!)
might be something simple!

Hmm, sounds like it might be getting in from drain overflow if it looks wet on the outside. but it would be worth checking your damp proofing. If you google 'damp proofing your town name you'll get a list of people to call out. They will be able to advise you! (they also sort out condensation problems). Hope you get it sorted asap.

Don't get someone who sells damp proof courses, or they'll sell you a damp proof course.
The condensation might be a separate issue.

From my very limited knowledge it sounds like the most likely thing is the drain - get a drain survey company in?