Ongoing damp porch problem

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driverrob

Original Poster:

4,692 posts

204 months

Tuesday 2nd August 2016
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I raised this in another thread a few months ago.
It's a single, rendered concrete block wall, probably with no DPC. Damp from the leaking roof has been fixed. Damp rising to the floor itself has been fixed with a DPC (you can see bits of it in the photos) and a layer of thick foam sandwich under the actual floor. I suspect the rest of the sub-floor base is filled with rubble but no proof.
All outside glass is double glazed, one window is ajar and we have a small vent in the smaller wall.

I've been scraping/peeling off the paint prior to repainting, with no sign of damp for several months. However, after a day and a half of rain these damp patches appeared this morning.
12:10 Humidity a little high.

so I put our dehumidifier out there.
A bit later:

Later:

In the meantime I've done as much research as I can.
The rest of the wall has stayed dry - no condensation. So it's probably rising damp because the outside blocks are sealed with render and paint but the block pavers have replaced thick gravel which would have held water. Yes/no?
If that's the case, one online 'expert' would recommend stripping (some of) the render off - say the bottom 30cm.
Any knowledgeable advice would be welcome.

driverrob

Original Poster:

4,692 posts

204 months

Tuesday 18th October 2016
quotequote all
SAB888 said:
I would imagine rainwater from the ground is being sucked up in to the render and through the block and into the internal render/plaster. It may work to remove the lower 150mm or so and put a trim on. Maybe a brush-on water sealer may help with the block that is left exposed, but if water is being sucked up into the block from below, it may be more difficult to solve.
I thought you might appreciate an update. As you can probably see, I started by using a masonry drill to cut a groove just above the floor line where there had previously been rising damp. I stopped when I reached dry building block, which was a couple of cm deep near the corner.



No stain appeared after the first rainy period. I drilled a few holes, just below floor level, upwards from the outside, deep enough to pass right through the wall into whatever was under the floor. I expected to meet wet stuff but didn't. Nothing appeared through these holes and no stains appeared inside after more rain. So I painted the walls. Quite a lot of rain recently and still no sign of damp.
When I glue the moulding back onto the floor (not to the walls as the floor moves) it should almost cover my groove yet allow any rising damp to evaporate, if that's what's happening.
Thanks.