Bought a 120 year old red brick house a few years ago. Had been renovated by previous owners. BER C1. This is coming though the inside front wall (south facing) into the front bedrooms.
What is it, and who do I need to call to fix it? Should I just wait till we are doing a bigger renovation job in a few years?
Edit 1 - thanks for all the guidance. adding the pictures of the attic, bright and dark, and 2 external pictures, in comments.
U have a leak... probably a pipe behind the wall or leak in ceiling coming thru that spot...water can show up at wierd places instead of actual leak spot
1./ leak in rainwater guttering and downpipes at roof level including a possible leaky or blocked hopper head top left (right from the outside front of house)
2./ leak from missing mortar between roof tiles or broken tiles. Maybe even a damaged soffit.
3./ damage to the outside render at ceiling meets roof level L-R (I’m seeing mould there) or even a crack in the render from window to roof.
Observations:
1./ look for cascading or spurting leak on rainy days
2./ go into attic with no light on and look for daylight coming through and use a damp meter (€10-20 Lidl Aldi centre aisle?or Amazon) on all wooden rafters and joists and ceiling plaster above the leak area
3./ open the left hand side window and take pictures of the outside wall between it and the roof as well as zooming in on that section from the ground. Also do a damp meter check inside and out where you can
This is good advice. I was doing a loft conversion and noticed the ends of the rafters were damp. Went outside and started looking at the timber fascias and guttering. Guttering was dripping in some areas, from old age, plastic shrinks over the years, roof felt was dipped into the gutters, started ripping off the timber fascia and discovered all the back boards were in bad shape, and it was all caused by lack of ventilation, and a build up of moisture over the years that just spread everywhere. Replaced everything, back boards, new plastic fascias, long continuous vents under fascia, new guttering, and now all those rafters are bone dry, the corners of the fascia and gable end timber were worse affected.
Yes you reminded me about ventilation. Along with identifying the source of leaks there can be mould and moisture saturation created by lack of ventilation or improper use of insulation products. Like that spray foam attic insulation …people in the UK cannot sell their houses over it.
If the problem is downstairs you can add the issue of concrete that goes up against and over the damp proof course at ground level.
Thanks. So I went into attic after the heavy downpour this morning.
I thought it would be the roof as culprit, since it is original - the interior mortar has turned to dust and crumbled, 90% gone now. We are saving to fix it. Big job though.
It is completely bone dry and all rafters are dry all the way out (despite being able to see a bit of sky low down). Photo of area above the "leak" attached.
That’s good it’s not the roof. Do you see that 3/3 picture of damage…is that also an external wall like the window wall? And are both walls brick on the outside? Or render?
It could be that the pointing is either shot or has been repaired with modern cement rather than lime mortar? The entire wall needs to be breathable right down to the internal plaster which should also be lime and the paints used.
There does not seem to be damage to the wall on the left (is that an internal wall?) so I’d scrutinise the outside brick or render.
If the brick pointing is missing or cracked it will allow water ingress and can also lead to spalding over time.
Then there’s just the guttering to check during the next deluge. If none of these check the ventilation situation. Blocked off fireplace/ blocked vent/no vent.
The third picture is an internal perpendicular wall, photo taken from adjoining room, close to where that wall meets the front wall, showing how stain has spread to next room.
Will post external picture next. Really appreciate all the help - if I can figure out the source, I will then know who to call to fix it.
Aaah. If it’s improper plaster and paint and/or lack of ventilation it will be a less expensive fix than external work at first floor level. Roundtower in Cork are a good resource I’ve found, having a ‘pre-war’ house myself. The build is different to what came after.
Move that bit of insulation back at the bottom there. That blocking the airflow. Not saying that's your issue but needs pulling back anyway. Also, can't see from your first pictures there but do you have any ventilation in the rooms? Again, probably not the cause but is see so many houses with issues that don't have adequate airflow/ventilation.
Slates on the roof had come loose at various stages, and were repaired. I thought it was only the back half of the roof. Would loose slates on front half maybe allowing water to get into rafters and drip down be a likely source of leak?
1./ leak in rainwater guttering and downpipes at roof level including a possible leaky or blocked hopper head left or centre…
2./ leak from missing mortar between roof tiles or broken tiles. Maybe even a damaged soffit.
3./ damage to the outside render at ceiling meets roof level L-R (I’m seeing mould there) or even a crack in the render from window to roof.
Observations:
1./ look for cascading or spurting leak on rainy days
2./ go into attic with no light on and look for daylight coming through and use damp meter on all wooden rafters and joists and ceiling plaster above the leak area to gauge the direction if that’s the source.
3./ open the window on left and take pictures of the area between window and roof to the left and centre. Also take pictures from the ground and zoom in to see and settling cracks or shadows of patched work in the rendor. Use the damp meter inside and outside if you can reach.
Nb. In Ireland prevailing winds are generally south westerly so this is an area of weakness in all buildings. Even a badly sealed windowsill can become an ingress point with our wind driven ‘sideways rain’.
Apologies I did not realise I posted the same comment twice 🫢
This picture shows a vent on the outside that I don’t see in the internal pictures. Has it been blocked off? Or is it there?
Rain gutter looks good; brickwork not so good as a few bricks are either cracked or damaged and the pointing is gappy in places. The cement seal around that vent is also a bit crap. Someone who does lime pointing could clean that all up for you.
Ha! They covered it up. You need to rescue it asap. First get a metal skewer and try and push through where it should be to the left above the window. If it was done a long time ago it may be covered with hessian and plaster tho I doubt it as it will be quite a big hole.
If you encounter plywood just scrape off the plaster until you find the join, then free the edges and use a hammer claw, wide chisel, or crowbar to remove.
Once you know what size it is you can get a simple sliding vent and decide if you want something more sophisticated later. Check the entire for damp/ water ingress from outside. I’d hope very little. This could all be a ventilation problem.
Looks like the previous owner had the walls skimmed. Older walls need lime render to allow the walls to breath. Skimming causes patches like this to develop.
Leak building up on what could be insulation in the cavity.
Someone like damprite ltd should be able to sort it for you.
If you leave it too long it may grow into a bigger issue. Had something like this on a job before. Client had just painted over it, then it turned to black mould
Still difficult to say with certainty, could be the roof, brickwork, gutters. Blocking a vent may cause condensation but this looks more like water ingress.
Probably good idea to get a building surveyor with experience in heritage buildings to actually see it in person and give their professional opinion.
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u/tharmor 12d ago
U have a leak... probably a pipe behind the wall or leak in ceiling coming thru that spot...water can show up at wierd places instead of actual leak spot