Water coming through external wall

[Wstc7a7x]

Hiya!

So I’m having a problem with an external wall. House was built in 1901, old farm bungalow (stone not brick). On the front of the house, the left side is built mirror image of the right front of house. Air bricks are at the base of the wall under each window.

My issue is that every autumn/winter, the right hand side of the front of house, gets damp at the bottom 1/4 of the wall, and doesn’t rise further up but there no issue with the left side. There are 2 bushes in front of the wall below the window but I keep them cut back for airflow. Inside has wood effect plasterboard around and below the window. Water has started to bead on the wooden boards and on the walls either side of the window, all Across the bottom of the wall.

Drain overhangs a lot and I keep them clear, so I don’t think it’s that. And I do keep the bushes maintained and the air brick clear for airflow.

Does anyone have any idea what’s could be causing the water to come through? It’s true Scottish weather right now so any pictures would be marred by rain.

Could the water be coming in somewhere around the window frame, and running down to make the lower part of the wall wet?

Thats what I thought at first, but it spans the entire length of the wall, not just below and either side of the window, and there doesn’t seem to be any leakages/cracks or bad sealant

How thick are the stone walls? Does water lie in the joints?

What is the floor made of?

Is the gutter spilling?

Is there a downpipe or drain? Does it seem to work?

Do the eaves keep the rain off?

Does the outside ground or paving puddle or run towards the wall?

Was that side of the building ever used that for livestock?

@PigletJohn

Stone walls are a good 12” thick at least but half that under the windows (it’s like a fake bay window on the inside but it’s flush to the wall on the outside). Water doesn’t seem to lie in the joints as far as I can tell.

I’ve no idea what the floor is made of, all I can tell is that it’s rock hard under the carpets.

The gutter isn’t spilling, there is a down pipe and it looks to be working fine. I clear them all before heavy Scottish rain sets in anyway! Eaves keep the rain off just fine, house can still get very wet though as it rains sideways here.

Outside ground doesn’t run towards the wall and we had a driveway installed outside that is basically a massive soakaway drive and slopes towards the road, away from the house.

And the building has never had livestock in it (has a blocked off fireplace so I assume it’s always been residential).

I would be thinking about the floor then. It might be concrete, brick or stone, probably no dpm, and in contact with the wall. If there is a source if water such as a downpipe, drain or waterpipe, it could be soaking into the wall.

Peel back a carpet or look at an uncarpeted area. See what it is and look for signs of damp. Track down your pipes and drains. Photograph your gutters, downpipes and drains near the wet wall please, and the wet wall inside and out.

We're looking for where the water is coming from.

Do you have a water meter?

What does "drain overhangs" mean?

So “drain overhangs” means the gutters/eaves stick out a fair bit.

And no, we don’t have a water meter. I’ll get some pictures to you tomorrow, it’s too dark now :)

And it’s all carpet so I’ll try and dig up a corner and take a wee look and see what’s going on :)

ah, we call it "Eavesdrop" here.

Hi OP, which direction is the wet wall facing? It's not north by any chance is it?

When we had this it was because the gutter was leaking. Have you really double checked?

We've had two leaks one in and one out - both due to water running down through the wall and appearing further down the wall. So I would guess it's running down from roof/gutter.

Here’s pictures of under the window and the walls either side. The mould marks literally span the entire length of the wall. I’ve had to wait for the OH to get back to help me love the wardrobe to clean it off!

I double checked the gutter but will check again to make sure!

And it’s a south facing wall :)

Looks like wood under the carpet?
It’s damp along the wall where the carpet soaked it up.
Further into the room it just looks like dark wood, not damp?

can we see some pics of the outside of that wall please.

With a wooden floor there should be ventilation by airbricks or something to dry it out, or it will rot.

probably not a problem with rain around the windowframe, as the wall does not seem wet directly under the window. Might be rainsplash or puddles against the bottom of the wall. The floor boards will should not be in contact with earth sp should not be that wet unless water is coming through the wall or a plumbing leak. I don't see any pipes such as radiator pipes.

So I am thinking rain penetration at base of wall. Without seeing it there are no clues as to why. When the rain stops and you are photographing it, tip a bucket of water at the base of the wall and see if it runs towards the house, or away. Also, measure vertically from the windowsill to the floor inside the house, and to the paving or earth outside. Which is higher?

Sometimes bay window are not covered by the house roof, and have their own little roof and a little gutter and downpipe. look for that. Photograph whatever the gutter downpipes go into.

thinking again, as there is wainscoting against the wall, water from the windowframe could be running or dripping down behind it and pooling when it reaches the floor. so some pics all round the window please. Is it the same design and build as all the other windows?

