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John

wrote:
On Jun 26, 12:00 pm, John wrote:

I wrote a while ago about problems with damp coming into the house where
the new extension is. I've had a good look and can't see anything wrong
so I got a builder in. I thought he's going to be expensive but he said
it's basically down to porous bricks. The wall is battered by the
prevailing south-westerly and the rain just soaks through. Not much but
a little. He's seen it in lots of houses round here. Is this likely? Can
I really just fix the problem by painting that weatherseal stuff on the
wall?

Thanks

Nearly every victorian house is built with porous bricke, yet most
dont have a damp problem, and painting the ones that do with sealant
only makes any damp worse. So I doubt both the diagnosis and the
proposed solution.

Ah, but.. it may well be true in our house. Thinking about it there was
a small damp spot in the area where the kitchen and dining room join in
the corner roughly where the damp spot is now. I hacked off the plaster
and replastered it shortly after moving in and it seemed okay. However
it may be that the damp is coming in through the cavity wall and is now
being stopped at the extension and coming in through the ceiling. I
could easily be talking b*ll*cks here though.

For the cost of "painting" the outside wall with waterproof solution and
seeing if the problem goes away it may be worth a go.

The builder did tell me the flashing was very well done and if he wanted
to make money out of me he cuold easily have recommended replacing it.
This makes me (rightly or wrongly) want to trust him.
--
John