Hi

Was out gardening today and this side of my house doesnt get direct sunlight because of the wall, had a small wooden stick
was was poking off some minor moss growing, and to my shock the sand or stuff between the bricks was wet and soft, and one of bricks in the photo you will see had like a hole in there with this white stuff coming out...

I need advise

-what has caused this?
-what can i do to fix this?
-how big of a threat is this to my wall?
-how much would repairs cost?

I have no other similar issue in my home. That wall is where kitchen is.

update:

Had look inside the house that wall is where the kitchen sink us, washing machine and dish washer.

I can see the hot and cold water copper pipe covered in water, but there is no obvious continuous leak, its more like what you see on a condensed windows, water it but not actively dripping.

Don't know what is causing this, going to empty the boxes from under the sink tomorrow and pull out the washing machine...

It is quite amazing how much water can build up from a weep. I helped a pal out where it was the washing machine tap joint that had a small weep and this had saturated a suspended floor. The vibration from a washing machine can do this to joints over time so I would start there. The picture does look like water accumulated into the wall above the damp course to me. If you can trace the leak I am sure the wall will dry out over a few weeks.

DWD

Hi

Today no drip or wetness on the pipes at all, next step was/is to pull the washing machine out and monitor the situation.

From the way the bricks are laid, you have a cavity wall.
The state of the bricks below the damp proof course is fairly normal.
You do appear to have a large damp patch on the wall below the window.
It is unlikely that the damp proof course would fail on a relatively modern house.
It is normal for a cold water pipe, that is not insulated to be covered in condensation after the cold tap has been run, or after cooking.
It drys out when the water inside warms up, or when the steam in the room disappears.

I would guess that the window was not fitted correctly, and that rain is running into the outer leaf of the cavity wall, and running down the inside of the outer wall.

Get a ladder and take a careful look all round the window frame, you will probably see areas where the frame has not been sealed to the wall with foam. Areas where cheap sealant has been used and has now died.

Hi

Found the culprit, my washing machine cold water intake pipe was connecting to a hot water supply, the pipe erroded and had been dripping. I pulled out the washing machine and that drip turned into a leak! The washing machine issue is now fixed, new pipe, a cut put into the cold water pipe and the pipe mounted there.

In my first photo towards the right hand side you can see a plumping hole was sealed off (due to a extention) and just behind that is where the washing machine is. On the otherside of that wall where the gas pipe is going inside thats where the dishwasher is, I don't understand how things got damaged there. The dishwasher has been used twice in like 7 months.

My immediate concern and worry is repairs, who do I call? what is the process? can the brick with a hole in it be patched up? Can a layer of mortar be placed between the bricks to make it all look neat and tidy again?

Where is the DPC, I can't quite make out if it's the brick in line with the pebbles or 2 course up.

Either way the DPC should be a minimum of 150mm from ground level. It would be worth making a trench between the gravel and the wall about 200mm from the wall, the top fill of the trench should be a minimum of 150mm below the DPC.

Identifying the DPC line, you should see a polyethylene or bitumen-polymer like membrane sticking out from the cement line.

Can you clarify where it is?

_________________
Jaeger.
Senior Member doesn't mean I'm OLD!

darrenc wrote:

I dont think its a stupid question but does show a lack of understanding of how paint works and reasons for certain applications, now dont jump down my throat Jaegar i'm not being funny its just a classic case in point of a well educated professionally trained painter against a general tradesman.

Hi Jaeger

I will remove those decorative stones this weekend and have a look, on my extension I can quite clearly see the black colour membrane about 15-20m from the ground and even on my original garden brick wall.

I need some advise about how to go about getting the right person/company in to fix my brick, I suspect just replacing the brick is the best thing to do and I have been reading up on that and watching videos on how its done.

Do I just call building companies and get quotes? Are these companies usually a member of some kind of governing body? ( eg. Fensa for double glazing). How much does this usually cost?

I thought it would be a weep from a joint, it is amazing how much water builds up over a period of time. Do not over focus on the broken brick issue, it is not a major problem and any brickie will chop out the bricks and replace them. Should bot be more than £100 but it will depend on where you are. You will need to find bricks to match.

DWD

I'd agree with DWD in that you need some more investigating as it will/could be an easy fix.

If it's a weeping joint that'll dry up when fixed as will the bricks. Give each joint a wipe with toilet paper/kitchen roll to dry and then wipe it with your finger quite a few times it'll show in the light as wet.

If the DPC has been breached if cleared it'll dry up.

So let's check the obvious first and move on top bringing someone in later.

The DPC should be a minimum of 150 above ground level, if that's not possible then 100mm is acceptable.

_________________
Jaeger.
Senior Member doesn't mean I'm OLD!

darrenc wrote:

I dont think its a stupid question but does show a lack of understanding of how paint works and reasons for certain applications, now dont jump down my throat Jaegar i'm not being funny its just a classic case in point of a well educated professionally trained painter against a general tradesman.