Hi @Wstc7a7x

You'll be pleased to know that the cause/solution is likely to be quite simple.

It's condensation.

You mentioned that the problem occurs in autumn/winter and to a Chartered surveyor that is also known as Condensation Season.

You have thick solid walls and a projecting bay type window, where more of the wall is exposed to cold external temperatures. There will also be a reduced amount of airflow in that cramped cold space, all contributing factors (a north wall is often colder as it never gets the sun, but that doesn't mean it's the only place condensation forms).

Do you work? Is the heating off during the day? Also, is the kitchen or other source of humidity nearby?

Basically you need to improve the ventilation and increase the temperature in that room, condensation only occurs when there's too much moisture in the air and not enough heat to warm the surface of the wall.

The only caveat to that is, any other damp problem can cause condensation by lowering the surface temperature of the wall also. However, from what you describe I would suggest this is a good place to start.

If you are worried, contact a Chartered surveyor to check it out (not a builder or damp company).

Hope that helps.

Is the inside surface of the window often running with water, then?

The glass is going to be colder and more condensation-prone than the wall.

You can confirm condensation by taping a piece of clear plastic tightly to the wall. If mist and water droplets form on the room side of the plastic, it's condensation. If on the wall side, it's wet wall.

Having trouble posting with the pictures attached, so will upload separate :)

I measured the sill to floor as you asked,
Inside : 37”
Outside: 43”
So inside is definitely higher. Makes me thing that the airbrick outside allows for airflow under the wooden floor.

Design that like that all around the house, but this is the only room with the issue. It’s next to the porch then the living room which when we have the log burner on, we keep
Doors open so that the warm air can fill up the bedroom in the evening. Heating is always on a timer during the day so it does get warm throughout the day.

Also, with the windows, we barely get water on the inside (only a wee bit of condensation in the morning) but no water other than that on the window/sill itself

I would presume rising damp through the wall. The airbricks suggest a suspended timber floor. The airbricks need to be kept clear to allow air to flow under the floor and dry out any moisture. I would think your damp proof course in the wall has failed and the stonework is sucking water up from the ground outside.
I doubt it's condensation from the 'tideline' shown.
However, only an expert can really say after site investigations.

Here’s some of outside

I'll leave the experts to address the outside ingress, if there is one. I would clear the greenery away from that grille. Also dig down to see whether you have a solid base alongside the wall that has become silted over (I only mention it becasue my 1790s house has a grille like that (which airs under our wooden floors). We have a low line of stone around the actual wall.

In terms of the inside, that really looks like condensation. Is this wall quite some distance from your heating source/radiator?

Spots of my house, where the heating doesn't reach, sometimes get a bit damp. I solve the problem by running a dehumidifier from time to time. I also buy those cheap chemical damp traps (they are usually a clear plastic tub with white crystals held above that gradually absorb the humidity). Poundland usually sell them round here, or try a supermarket or a DIY store. If you find that they become just liquid very quickly that is likely to

I think the pattern is render with an ornamental groove rather than dressed stone, but I don't know. The render (or paint?) seems to have blown where there is a wet section.

I don't know if walls of that construction in your area of that age would normally have a DPC. Some stones are impervious, and some are absorbent. If, as I think, the wall is rendered, then the render would allow water to rise up it if it was wet at the bottom.

I would be interested to scrape or dig some of the earth away where it touches the wall, and see what you find below ground level, and how wet the soil is. My neighbour has a stone house (of different construction) and had a french drain, with cobbles, dug round it to prevent damp at the bottom of the walls of the habitable rooms. His cellar remains rather damp, though.

Can you show us the whole wall please, including the roof and gutter, and especially the downpipe and any drains.

I think that probably an experienced, well established local builder (or local surveyor, as Scott recommends) will have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of houses like yours built with the same local materials and in the same local conditions and very likely seen the causes and maybe even some cures.

Your house was built in 1901 and IME (which excludes Scotland) such houses always have glazed clay gullies and drains, which are always cracked or broken and leaking. There may be a hunded-year old house somewhere in the country with clay gullies that are not broken, but I have not yet seen it.

Chemical injection is the only thing that is pretty sure not to address the cause of water.

Sorry,, it really doesn’t want to upload these pictures! Here’s more of outside

Our farm house is sandstone and has become porous in the hall and upstairs bedroom. That's 300 years of wind and erosion for you. Could it be similar for you?