On 28/10/2014 10:34, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
Yes. Resolution isn't good enough to be sure, but it looks like you
have flemish bond 9" brick walls. The splash-back from rain hitting
the patio and splashing onto the wall will probably be enough by
itself to keep the wall damp, even if you have no penetrating damp
from below the patio surface.

Indeed. Currently, there's about 4" of lead flashing above the patio as
the only splashback protection. So, hopeless.

One of those doors you can see is hopelessly rotten at the bottom,
which is no doubt triggered in a large part by all that splashback.

If you are cutting away the patio from the house during the rebuild,
I would tank the outside of the wall from below the damp course to
the top of the patio with a damp-proof membrane to prevent damp
penetration below the surface, and then have an 18" waterproof render
skirt applied along the patio to protect the wall from splash-back.
Also, make sure the patio slopes slightly away from the house, so
there is no puddle forming along the join.
Another option to protect from splashback is a French drain - a
waterproof channel about 12" wide between the patio and wall which
is filled with pea shingle - the rain won't bounce off this.

Useful thoughts, thanks. A French drain would certainly be doable.

The other thing I would be slightly concerned about is 900mm of
soil or rubble being retained by the house wall which might not have
been built as a retaining wall in the first place. Is there 900mm
of nothing on the inside at that point, or is the inside ground level
higher than the original outside ground level?

It's a solid brick wall for the house itself and the lower foot is much
thicker. However, it's a fair point and I'm sure the Victorian builders
didn't plan for almost a metre of sand/hardcore mix pushing against the
house.