Is this a plausible cause for damp wall before I rip out my toilet???

[Persis]

Hi everyone, happy weekend! I just need a quick bit of advice so I can sound knowledgeable next week when various tradespeople are coming to see my poor old house.

I've posted before about my render - the whole house is covered in render which is in a sorry state, with lots of blown areas which in general correspond to some damp walls. The central heating is an absolute beast and now it is on the house is boiling and the walls are drying out, which is good. A company that specialise in rendering period properties are coming to see the house next week and I'm armed with clever questions to ask them from my previoius thread.

Our downstairs cloakroom also is pretty wet, and I think it's because this window has a completely rotten sill. The man who is coming to restore our sash windows is going to look at it on Monday, but I've sent him a photo and he thinks he can fix it, which is good because this little window is what made me fall in love with the house in the first place.

However, the wet in the walls isn't below the window, it's around the toilet and sink. You can see on the wall outside where the render has been patched around the pipes coming out, and all that patching sounds hollow when I bang it. Is it possible that the leaky window is letting in water between the wall and the render, which is then tracking along the pipes and coming out into the walls? To me it sounds logical but I am so done with tradespeople speaking to me like I'm a complete imbecile and I don't want to make a stupid suggestion and get any more eye rolling!!

 

[Persis]

I'm so defensive of my house now. I know it is big and old, and in a bad state of repair, but I knew that when I bought it and I am trying to make it better. I'm basically at a stage when anyone who doesn't say anything overtly negative about it is going on the Christmas card list because I'm so grateful for a break in the bad vibes!

 

[paulc]

For many years, I would have a leak in the middle of the kitchen ceiling if it rained really hard. This was where a steel supports a wall above that was done <mumble><mumble> years ago when an extension was built. Had the flat roof recovered a couple of times, lead flashing installed, all failed to fix the leak. Had a roofer out to quote on the main roof, and he pointed out a relatively small vertical crack in the render some 6ft away from the flat roof. He suggested that this might be the entry point for any water.
Cut away the render around the crack only to find an even bigger one in the brickwork behind (big enough to stick a finger in). Darned thing went right through, and it was only a thin bit of filler & wallpaper covering it on the inside. Crack has now been stitched, rendered over on the outside and plastered internally. No more leaks in the kitchen

Long winded way of saying Yes, water can track a surprising distance. So the damp you are experiencing might be as a result of rotting sills.

 

[Persis]

Aha! Thank you! I will look them straight in the eye and say it then!!

 

[Cubist]

The short answer is; Yes.

The outer window frame is rotten and probably beyond salvation. Fortunately the leaded glass can be saved and installed in a new outer wooden frame after that frame has itself been installed into the building. There is no real alternative to this approach. Obviously great care will be needed during removal of the leaded glass and installation in the new frame as this too may be Ian a delicate condition and in need of some minor restoration.

For the moment a temporary repair may be possible using Plumbers Putty (sold as Plumbers Mate). Using a glazers knife or spatular press the material in all holes and gaps in and around the wooden frame. But be careful not to apply too much pressure as you do so as that sill in particular looks to be throughly rotten.

 

[Persis]

Thank you! That plumbers mate looks worth an investment for my leaky bathroom sink as well!

The person coming to look at the window is an expert in restoring old windows and is restoring our sash windows as i really wanted to keep them.if we could. I'm hoping he can fix this window!!