Damp but from where?

[phil1963]

In my ground floor kitchen I have two windows about 18" x 18" and a piece of wall of a similar size seperating them. I went away for 4 weeks, the house was empty, so no bath/shower etc was being used. On my return I found two brown streaks of damp (still wet to the touch) down the outside edges of the piece of wall between the window. Above the kitchen is the bathroom, yet the areas under the bath, shower and sink were bone dry. Outside the kitchen and behind the damp patch is guttering and although the hopper box into which the water-pipes from the bath, sink and shower all feed their effluent into has a very very small leak at the joint - is it enough to penetrate through the brickwork of the house, even over time as so quickly too? It rained VERY havily whilst away but surely this could not get through the same walls? My house was built in 1884 so has rather thick (double-lined?) walls so surely rain water could not get through the walls? There are no apparent problems with the brickwork, which has been painted over anyway, and the grouting in between the bricks is secure too....any ideas? Can water travel far? And my house is detached so it's not from next door![/url]

 

[jime17]

Phil, I had a leaking mains stopcock which leaked at only 2-3 drips per minute and in 4 days it had soaked though the kitchen wall and started to remove the walpaper in the front room along its entire length so i's reckon its entirely possible.

cure the leak in the gutter and see how you go. if the cause isnt obvious its time to play miss marple and eliminate the suspects.

 

[phil1963]

Many thanks for that - doesn't seem that you need much wet to cause carnage!

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[Nige F]

It rained VERY heavily whilst away but surely this could not get through the same walls? My house was built in 1884 so has rather thick walls so surely rain water could not get through the walls? There are no apparent problems with the brickwork, which has been painted over anyway, and the pointingin between the bricks is secure too....any ideas? url]

.....yes, it`ll go thru 9inch brickwork that you`ve probably got ....thats why cavity walls were invented .....painted over- that`s another reason to suspect summat wrong...probably one of those "wonder coat " jobs that cost £££££££££and last forever