Leak into living room - urgent advice please!

[WYorksTemp]

Bear in mind we're not very knowledgeable about building stuff but here's the situation.

Doing pre-Christmas rearranging in the living room earlier today, pulled out a piece of furniture in the alcove and the carpet next to the chimney-breast was wet, with a smell of damp. I've lifted the carpet and the floorboards underneath seem dry, the wetness is specifically in the carpet and also a dampness in the skirting boards. Went outside, the wall looked dry, there's an air brick which looks clear as well.

So, we have concluded that the damp is (probably) not coming up from the ground but down from the roof or most likely the chimney. Further evidence is that it started to rain a few hours ago and I think the carpet wetness looks worse now.

Anyway, we've called around for roofers to come urgently to take a look, but the only one who has got back to me can't make it until after the weekend (and then it's Christmas 😭).

My actual question is: What do we do in the meantime?? Obviously we can't get to the roof ourselves, so we can't stop water coming in. I've got a dehumidifier running but with this weather it feels like emptying the sea with a teaspoon. Should we put down newspaper or towels? Should we lift the carpet completely in that corner? Is there anything else we should be doing?

We definitely 100% have cavity walls - when we bought many many years ago, the surveyor said it was fairly unusual for houses of that period. Oh!!!! I suddenly remembered! The surveyor specifically noted that some previous owner had done cavity wall insulation and was very sniffy about it. That stuff can bridge moisture, right? That wall had peeling paint when we moved in, had it redecorated and hasn't peeled since. But that suggests it's had a damp problem before.

The outside wall looked dry with no sign of damp coming up from the ground. The air brick seemed unobstructed and is a couple of bricks above ground level. I couldn't make out the DPC (everything just looks like pointing, can't see a slate layer) so can't confirm whether it's in good order or even whether it exists. I forgot to go outside and take a photo and now it's dark.

The wet corner though isn't the whole alcove wall itself, it's just at the corner with the chimney breast, about 8-10 inches along each side. So it seems quite localised?

"chimney breast"

Is it on an external wall?

open, or bricked up?

Photos will be interesting.

I have a wet and dry hand held vac, it might be worth the investment. The link is to the one I have but you can get them for £20+

It's not a solution but at least you can keep your carpet dry.

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@WYorksTemp Yes, insulation in the cavity can be an issue and I suggested this 2 days ago. Damp can track across the “cavity” via the insulation and this can even be caused by driving rain. The insulation stops the walls breathing and it might be totally unsuitable insulation too. Have you looked very critically at the external wall? Any cracks or damage? Air bricks should be clear but aren’t much use if bunged up by cavity wall filler.

definitely lift the carpet and underlay in that corner right now. if you leave it wet against the wood it will rot and start smelling of mould really fast.

don't give up on the dehumidifier, keep it running 24/7. i would pop a humidity monitor in that alcove so you can actually track if the moisture is going down or spreading while you wait for the roofer