Is my house crumbling down?

[Redders]

Hello, I’m hoping you might take a look at my wall for me and offer your opinions please. I’ve been following this forum for a while now. Reading posts has really helped me understand my old house a lot better. I’m incredibly grateful to you all!

So I have a damp problem in my dining room that needs fixing so I can decorate. I’ve been monitoring it for a while to try and work out the cause. I bought the house six months ago. It’s a 1906 small semi-detached brick house built on sandy heathland. The house gradually falls away at the rear.

It didn’t have proper heating for many years. When I got in I removed all the wallpaper carpets etc. The paper was curling a bit from condensation but no signs of mould and the walls underneath are mostly all original lime in fairly good condition. So I had a new heating system put in in October and the house has warmed up nicely.

However, the dining room wall which is an exterior wall has damp patches in two places. This wall can only be accessed via my neighbour’s garden. This wall has also been built on to. There was a side extension built in the late 90s. This is my neighbour’s downstairs loo/utility room. My exterior wall is their interior wall. I didn’t quite realise this when I bought the house.

I’ve gone around today to take photos and I was expecting there to be high ground levels or no DPC, no vent etc. to explain for the damp. But instead there’s no ground! The footings are exposed and the bricks are a mess. I’m really worried that someone has done a patch repair at some point! You can see the footings under the pipe.



I’m not sure what to do next, there could be so many reasons for the damp! And how alarmed should I be by that wall? Any thoughts please?

 

[larry]

Yes, plenty of options for the damp and important to try to rule them in or out systematically one by one, then solve them, then let the wall dry, before decorating.

A few observations?

1. The brick pattern on that wall possibly suggests a cavity wall. Is it? Is the cavity filled?
2. I can't tell from the pics but is your finger pointing to a DPC? If
3. Have you been able to have a look at what happens when it rains? The grey down pipe over the roof of the neighbour's loo looks like it might carry a lot of water and also looks like it is positioned in a way that might cause a fair bit of splashing when it hits the lower gutter.
4. I'm curious about the very short distance between your neighbours boiler flue and the window on your wall. That doesn't look ideal.
5. Could you lift a board on your side to see what's going on on the left hand side of the first bit. That section is I guess behind the neighbours loo? So shouldn't be penetrating damp. Worth checking if anything bridging DPC on the inside.

Others will likely have better informed thoughts but ultimately this is a logical step by step process

I'm no structural engineer also so feel entirely unqualified to answer your question about the footings but if it was my house I wouldn't feel worried for a fairly short section. But that may just be because I've accepted the "it hasn't fallen down yet" logic.

 

[larry]

Also I'm going to say the sub floor vents look like they have been more recently pointed than the rest of the wall (pic 4) so suspect you are not the first person noticing issues.

 

[larry]

Actually, is that a single skin wall? The window looks fairly shallow. If yes, then doesn't look like a lintel over that window beyond the timber frame so be extra careful if replacing that window.

 

[larry]

And, are those bricks covered with something???

 

[Redders]

Hi @larry thank you for your replies and sensible advice as to how I might tackle this. Your view on the footings is reassuring, and the house has been standing for 120 years! The length of the exposed section is probably about four meters in total, is that a short section?

1. Yes, I’m pretty sure it is a cavity wall as it is on the other side of the house. I haven’t lifted the boards yet because they’ve never been lifted and look so nice still.

2. Yes, that is the DPC where the hand is pointing.

3. I can’t easily see what happens when it rains, because of the high fence and shed, but I will definitely monitor this more for splashing, but the patches on my interior wall don’t seem to rise when it does rain.



4. Yes, the flue looks to be non-compliant according to regs: https://energyguide.org.uk/boiler-flue-regulations/
But it’s a tricky one, as I need access to my side of the house for repairs so want to keep the neighbours on side as much as possible - the window doesn’t open and I’ve covered the vent for now and have a co2 detector - but it’s not ideal. I’m not sure how to broach this one in all honesty.

5. Yes, lifting the boards makes sense, I need to investigate further…

On the other side there is a washing machine and sink. My external wall is painted with interior paint which is probably not great for it. My neighbour has said he’d check for any leaks on their side and get behind the washing machine…

The subfloor vents were added in the 50s or 60s I think, along with lots of other modernising that occurred at that point.

The high up window has been there at least 70+ years, as it features on the 1953 architect’s plan, drew up for the extension that was later added. Thank you for pointing out the shallow frame. It’s the only original?window left so would be nice to preserve.

The bricks do look like they have been painted with something nasty. This section under the window is where the second damp patch is.

 

[stuart45]

One issue could.be the lack of cavity trays where the extension roof meets the wall.

 

[Redders]

Thank you @stuart45, definitely another potential cause, and I understand that there would be visible colour variation in the pointing to indicate this has been done, which there doesn’t seem to be here.

 

[stuart45]

There could be some rubble in the cavity above the DPC. You can remove some bricks inside to check.

 

[larry]

Also gonna add there's a lot of moss on that roof. Is the downpipe clear at the top?

I would definitely want to see what's going on here during the rain.

Bear in mind also there may be more than one thing going on to cause a problem.