Damp problem..

[Rachelloyd]

I wondering if you lovely lot would help me. We recently purchased a house in August 2019, all was well until winter arrived. Now we we have a horrid wet damp patch half way up the front external wall by a window and slightly on the party wall in our bedroom. (will add pictures if I can) I have a dehumidifer in the room and I’ve used a fan against the wet patch which seems to dry it and reduce the patch but it just appears again. The walls are solid stone and covered with rendered pebble dash. We had the guttering cleaned 2 months ago but that doesn’t seem to have worked. Any help would be much appreciated

i.imgur.com/FJdLPqT.jpg
i.imgur.com/FT5VdjV.jpg
i.imgur.com/8vHQ7uQ.jpg

Sorry but if I were you I'd have a google of 'pebble dash damp' iirc it can cause damp/is used to hid problem walls (did the seller mention if it was newly applied or not?)

No it’s not newly applied and has been painted white -not sure when though. the survey we had didn’t pick up any problems with regards to the pebble dash either. We did have a builder come last week to have a look but he said it looks ok

looks to me like it is coming in round the windows. Are they replacements? Is the house in or near London? How old is it?

Photograph the outside please, especially above and around the windows. Include any downpipes, bays, gutters and roofs. Also please stand back and takesome wider pics of the inside.

No problem I will do that tomorrow when it’s light. No we are in South Wales. According to the surveyor the house was built around 1900. The previous owners put in triple glazing sometime in 2018. I’ve attached a photo from the estate agent when we purchased the house. The black mark above the porch is where the damp problem is inside, maybe that has something to do with it? seems to be going onto next doors property as well..

i.imgur.com/3qifkQo.jpg

Is next doors guttering clear?

are you the house to the right?

Bay window looks to have a flat roof, and no gutter or downpipe that I can see. This could lead to water running off the edge.

No we are the one with the porch, the down pipe is on the side of the house (round the corner from the sky dish) there’s also a small down pipe on the porch it’s to the right of the letter box. Picture quality probably isn’t great

I cant quite tell from the picture, is there a join in the guttering in that area, might it be leaking?

Not sure about next doors gutters, we had ours professionally cleaned as we haven’t got a ladder and it being awkward with the porch. they didn’t mention if next doors were blocked. Will have to get a ladder and take a look.

Yes there is a join in the guttering, I’m assuming if it is leaking there must be a crack someone in the pebble dash letting the water in perhaps?

@PigletJohn hopefully this wider pic of inside is ok, still dark at the moment to take outside photos i.imgur.com/JzMHPbx.jpg

So (from the inside) water appears to be running down the left hand side of the window on the left, which is next to the hall wall, beside the front door.

Then I think it is rain penetration where the porch roof meets the wall. There is a stone portico so this is not a straight join, the roof will have been cut to fit it.

You'll need to climb on your steps to see, but I think the solution will be lead flashing cut into the wall and dressed down onto the porch roof. It will not be an off the shelf solution. An experienced old roofer may have lead skills, or a very old plumber. Any good roofer will know a local leadwork specialist. Sadly old leadworkers may have early-onset Alzheimers or similar due to brain damage.

Under no circumstances allow anyone to tell you they can fix it with black paint, or mortar, or filler, or sticky tape. Flashband is a flashy version of sticky tape, popular with itinerant bodgers.

Also, verify the roof has a good slope so water runs to the front and cannot puddle against the wall.

And if the wet patch is on that wall upstairs, it is probably a gutter leak. Photograph the gutter and the roof if you can.

The picture I’ve taken is our front bedroom upstairs which is joined to next doors property. Thankfully there are no damp problems downstairs just on the front external wall upstairs in that corner.
Hoping it’s just a guttering problem and we don’t have to replace the render

@PigletJohn hopefully these photos are ok
i.imgur.com/Rt2zJVC.jpg
i.imgur.com/aAwbCS4.jpg
i.imgur.com/I8nX9Kf.jpg

I think water might be running off that black thing. What is it?

Probably coming from the gutter, I can't see a defect in the tiling, though it isn't clear.

Does the dampness vary with the weather?

The black mould marks near the portico might be where water is splashing.

Observe next time it rains.

There is a black dot. It's not an overflow pipe, is it?

Damp soul sister here. Mine is due to needing replacement guttering and external pointing I think (gable ends are worst). As an end terrace I think we might get a deluge from all the others rain too and debris, leaves etc I need to get both done sooner rather than later but the pointing will have to wait until Spring.
I peeled my wallpaper off but not sure any point doing anti mould paint and repapering or painting until both points rectified - it will only get wet again.
It is always worsened by having humid house with windows shut so I can add stupidity, poor ventilation and condensation to my woes. But I am sure I have both. I still need to do the acetate trick to see which side gets wettest (that might have come from piglet actually).
Good luck OP

@PigletJohn I hadn’t even seen the black dot until you mentioned it! Could be a down pipe for the cold water feed in the airing cupboard? ..probably explains what that plastic pipe is running across the bedroom wall. I suppose we can’t do anything about that can we?

@OvaltinaTurner I feel you.. can’t even decorate the room and put my wardrobes together until I can solve the issue.. driving me mad!
Good luck too

We had similar

You can buy a plastic extension to the pipe or do it as a u bend to keep it away from the wall

Post photos of the pipe, and where it comes from. It should not be running or dripping.

Are you in a soft-water area?

Is the airing cupboard close to the bathroom?

Soft water. No the bathroom is downstairs at the back of the house.
I can here dripping in the cold water tank, could the ballcock be faulty? ignore the offensive wallpaper in the cupboard, think it’s been there a while. The last photo is where the pipe is going through the external wall to outside
i.imgur.com/YO0DRBS.jpg
i.imgur.com/Euxm8ls.jpg
i.imgur.com/tEJux5d.jpg
i.imgur.com/8bZEtau.jpg

I don’t have any ideas - but at least you know the issues.