Penetrating damp / dormer window issues..HELP!! Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[gouldie445]

Hi All. Please help with some advice. We have a Victorian semi which is now driving us mad. The main issues are around damp which appears to be penetrating our bedroom wall. I have only recently redocorated the bedroom which was showing small signs of damp but these are now alarmingly obvious with new paint. I have photos which illustrate how damp the brickwork is after rain on the exterior but cant attach them! The brickwork only appears damp in cetain areas and this is centered around the dormer window. The bricks are sodden at times. We are getting extremely frustrated as we have put money into small roof repairs ( flashing etc ) and nobody can tell us if it is roof or brick related. There is no felt beneath the roof tiles and the roof is itself old. The wall is possibly in need of pointing and has lime mortar. The wall was also treated with cavity filling 18 months ago. Someone please advise me if this could be rain water running from the roof/ dormer valleysp enetrating pointing work and down the brickwork or rainwater leaking through the roof tiles and somehow entering the cavity. As you can see the interior shots show a number of interior patches. These appears much more pronounced in freezing weather. Any help and advice will be gratefully recieved.

[stoneyboy]

gouldie445,
Your question is difficult to answer without seeing pictures - please try loading them again.
It is very unlikely that you have cavity walls so you are probably getting damp penetration from outside.
Have a look at the window cill - is it weatherproof and does it have a drip groove underneath? Is the mortar sound where the cill sits on the wall?
end

[2tellytel]

The first thing you should have done when you bought the property was to have the roof felted up.
Always remember it is the felt that keeps the damp out not the tiles.
You may well have water penetrating through the walls from via the edges of the roof.

I appreciate that you can get damp through the walls via bad pointing, but when buying old property rule of thumb is top and tail first i.e. re-roof and damp course.