Hello... hoping someone can help. We bought our 1878 Victorian terrace house in August 2018 and have been slowly renovating after an elderly lady lived here for 30+ years. The house stood empty for 18 months before we moved in. The house is brick built with a pebbledash coating. No cavity wall insulation.
Right the problem...
downstairs - living room has wet patches, yellow in colour and black mould with blown plaster in places. This is on the external wall.
Walls adjacent to neighbours both have salty, crystallised plaster.
Kitchen has similar issues
Have had builders visit to be told we need plaster hacked off to 1 metre and DPC renewed. Then replastered to fix this.
All Windows (up and down) plus front and back door are awful and not doing their job, they will be replaced in due course but are always soaking wet every morning. They have moisture in between the panes and the seals are knackered.
Upstairs....
front main bedroom in the corner (external wall) when it is cold outside (doesn’t have to be raining)the wall feels wet (at skirting level & up the corner of wall). There is no furniture blocking. what is the most likely cause for this happening?
Back bedroom (this is in an extension that would have been added possibly 1920-30) the back external wall looks like it has running condensation; I physically dry the wall with a towel (this room is directly above the bathroom - which currently doesn’t have an extractor (being fitted next week)). This is pretty much the whole wall from ceiling to skirting. Have a dehumidifier in this room which is helping slightly.
I know the windows need replacing (currently frantically saving) but could this be the cause or is it penetrating damp?
We’ve been thinking of sealing the exterior walls with Stormdry Masonary Protection Cream and then painting with sandtex (we always planed on painting anyway).
I cannot see that there are any obvious issues with pebbledash, loft is well insulated and guttering doesn’t appear to be leaking. Could it just be (upstairs) due to the rubbish windows and perhaps flashings gone?
Do not want to hack off pebbledash (too costly and may cause more damage)
Feeling desperate....
any advice greatly appreciated - thank you in advance