We saw signs of problems on the chimney in the party wall, and so asked Costa to get some pictures of the party wall.
The pointing binding the flash into the wall is not exactly an expert job. The top of the mortar bead should not protrude or be flush with the brick, it should create a small overhang to encourage water to fly off the edge of the brick.
There are some small cracks that can probably be saved.
Otherwise, the flashing on the south side (roof of No.4) seems to be in good order.
The flashing on the north side is bound in by a layer of rendering. The previous owners (Lakefield Estates) couldn't be bothered to do a quality job, but it is still effective.
On the other hand, the caps have not been laid properly. They are probably letting water down onto the wall below and causing damp in the brickwork. We have to fix this.
Interestingly, you can see how the water spills off the pointed corner of the capstone and where it hits the lead below.
Look at the aerial cables.
The chimney has a few spoiled bricks and some lost pointing. That needs fixing too.
I'm really surprised at the way the aerial cables are just thrown over the roof.
View down the chimney. If the chimney won't be used, then it ought to be capped with a rain cover, just a piece of pottery or plastic dropped into the pot.
The concrete cap needs to be renovated. Water flowing off the cap will pool on the flat surface and soak into the mortar. It will then channel down to the lower part of the chimney. In cold weather the wet mortar and bricks will suffer frost damage.
The chimney is showing signs of failed pointing and damaged bricks. Some of these bricks need to be replaced.
Failed pointing makes problems spread like a virus... The damp has probably gone down behind the concrete render.
No lichen on the south side...? Odd.
Andrew from No.4A came to talk about the damp and the aerials... He's taller than me and has two viable legs, so he managed to reach through the window and snap a few shots of the damp corner.
Moss... Not a good sign.
The concrete cap needs to be renovated. Water flowing off the cap will pool on the flat surface and soak into the mortar. It will then channel down to the lower part of the chimney. In cold weather the wet mortar and bricks will suffer frost damage.
The chimney is showing signs of failed pointing and damaged bricks. Some of these bricks need to be replaced.
Failed pointing makes problems spread like a virus... The damp has probably gone down behind the concrete render.
No lichen on the south side...? Odd.
Andrew from No.4A came to talk about the damp and the aerials... He's taller than me and has two viable legs, so he managed to reach through the window and snap a few shots of the damp corner.
Moss... Not a good sign.
Grass in the gutter! That's good and bad. We can easily remove the grass, but the root cause must be the slope of the gutter. That will need adjusting.
There is damp above the little garden. So there's something wrong above it.
Click me to go to Part Deux
There is damp above the little garden. So there's something wrong above it.
From this picture is looks like the flashing on No.4A is possibly guiding water onto the brickwork instead on into the gutter.
