Water leaking - wooden beam in wall in between brickwork

[boolie]

Hi All,

I have a water leaking problem. I thought I'd fixed the problem a while ago but it is still occurring (albeit not as bad as before).

Before Story
Lots of water coming into the kitchen when it rained. The section above the kitchen where the water was coming from had a system boiler et al and lots furniture covering it. Anyway, got rid of all that old system boiler and associated furniture to replace with a combi. That's when I noticed where the leak was coming from. Once the system boiler et al had been stripped away I could see the bare wall, at the bottom of the wall are breeze blocks, then a wooden beam, then red bricks on top of the wooden beam. I pinpointed the water originating to the point of the wooden beam. See pics attached. The outside wall is rendered and I could see a crack specifically where the wooden beam was. So, I patched up the crack with mortar and that seemed to solve the problem... fast forward to the after story (see my reply below and after pics)

 

[boolie]

After story
So I patched over the crack and re plastered the inside wall and cleaned up. Roll forward about 8 months and the leak starts again (specifically when it rained a lot over the last few days). I can see the damp patch on the inside of the wall starts at the point the wooden beam is. My mortar patch also might need renewing? Do I need to get that wooden beam out completely?? Is that DIY-able? How can I solve the problem??

See pics below for the current state of the situation

 

[^woody^]

If the timber is not soft or rotting, consider a better repair of the render - including mesh to control future cracking, and possibly overcoating the whole elevation if it's sound, but definitely painting any bare repaired render.

 

[boolie]

If the timber is not soft or rotting, consider a better repair of the render - including mesh to control future cracking, and possibly overcoating the whole elevation if it's sound, but definitely painting any bare repaired render.

Thanks, I did use some galvanised mesh before. So, shall I cut out my mortar job... then replace with a better job. Sand down to make it flat, then use 'render paint' (may as well paint the whole wall).

Or can I get away with sanding down and painting over the existing mortar job I did?

 

[^woody^]

I would consider replacing, it does not look the best!

Whether you can sand down is a case of trying. If it works, fine, but there's the issue of whether it will crack along the junction of new and existing. And whether the rest of the render is sound.

Don't use galv. mesh, it will rust. Use fibre or stainless steel.

 

[boolie]

thanks, in that case will cut out my crappy render and try again! will use fibre or stainless steel mesh!
TBH I found it difficult trying to get a neat finish... will be extra careful this time

 

[boolie]

btw this is the mesh product I used last time.. is this likely to rust long term? it's made of steel, but not stainless steel

Sabrefix Reinforcing Coil Galvanised DX275 20m x 65mm - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Galvanised steel. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

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