Unsure if I have an underground water leak

Hi dray
I'm waiting for batteries to arrive as mine were dead from last time I use the reader. I intend to dig deeper today. I was also going to contact Scottish Water to see if they can tell me where the underground pipes are as I may share the same pipe as my neighbour who's house is still council owned. They only said it was my problem the last time I spoke to them which wasn't very helpful.
 
This is what I've collected from the past 2-3 weeks from kitchen cupboard and around the living room and back hall area?
There are more of these all over the house sadly.
 

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That is not necessarily proving that you have water/damp coming into your house, but if they are hanging all over the house it does look a bit strange if you don't mind me saying

Have a look at the link below regarding moisture in uk new builds and in particular the detail of average moisture. The NHBC say that a retired couple would collect average of 215 full buckets of water a year ( 4/5 full buckets a week , if it was not effectively removed). Are you sure that you do have a damp problem and not a ventilation problem?

https://www.nhbc.co.uk/binaries/con...owners/moving-in/running-in-your-new-home.pdf
 

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That could suggest an issue with air circulation/ condensation if they are filling up all over the house. Do your windows fog excessively?
 
dray said:
That is not necessarily proving that you have water/damp coming into your house, but if they are hanging all over the house it does look a bit strange if you don't mind me saying

Have a look at the link below regarding moisture in uk new builds and in particular the detail of average moisture. The NHBC say that a retired couple would collect average of 215 full buckets of water a year ( 4/5 full buckets a week , if it was not effectively removed). Are you sure that you do have a damp problem and not a ventilation problem?

https://www.nhbc.co.uk/binaries/con...owners/moving-in/running-in-your-new-home.pdf
Click to expand...
 
Hello Lads,
There was no sign of water in the hole at the front North facing wall. Readings were max 20.
Readings up side of house escalated up to 40 by the time I got to the back south facing corner.
I'm going to dig down in this area today.
Windows and back door are open from spring to autumn almost but my kitchen window middle pane started to fog up occasionally over the past 3/4 months. I thought it had blown but it could all be damp as you mention. My house is brick build council terrace from late 40's early 50's.
A few years back I had loose render under kitchen window. I had it replaced but the cement was all loose around a few if the bricks that I could see. The guy did a hash job throwing some cement in the spaces. This could be the solution? The corner area is the back south facing wall and the from North facing wall has been dug up picture shows bricks to the right of the wall and I went down just under 30cm. No sign of water. I clearly have a damp issue.
 

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CBJGLASGOW said:
Hello Lads,
There was no sign of water in the hole at the front North facing wall. Readings were max 20.
Readings up side of house escalated up to 40 by the time I got to the back south facing corner.
I'm going to dig down in this area today.
Windows and back door are open from spring to autumn almost but my kitchen window middle pane started to fog up occasionally over the past 3/4 months. I thought it had blown but it could all be damp as you mention. My house is brick build council terrace from late 40's early 50's.
A few years back I had loose render under kitchen window. I had it replaced but the cement was all loose around a few if the bricks that I could see. The guy did a hash job throwing some cement in the spaces. This could be the solution? The corner area is the back south facing wall and the from North facing wall has been dug up picture shows bricks to the right of the wall and I went down just under 30cm. No sign of water. I clearly have a damp issue.
Click to expand...
 
Update. I dug a hole at the back corner south facing. No sign of wat, just damp tarmac. These are photos from behind kickboards under kitchen corner cupboards. Any advice please?
 

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CBJGLASGOW said:
Update. I dug a hole at the back corner south facing. No sign of wat, just damp tarmac. These are photos from behind kickboards under kitchen corner cupboards. Any advice please?
Click to expand...
In your second photo, is the foot of the unit hanging in mid air?

That aside, where you get a reading of 40, is the reading higher the closer to the ground (suggests rising damp) or lower (suggests a leak or rainwater ingress)?
 
Now you have lost me,why are you asking about behind the kickboards? Looks fine to me or are you thinking the problem could be lurking under there!
 
Hello Harry, I never noticed the leg in mid air. I'll check that again thanks.
I thought about rising damp, would there be signs of mould anywhere as there's nothing anywhere in the house? Would a damp proofing company be able to determine this?
There could be ingress of water? Would this come up from the tarmac or through old render?
Can't understand the smell of damp in the corner of my bedroom though?
Thank you.
 
dray said:
That is not necessarily proving that you have water/damp coming into your house, but if they are hanging all over the house it does look a bit strange if you don't mind me saying

Have a look at the link below regarding moisture in uk new builds and in particular the detail of average moisture. The NHBC say that a retired couple would collect average of 215 full buckets of water a year ( 4/5 full buckets a week , if it was not effectively removed). Are you sure that you do have a damp problem and not a ventilation problem?

https://www.nhbc.co.uk/binaries/con...owners/moving-in/running-in-your-new-home.pdf
Click to expand...
 
Hello Dray, The house is from late 40's. Would there have been more obvious signs of a water leak.
I know it's probably excessive with the dehumidifiers. I think I was just trying to capture every bit of moisture there was around. Could they also take it from outside as my windows are generally always open?
Damp proofing may be the answer rather than a leak?
 
James.1986 said:
That could suggest an issue with air circulation/ condensation if they are filling up all over the house. Do your windows fog excessively?
Click to expand...
Hello James,
I have a lot of condensation in the winter compared to my neighbours. My kitchen window figs up slightly, not often for the past few months.
 
CBJGLASGOW said:
Hello Harry, I never noticed the leg in mid air. I'll check that again thanks.
I thought about rising damp, would there be signs of mould anywhere as there's nothing anywhere in the house? Would a damp proofing company be able to determine this?
There could be ingress of water? Would this come up from the tarmac or through old render?
Can't understand the smell of damp in the corner of my bedroom though?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Water coming up via capilary action (soaking up) is rising damp. It could be localised where there is an underground leak, or the water level is above your DPC or your DPC has failed. A competent builder will, of course be able to confirm this, but you can also check it yourself as I posted earlier. If your bedroom is upstairs, then it sounds more likely the water is coming down (or that you have more than one issue, or that the cause is lack of ventilation, etc). Depending on the location of the damp, consider the problem may be water coming from a neighbouring property - it happens!
 
HarryL1234 said:
Water coming up via capilary action (soaking up) is rising damp. It could be localised where there is an underground leak, or the water level is above your DPC or your DPC has failed. A competent builder will, of course be able to confirm this, but you can also check it yourself as I posted earlier. If your bedroom is upstairs, then it sounds more likely the water is coming down (or that you have more than one issue, or that the cause is lack of ventilation, etc). Depending on the location of the damp, consider the problem may be water coming from a neighbouring property - it happens!
Click to expand...

Hello Harry,
Yes I may have more than one problem. My neighbour doesn't share any down pipes or gutters at the front and my windows are nearly always open. I'll move the cabinet to see if this makes a difference for now.
I could have a problem with the walls soaking up water as the brickwork behind the kitchen wall isn't great and the front never gets any sun. A job for next year now as I'm at least lucky that I can only smell damp and no sign of mould or damp patches anywhere. Yet anyway Thank you.
 
That damp patch on the tarmac, you didn't dig down enough to find anything that could be leaking, the idea is you dig till you find a pipe not water.
 
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