Hi all,
First off, apologies for the amount of stupid questions I'm going to ask, I've just bought my first house so DIY is completely new to me.
Anyhow, I have a Victorian (I think) terrace with the not uncommon problem of damp in the bay window. I'm pretty sure its not due to condensation and it looks like its rising from the floor level upwards.
The windows are new plastic affairs, and the sealing round them looks ok so I don't think the water is getting in that way.
The bay window exterior itself isn't in tip-top condition with a bit of crumbly cement, some patches where the outer outer later of mortar has come away and a few cracks where it has settled. There were also a few ferns taking root in these areas. I'm going to clean these out and re-cement these as soon as the weather improves a little.
Round the base of the bay window is a skirt of render which stops one brick from the ground, where I presume the damp course is. There is a vent here that I guess is for the under floor ventilation. The front yard is concreted but there is a little (less than a centimetre) gap between the concrete and the wall that looks like it is earth as I can stick a screwdriver into it and there are a few plants growing. Could this be where the damp is getting in?
Also, there is a gas meter on the wall outside, does this have anything that would penetrate the brickwork?
Thanks in advance![/b]
First off, apologies for the amount of stupid questions I'm going to ask, I've just bought my first house so DIY is completely new to me.
Anyhow, I have a Victorian (I think) terrace with the not uncommon problem of damp in the bay window. I'm pretty sure its not due to condensation and it looks like its rising from the floor level upwards.
The windows are new plastic affairs, and the sealing round them looks ok so I don't think the water is getting in that way.
The bay window exterior itself isn't in tip-top condition with a bit of crumbly cement, some patches where the outer outer later of mortar has come away and a few cracks where it has settled. There were also a few ferns taking root in these areas. I'm going to clean these out and re-cement these as soon as the weather improves a little.
Round the base of the bay window is a skirt of render which stops one brick from the ground, where I presume the damp course is. There is a vent here that I guess is for the under floor ventilation. The front yard is concreted but there is a little (less than a centimetre) gap between the concrete and the wall that looks like it is earth as I can stick a screwdriver into it and there are a few plants growing. Could this be where the damp is getting in?
Also, there is a gas meter on the wall outside, does this have anything that would penetrate the brickwork?
Thanks in advance![/b]
