Water damage to the exterior of the house?

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

Hi all,

We recently moved into a 1970s house during mid winter, it has an extension with a concrete slab adjoining the existing home with a subfloor.

I have recently noticed a wet area to where the extension meets the existing house (see photos below). There is a split system and a hot water heating system on the corner of the house. There was some condensation from the split system running directly onto the wall but since having it off for the last 2 weeks, the water patch on the wall has not change.

The mortar is becoming very sandy between some of the lower bricks.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this?

Thanks in advance!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

Kate
4 years ago
Looks like there is water coming up the wall to the damp proof course. I’d say the leak is below ground. Can you get under that part of house?
Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author
4 years ago
That is my concern. Unfortunately that part of the house is on a concrete slab. I can get as close as the wall next to the hot water tank.

Who would be the best trade to have a look at finding a solution to this?
Related Discussions
Help with Roof and house Exterior
Q
Comments (9)
Because of the heat, you should not use dark colours on walls or roof. regarding painting of brick. Brick is an almost no maintenance cladding. When you paint it you've set yourself up for a big chore every 7 (on the west) to 10 years. Secondly, if you still want to paint it, you need to use special brick paint, or natural limewash. Bricks and mortar need to breathe. If they can't, you can have structural problems down the track. theres lots of information about limewash on the Internet.
...See More
Can I have only timber sealer/primer on house exterior walls 4 a year.
Q
Comments (1)
Always seek professional assistance. Be it a colour consultant, designer or a house painter. Always good to bounce your ideas around here as a lot of good advise is given, certainly if you're not sure of where to start. Have a chat to a local house painter, they're the best ones to give solid advice. Paint brands are usually pretty good, certainly the well known ones like Taubmans, Wattyl, Solver, Dulux. Trusted brands been around for decades. Colour consultants are good as they live and breath colour schemes. They can come up with colours to use that the rest of us wouldn't even think of. Terracotta roof is timeless and classic so you're certainly not limited.
...See More
1960s brick home exterior
Q
Comments (8)
Hi Ash we had the same dilemma, I love our red brick house but many bricks were damaged and the cost of replacing them with newer like coloured bricks and mortar was costly and risky as there was a high chance they wouldnt match the old bricks. We decided to render our house in the end and are happy with the result! We went for an acrylic render in a Resene Triple thorndon cream colour. The colour started off a little green but now one month in its a nice cream greyish colour which works well in our South East facing house. Now we are onto our landscaping and will replace our garage door. We also cleaned our roof - I suggest doing that first and that will help give you an idea on render colours.
...See More
Help with exterior colours on large retro Fibro house
Q
Comments (3)
The rear looks a lot more modern than the front ( I realise it isn't -- just the colours do that ) , so that would be my starting point . So focus on the rear to start with ( just in your mind -- personally , I'd leave it as it is until you are happy with the front ) . The charcoal eves look good , the dark windows look good , in fact what the minor things are the one white upstairs window ; also the basement being a muddy brown grey whereas the eves look contrasting , the basement looks dirty and mismatched in comparison . And then the fence is fawn . Okay , so fix that -- buy 10 litres of charcoal and 2 brushes and it will look planned . Paint the railing in bright red or sunshine yellow ( it looks better , but arguably safer too ) and you are there for that side . The front though -- I think you are versa vice with your idea of white trim . Look at the rear picture , and take the cues . Paint the fibrolite and battens in off-white . Paint the bricks of the front fence in white . Do the eves , almost all the window frames , the base and the fence pailings in charcoal . Almost all ? Yes , the front door and the window frames around them , the garage door and the numbers on the gate I'd do in the bright red or sunshine yellow , the same as that back railing . Add a couple of modern black framed outdoor lights ( $100 ones , not $20 ones ) , and it suddenly looks 40 years newer for $2k if you do the labour yourself .
...See More
dreamer
4 years ago
What rooms are on the other side of the damp wall?
I would organise a plumber to come and check the home.
Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author
4 years ago
The other side of the damp is a sunroom/living room. The the pipe exiting the wall is from the laundry (washing machine and sink).

On the other side of the wall, there is some minor warping to the engineered timber with a slight dip in near the skirting (hard to see in the photo).

What would the plumber be checking? Leak in the laundry or surrounding pipes?
Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author
4 years ago
The other side of the damp is a sunroom/living room. The the pipe exiting the wall is from the laundry (washing machine and sink).

On the other side of the wall, there is some minor warping to the engineered timber with a slight dip in near the skirting (hard to see in the photo).

What would the plumber be checking? Leak in the laundry or surrounding pipes?
Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author
4 years ago
The other side of the damp wall is a sunroom/living room.

The pipe in the first photo is from the laundry (washing machine and sink outlet).

There is some minor warping of the engineered timber underfoot, also some minor gapping near the skirting (hard to see in the below photo).

What would the plumber be looking for? Checking for leaks in the surrounding pipes near that wall?
dreamer
4 years ago
Yes the plumber would check for broken or blocked pipes which are causing leaking. They use a camera probe to put into the drain and see where the issue is.
oklouise
4 years ago
i would also have the roof checked (roof specialist or plumber) to make sure that the join between extension and old house isn't the problem
PRO
HobertWaller2
last month
last modified: last month
I had something kind of similar with an old place I rented. Water kept showing up where an extension joined the main house and I thought it was just the rain at first, but eventually realized there were small cracks where the slab met the brickwork causing water to creep up. For us, the mortar also got crumbly and a bit of a musty smell developed, which turned out to be moisture trapped inside the walls, not just an outside issue.

If you’re seeing no change even after stopping the condensation, might be worth checking for trapped moisture or weak spots in the wall/foundation where water seeps in. Found lots of advice for this on a restoration website, especially about dealing with persistent water issues in building structures.

Water damage to the exterior of the house?

Comments (9)

Kate

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

Related Discussions

dreamer

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

dreamer

oklouise

HobertWaller2

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

Water damage to the exterior of the house?

Comments (9)

Kate

Roshan WijeratneOriginal Author

Related Discussions

dreamer

Roshan WijeratneOriginal Author

Roshan WijeratneOriginal Author

Roshan WijeratneOriginal Author

dreamer

oklouise

HobertWaller2

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author

Roshan Wijeratne
Original Author