Any idea what is causing this damp patch and what I can do about it? The wall to the right is an outdoor party wall between two front sunken courtyards, the damp seems to be coming from the corner. There are no pipes there except next door’s down pipe which seems fine. The damp patch has been there in one form or another for years!
Damp patch on exterior wall
- Thread starter Wilmottom
- Start date
Sponsored Links
Sneak a pic of next door's downpipe if you can. It looks like a basement flat so you'll be in for that sort of thing in winter.
Why would it not run to the botttom of the wall insted of tracking across where it is?
Sponsored Links
- Joined
- 11 Dec 2012
- Messages
- 1,770
- Reaction score
- 470
- Country
Water is fickle
Tracking off the cable is my guess.
OP,
what do you mean by "sunken courtyards"? Do you have a front elevation pic?
The party wall is presumably absorbing water and transferring it to the house brickwork at the abutment?
The party wall has sand & cement (?) plinth - the plinth could be attracting capillary water action from the ground?
Where is your FFL in relation to the exterior ground level?
Given you have a solid house wall do you have any damp signs inside the room?
what do you mean by "sunken courtyards"? Do you have a front elevation pic?
The party wall is presumably absorbing water and transferring it to the house brickwork at the abutment?
The party wall has sand & cement (?) plinth - the plinth could be attracting capillary water action from the ground?
Where is your FFL in relation to the exterior ground level?
Given you have a solid house wall do you have any damp signs inside the room?
Thanks for all the thoughts on this. The FFL is one story below street level with a 4m (ish) courtyard in between with a well drained concrete floor (French drain in the middle of it). It's a strange topography as the back garden is also 1 story below street level, as is the FFL on the opposite side of the street. It's almost as if they built up the road in the middle - Victorians! Anyway, the party wall is actually brick down to the ground, the bottom foot or so is just render. There is a small amount of condensation damp in the winter months as expected in such houses inside, which we manage to largely keep at bay using a dehumidifier, ventilation and keeping furniture away from exterior walls, but actually no damp on the inside of where the visible damp patch is outside! So yes, all suggests it's tracking into the brickwork from the party wall at the abutment, just can't work out whether the source is simply rainwater or something else. I'll speak to my neighbour and ask to look at her side and check the downpipe, she has a lot of plants in her courtyard near her wall and her side (of the party wall) faces NE so could it just be a build up of moisture in the shaded corner on her side? Seems unlikely to cause such a big patch tracking across to me. But anyway I'll take a look and post another pic or too. Thanks so much for the ideas - it's been really bugging me!
DIYnot Local
Staff member
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local
Sponsored Links