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Advice on damp smell and possible water under our 1930s semi

7 replies

KG234 · 31/03/2026 14:01

This is a call out for advice from @PigletJohn please!

Our hallway smells of damp. We have known rising damp that we need to get treated but a specialist advised this would not be causing the smell (I'd welcome expertise on this).

The carpet in the lounge smells in a corner (which adjoins to the hallway).

There are suspicions that both of these smells could be due to water under the property, coming in through the brick vents. I think we need to lift the carpet to take a look at the floor boards but we have a 1 year old and I'm hesitant to start this work until we have a plan in place to finish it.

We moved into the 1930s semi a year ago. It was extended at the back ~30 years ago which I wonder may have affected drainage.

I'm attaching photos of the vents at the front and side of the house, as well as the drain at the side, in case this provides any insight. Please let me know what further information would be useful.

Advice on damp smell and possible water under our 1930s semi
Advice on damp smell and possible water under our 1930s semi
Advice on damp smell and possible water under our 1930s semi
Advice on damp smell and possible water under our 1930s semi
Advice on damp smell and possible water under our 1930s semi
OP posts:
Geneticsbunny · 31/03/2026 14:52

The black thing at the bottom of the vent looks like a slate damp proof course? Can you check round the whole house and make it is a couple of bricks above ground level and not broken as in it goes all the way rohnd without being interupted.

Geneticsbunny · 31/03/2026 14:55

I can already see it is too low down in one of your pics. The external ground level might need lowering. The air brick might also have damaged the damp proof when it was added.

Geneticsbunny · 31/03/2026 14:57

A drain survey is probably a good idea too as it will tell you if there are any cracked old ceramic drains leaking under your floor

PigletJohn · 31/03/2026 17:56

The airbrucks appear to be above ground level so water will not be running in through them unless there are several inches of flooding round your house.

If there is water in the subfloor void it is most likely coming from a leak, of either a waterpipe, or a drain.

A 1930s house is likely to have both, or either.

Have you got a water meter? Have you got access to young, undamaged ears?

A plumbing leak might be from the buried water supply pipe, which probably runs in or under the floor, between the outside stopcock, and where the kitchen sink used to be even the house was built, then onward to where it is now. If you have solid concrete floors in any of these areas, examine to concrete to see if it is damp. Otherwise, take up some floorboards, sniff, feel the subsoil and look at it with a torch. Do you have a water meter? Do you know where the outside and inside stopcock are? I can explain more. I expect your supply pipes are iron, so the first leak is probably at an elbow where it turns towards to come up through the floor, or at a joint, especially where pipes were extended to a new kitchen.

If it is a radiator pipe or hot water pipe you will (should) have noticed the shortage and constant topping up.

Your drains and gullies are salt-glazed clay, like a teapot. IME they are always cracked or broken and leaking in the ground, and have been since 1940. This is usually evidenced by the gullies having subsided below their original position, and multiple fruitless efforts to hide (they do not repair) the gaps with patches, mortar poultices, and concrete filling. Look for these signs.

Less commonly, water comes from nearby streams, or runs down a hill if you are on one. It might come from an adjacent neighbour's leak.

PigletJohn · 31/03/2026 18:03

Your fifth picture shows green algae and signs of long term damp around the gulley and in the adjacent wall. Will you accept a £5 bet that when you dig it out you will find it has been broken and leaking for years?

You can assume that all the other drains are the same age and in the same condition.

The cracks in the slab by the gulley are typical where the leak has washed away the ground under the concrete and it has subsided into the space. You may find it sounds hollow when struck.

Geneticsbunny · 01/04/2026 08:43

If you get a drain survey they put a camera down and check all the drains for cracks so you can win/lose that £5 from piglet John without even having to dig anything up.

MrsMoastyToasty · 01/04/2026 19:40

Given that its a 1930s house there's a chance that the water supply pipe coming into the property is a) made of lead and b) isn't installed at the depth modern pipes are to prevent frost damage.
It might be worth seeing if your water company does leak detection.

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