5 years post completion damp in house any way covered ?

[Jude1234]

Hi

Our house was built 5 years by a small building company who has recently gone out of business.  As part of the mortgage application we had to get an architect cert and obviously it was signed off by building control.  There is visible damp in one corner and I suspect there might be more in other areas but I haven't checked.  What are my options? Is there any point contacting either building control or the architect, would the be in any way liable? Due to divorce I will be selling the property when my son goes to uni Sept 2025 so I don't want any nasty surprises when potential buyers get surveys done.

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[Andehh]

Unlikely I must admit, any pictures of the location? What's above the location?

[Conor]

Need to understand what's causing the damp.

[AliG]

It might well be something simple liked a blocked gutter, pictures would help if possible.

[nod]

Even if they hadn’t gone out of business You wouldn’t be covered after five years 

Unfortunately an Architect ver isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on 

Get someone in to look it may be something as simple as a leaking down pipe

[Mr Punter]

18 minutes ago, nod said:

Even if they hadn’t gone out of business You wouldn’t be covered after five years

+1

 

If you had a structural warranty you may have been in with a shout up to 8 or 10 years.

[Jude1234]

5 hours ago, AliG said:

It might well be something simple liked a blocked gutter, pictures would help if possible.

 Hi Ali,

 

Please see pictures below, it is near a downpipe.

[Jude1234]

6 hours ago, Andehh said:

Unlikely I must admit, any pictures of the location? What's above the location?

 Hi,  Please see pics below of the inside and the corresponding outside corner

[ProDave]

That plinth looks like a problem waiting to happen. Huge potential for a small imperfection to allow water into the cavity there.

[JohnMo]

I would check that down pipe for blockage and the joints leaking when it rains.

[twice round the block]

Looks like the volume of water that is coming down, the down pipe is bouncing off the 90°bend and finding its way past one of the joining fittings and running behind the Staffordshire blue engineering bricks.

 

OR

 

There is a blockage on the pipes outlet just below the slate covering and it's backing up the pipe.

[saveasteading]

You need to go outside to look when its raining.

My hunch is simply that the rain is running down the wall and creeping in above the blue bricks. how it gets to the inner skin I cant say, as I dont know the construction.

also look at the downpipe for leaks, whether dribbles or spouting.

 

It is a bad detail but it is yours to resolve.

The solution may be simply sealing the joint.

[bassanclan]

It wouldn't surprise me if the socket/spigot of that downpipe joint have been put in the wrong way round!

[Alan Ambrose]

You could check - you might just have an NHBC certificate or similar. But as others have said - it's probably not a very complicated problem to solve, so I might just sort it out myself.

[Jude1234]

Thank you all for the feedback.  I would not know where to start to resolve it, what sort of tradesman would I get in to look at it?

 

I definitely do not have a 10 year NHBC certificate. unfortunately.

[Alan Ambrose]

Maybe a bright general builder. Failing that a bright guttering guy to check that downpipe coupling. Or a bright handyman. Maybe the latter.

 

The reason I say 'bright' is that it involves a little bit of problem solving and water penetration is notoriously tricky.

 

The probable answer is that one of the pipes has moved a bit / the elbow coupling is not sealing properly / the pipe is blocked with leaves and the rain water is penetrating from outside. An easy way to check is too see what happens the next time you get a proper rainstorm. Take a picture. Maybe the water isn't running off the top of the angled 'plinth' bricks as it should.

[saveasteading]

5 hours ago, Alan Ambrose said:

it involves a little bit of problem solving and water penetration is notoriously tricky

I've met very few builders who can find and resolve leaks or damp. I don't know why, but perhaps it is a joined up way of thinking that few have.

 

Hence an older general builder may be the answer as @Alan Ambrosesuggets. failing that, Joiners see the trades before and after them so  perhaps can join the dots.

 

BUT please do as I suggest and look at it in the rain.

 

[SimonD]

The mortar is cracked and there is some missing right at the corner. Plus it looks like mortar is missing around the corner too? Do you have a pic of that angle?

[AliG]

As many people have said you need to go outside when it is raining, the heavier the better, and see what the water is doing.

 

I can see two things -

 

1. It looks like the pointing is missing in the top horizontal joint and in the vertical joint round the corner. This will make it easier for water to penetrate the wall.

 

It may be that dripping water has washed it away.

 

You should be able to fill it in yourself, but first you need to know what the problem is. You can buy a tube of pointing mortar like a tube of caulk.

 

2. The corner of the render is slightly green so that area is getting wet.

 

It could be that the joints we can see in the downpipe there are leaking. I feel though that the wet area seems to all be to the right of this.

 

So the alternative is that the joints above are leaking or the guttering above is overflowing. It could be a simple as leaves have blocked the spout at the top so water is overflowing the guttering at the corner.

 

It should be reasonably obvious if you go outside in the rain. There is no point getting a builder etc until you have done this as it is a lot easier for you to wait until it rains and go outside. If you can’t tell what is happening film it with your phone and we will try to help.

[SteamyTea]

Right.  It is not going to rain for a few days.

So you may as well take the downpipe off and check for blockages and leaky joints.

When it is down, look for signs that water has gone onto the wall.

An easy job to do in the evening.

[Jude1234]

On 07/05/2024 at 19:03, SimonD said:

The mortar is cracked and there is some missing right at the corner. Plus it looks like mortar is missing around the corner too? Do you have a pic of that angle?

 

You are correct that there is some mortar that has come away on the other side as well.  Would it just be a case of getting the pointing done?

[Jude1234]

On 06/05/2024 at 23:11, saveasteading said:

You need to go outside to look when its raining.

My hunch is simply that the rain is running down the wall and creeping in above the blue bricks. how it gets to the inner skin I cant say, as I dont know the construction.

also look at the downpipe for leaks, whether dribbles or spouting.

 

It is a bad detail but it is yours to resolve.

The solution may be simply sealing the joint.

The house is timber frame if that makes any difference?

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, Jude1234 said:

house is timber frame

Probably with the sole plate at the brick level. Water can creep through timber interfaces. If anything though that fits with the damp being very local.

 

Yes do the pointing repair  as a priority.

Can you see any hairline crack between the render and the bricks?

Edited May 9 by saveasteading