Water ingress through brick wall.

where is the extension abutment in relation to the steels - some images would help

 

Very simple to sort out.

Phone the builders.

 

did you really mean a college ?

nice pics but ..... external would be better, specifically the detailing of the abutment - how was it flashed/sealed

 

Is the roof on the extension a flat roof, if it is how high did you take the flashing up the existing wall.

 

what's the pointing like ? - any cracks if it's rendered ?

 

I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with the flashing I asked how high it was, and if it's a flat roof.

This was because if it's a flat roof and the flashing isn't high enough then you may be get splash back off the roof above the flashing, especially in the type of rain we have had lately.

 

The extension roof flashing is ABOVE the cavity tray exit???

Mr. HandyAndy - Really

 

Hi Nick, hope this may help, I too have had a similar problem where I too also fitted a couple of steels and took out the wall below for a small extension to my 1970's house, bad point being that it took me just over a year to complete "wife well not happy" but the good point being that it gave me time for the water leak to show up in bad weather and allowed me time to try and rectifiy the problem before plaster boarding and plastering etc took place. I have a pitched roof ajoing the main cavity wall with lead flashing all the way along which when inspected I found the water was weaping out behind the lead flashing and dripping down the face of the wall onto the rsj and then dripping onto the floor. Quite annoyed with myself for getting this wrong I went back up on the roof chieseld out all the new pointing holding in the new lead flashing, also checked that when I installed the lead that I had made sure it had a good 25mm lip pushed in between the brick work, repointed all the lead flashing back in again and waited for the next down poor of rain, then found it was still leaking, now getting the right hump as problem not solved then inspected the pointing in all the course's of bricks above ( I could not blame a window above as there are none) all the pointing looked weathered but I didn't feel that this could be the problem but none the less felt that it was the last option I had, so spent a couple of days digging out all the old pointing a good 25mm deep in all the courses above the lead and repointed, waited for our lovely weather to turn again and hey what do you know ! problem disappeared, No more leaks, Why ? I just dont know but problem gone so now happy chappy so finished off all the plasterboarding etc. Been keeping an eye on the ceiling in question over the past couple of days and the wall in question has been hit very hard with the rain today and still no leaks. That's what happened to me, you may be getting the same so hope this help's.
Regards
Chris

 

Wondering how far that felt returns up the wall under the lead, and if the felt is sealed to the wall ? And why it has been laid in 1m strips instead of full roll?
These winds will blow water straight up that 3" or so(if indeed the felt goes that far!

Mr. HandyAndy - Really

 

No point re-pointing, those bricks are as porous as a sponge, my house is made up of exactly the same type/age. They suck up an enormous amount of rain but after prolonged rain they eventually reach a tipping point and the water just starts 'pumping' through into the cavity.

There has clearly been a retrofitted cavity tray of some sort fitted, but I suspect it is not coping. It doesn't appear to go the full width though - if not that needs sorting? Anyway, either the tray is not draining through those weep holes quickly enough and is overflowing, or it was put in in jointed sections and they were installed badly and are leaking.

If that wall faces the prevailing wind then the pressure may also be preventing the tray draining successfully, given the severity of the recent weather. I don't know what you could do about that.

The only other thing is to check the roof/flashing is sound, the weather lately will have forced water places it won't have been before!

 

In my opinion the lead flashing is to low, there is a course of bricks between the weep holes and the flashing, also as Handyandy says it could suck water up between the lead and felt, it called capillary action.

The wall above looks to be soaking wet judging by the amount of effervescents on it ( the white marks),
Though there are weep holes, did you see a cavity tray being fitted???

Has next door had there wall repointed, look like it newer than yours.

 

Might not be too relevant here, but I was told that the mineral wall bats that are routinely inserted into cavity walls to meet insulation regs. can actually act as a capillary route for water to travel across the cavity in driving rain conditions. There is a new(ish) type of bat that has a foil face to prevent this. I think I remember a BRE paper on this.

diymostthings

 

was this question ever answered ?

 

Don't think it was answered, but I suspect the roof is much longer than the house opening, and from the picture one would assume the ends of the tray are past the ends of the opening inside.
No guarantees of course!

Mr. HandyAndy - Really

 

Would you say from the internal photos that the dark wall was in the extension, if so then it not that far from the opening, taking into account the bearing on the steels it would seem that they are in about the same place.

Looking at the external photos the weep holes finish flush with the outside walls of the extension so if water is getting onto the steels it would run all the way along them, as it appears to in the internal photos.

Also the light switch isn't to far from the damp so lets hope it's earthed.