Yet another 'what do I do with this wet wall' post!

[Eric56]

Seven years ago I had my property repointed front and back. Done by a Stonemason using traditional methods and materials.
At the front of the house he could only go so far down as we had flower beds with various plants and bushes.
The left hand side of the front wall always looked wet. Rain or shine.
Last Summer I decided to remove all the flowers and bushes. After reading a lot of posts here I started doing an hour or so a week removing the soil to expose the lower bricks and to let it all dry out.
The Stonemason is coming back in March.
The rainwater pipe goes out below the driveway and drains into an adjacent field. Will test again but AFAIK it isn't blocked.
Current plan is to repoint in March after the frosts are done. And then I was thinking of French Drain being done early Summer.
Main question though is why on Earth is that wall wet? And since I have removed the soil it looks to have spread towards the Porch a little.
Old entrance hall behind that all and site of very old 'range' cooker. Now a woodburning stove. The second image shows the rear wall to the left of the first pic. That corner gets all the rain and wind blowing against it. Have been lowering ground level there as well.

 

[Eric56]

Ouch not a single reply? Was it something I said?

 

[jamest]

That's a weird puzzle. I think the reason no one replied is that there is insufficient information to give an answer. A few speculations and further queries might provide a basis for further investigation - here goes!

(1) It sure looks damp (at least damper than other parts of the wall), but is it? Have you checked that it is actually moisture that's responsible for the colour change?
(2) If it is moisture, there are two possible origins - there is a water source somewhere that is affecting that bit of discoloured wall more than anywhere else (though not necessarily exclusively) or else there is something in the stone or material of the wall that is attracting moisture (e.g., salts). Which one is it?
(3) Without knowing the structure of the wall (how thick is it? Is it rubble filled?) it's impossible to say whether there could be a unidentified water source, but it's not impossible that it could be coming from somewhere far away, trickling down inside the wall and then being held up by something at that location, perhaps some relatively impermeable material within the wall structure at that location. Alternatively, there could be some rotten wood inside the wall at that location (an old lintel or something) which is soaking up the water like a sponge and it's this that's finding it's way out where the colour is different.
(4) If it's salts or other deposits, they could have come from the range possibly and leeched into the wall (though why just that bit?) or there could have been a pigsty up against the wall at some time in the past and the pigs spent their time pissing on it. Or maybe manure was heaped up against that bit of wall.

Anyone's guess really. More research needed, as they say.

 

[fernicarry]

site of very old 'range' cooker. Now a woodburning stove

Chimney flue would spring to mind as a source of water ingress.

 

[jamest]

chimney flue occurred to me too. If water is getting in at the top, due to cracked flaunching for example, and running down to a register plate which directs it into the wall, that could explain the horizontal upper edge of the discoloured section. Is that indeed where the fire place is? where is the register plate?

 

[aockenden]

A couple ideas to look into: that downspout in the first pic leads up to the guttering I assume? Have you checked the integrity of the guttering and the connection between the guttering and the downspout? Any leaks or blockages that might be causing leaking or splashing down the wall? The chimney (which I’m guessing must exist in the area if there’s a range) is also a potential hotspot for leaking down into the wall.

 

[Athers1971]

Yes, as others have said, difficult to say. But I first would discount the guttering above. Have you stood outside in a downpour and watch what happens?

 

[Eric56]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. It's certainly had me scratching my head for years.

Some follow up answers:

The wall is solid stone at the front. Have stood outside many times. The stonemason reckoned rain was being blown onto that part of the wall in heavy rain. The house is half secluded half exposed location. Has driving wind and driving rain during the course of the year. Sounds like you're on a cliff top by a roaring Sea at times.

Chimney - the house was re-roofed fully in 2022. The chimney was repointed in lime - all new leadwork and flaunchings done.

I will take some more pics. It's been yet another wet week. Room is well ventilated during the year. No damp smell inside.

 

[Eric56]

Update - with some slightly more settled weather - used hosepipe and ladders to test all the downpipes. They all work fine with water piping under my driveway and out into adjacent woodland as designed.

Stonemason coming March 11th.

 

[Eric56]

Update #2 - decided to take a look at the wall inside the hearth. Of course it's always been covered with a stack of seasoned logs. Never ever thought to remove them - until now.
Surprise surprise - a load of cement slapped all over the interior wall - which was done by previous owner in 2006. So now my gut tells me that lovely cement is trapping moisture there in that exact place.

 

[Eric56]

Update #3 - so in the last few weeks - I continued digging down about six bricks or six stones down to expose as much of the exterior walls as I could. Everywhere that needed repointing has had it. I'll take some pics once the rain has ceased. Last week was good for hydraulic lime. Inside, my stonemason carefully removed the cement that was interior adjacent to where the 'damp bit that never seems to dry out' is - removed all that to find some very old original lime plaster and mortar - with horsehair sticking out of it. RH in that space was down to 45% and now around 56% albeit with window open to keep a flow of air going. The new lime is drying well. Am just focusing psychic willpower to make the stuff above it dry out.

 

[Eric56]

Here's what the other side of the damp bit looks like now with the cement removed. Original lime plaster behind it.

 

[Eric56]

Here's what my wall is looking like this week. Some warmer weather is helping it seems. I continue to hand excavate around the house as much as I can. You can see the recent lime pointing that went in. Have a heritage surveyor booked for the end of the month. And then drainage firm the week after that.

 

[Eric56]

I thought it would be useful to post an update. I am still monitoring my wall and taking regular pictures. I had the folks from "Heritage House" come out to take a look. Was a really interesting day. Here are some images. In direct sunlight the wall looks totally fine. It's just that in overcast weather it looks the same as it always does. Current plan is to leave until next Summer. Don't know what to do with the gap where soil/flowerbed used to be. There's a drainage pipe running diagonally across it. Any thoughts? And to everyone else who has been digging out the ground around their house - don't give up. Just do a little at a time. That's what I've been doing.

 

[Eric56]

Context bottom pic March. First two pics yesterday.

 

[a twig]

Is there a chance part of the wall had a stone sealer (Thompsons or whatever) put on by a previous owner and that bit got missed?

Another question - how thick is the wall that is drying out? Apologies if that has been already stated - couldn’t see it anywhere

 

[Eric56]

That's an interesting point about the Thompsons. I don't think so. There was climbing foliage there when I moved in. And a long term crack. There was original lime but there was a real mis mash of cement 'repairs' all over the place. As for thickness a rough guess I would say the wall would be between 30 and 50cms thick.

 

[Eric56]

This is what it looked like when I viewed the property before purchase.

 

[Eric56]

and back to 2014 with a 'during' and 'after' the repointing was done.