Is this the cause of my damp?

J

J-M

New Member
I discovered a damp patch in our recently purchased and decorated house.

Is this the cause of my damp?
This is a room at the back of the house and on the other side of the wall is this:
Is this the cause of my damp?
The deep looking gash behind the pipe does look like the obvious culprit and I thought I should just try to fill it with a concrete/sand mix.
Before that though I just went up a ladder to see if I could get high enough to do it myself, but found that the crack/gash isn’t actually as deep as it looks from below:
Is this the cause of my damp?
Even the darkest patch in this picture isn’t actually that deep. Nevertheless, can I just ask whether people think that this is almost certainly the cause of the damp and whether the plan to patch it up with quick drying cement/sand mix is a good one?
Thanks!
 
J-M said:
I discovered a damp patch in our recently purchased and decorated house.

View attachment 41556
This is a room at the back of the house and on the other side of the wall is this:
View attachment 41557
The deep looking gash behind the pipe does look like the obvious culprit and I thought I should just try to fill it with a concrete/sand mix.
Before that though I just went up a ladder to see if I could get high enough to do it myself, but found that the crack/gash isn’t actually as deep as it looks from below:
View attachment 41558
Even the darkest patch in this picture isn’t actually that deep. Nevertheless, can I just ask whether people think that this is almost certainly the cause of the damp and whether the plan to patch it up with quick drying cement/sand mix is a good one?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Is the damp upstairs or downstairs? If water is getting in where you think the down pipe concoction above the hopper looks like it needs replacing, if downstairs it could be something to do with the drain at the bottom of the down pipe also check the ground level outside it should be below the floor inside. Best I can do with the limited info
 
JML said:
could be condensation, l see some black spotted mould on the surface.
Click to expand...
They can go hand in hand. If the water hasn't penetrated all the way the wet external walls dry by evaporation taking the heat with them which results in a cold spot which attracts condensation internally.

The answer is if this isn't the source it soon will be.
The lip causes rain to work its way behind /soaking the render. Thanks to what looks like impermiable paint , it will trap moisture which will make its way inwards. The trapped moisture will be suceptible to freeze/thaw cycles which can shatter the faces of the masonry and crack the render leading to a rapid cycle of doom.

Counterintuitive perhaps but render + plastic paint with cracks makes your house more vulnerable than a naked brick surface (so long as the pointing is ok).

Is it cavity wall? any insulation. If it's wool then :(
 
I get what you say, as above, however water passing through a structure and evaporating from the surface of an internal wall, you would expect to see some damage to the decorations, in the form of efflorescence, blistering, etc. The damp staining evident Is rising into the corner, and mould on the skirting. Just not sure it’s entirely due the the external defect shown. Obviously the defect requires fixing. And time will tell.
 
JML said:
I get what you say, as above, however water passing through a structure and evaporating from the surface of an internal wall, you would expect to see some damage to the decorations, in the form of efflorescence, blistering, etc. The damp staining evident Is rising into the corner, and mould on the skirting. Just not sure it’s entirely due the the external defect shown. Obviously the defect requires fixing. And time will tell.
Click to expand...
not so much evaporating from the internal wall but a saturated outside wall will be colder and corners are already vulnerable to condensation of any moisture in the room.

Need a lot more information to establish the cause but that defect certainly needs fixing ideally before the frosts come.
 
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