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One corner of our house in our bedroom can get damp and moist when it rains.
Only this corner so far.
At first we thought its happens because the finished ground level of the yard is too high (higher than bedroom floor). But after we took out the soil lowering the ground level, the problem still persists.
Visually we do not see any brick wall cracks.
One mate told us, "even" the ground level was too high, theoretically the interior floor should not be damp and the problem is the vapor barriers of our concrete slab failed.
The problem is , we dont know how we should approach this and from which kind of professionals we should seek help first
We contacted waterproofing companies and they told us that :
May we also suggest that the plumber double check the fall and that the diameter of the drainage pipe is of adequate size. It would be good to have the pl;umber look at the rest of your property as you may need some additonal drainage system put in place.
1) There is only a rainwater drainage downpipe near that corner. No sanitary drainage pipe. And we installed a new downpipe to make sure there wont be water spilling out from the underground pipe.
2) We understand that upgrading the drainage system can help (There is an old AG drainage system alongside the house).
3) We regraded the side aisle of the house to make sure the water can flow away from that corner. But things only improved a little.
Isnt the first thing we need to do is directly addressing the problem : the leaking slab?
We watched youtube and some companies applied the liquid rubber to the sides of the concrete slab, like this:
It seems much more effective and on point? If there are some "hairline" crack around the corner of the slab, put something to seal them seems to make more sense.
So complicated.
https://construemax.com/leaking-slab-foundation/
One useful link we found about this problem.
What are the most affordable way to solve this? Thank you in advance for any advice.
Any experienced members are specialized in this kind of issues? Really love to hear you thought. Thanks
Hi @ivanptr,
That soil looks less dry than the topsoil, but I wouldn't say it seems overly wet. You can place your garden hose up into the gutter on full and see if any water is escaping the pipe.
What concerns me a little is where you suggest the leak in the gutter is coming from. It's dripping from the fascia, not the gutter, and as @EricL mentioned, it could be getting sucked into the roof and wall. It might be worth removing the eave vent and seeing if you can see/feel the roof structure. If there is any moisture or rot in the timber there, it could be the source of some of the moisture in the wall.
Given you noticed the moisture level rise when pouring water at the slab, it could be a combination of issues. I'd dig down as far as you can around the slab, scrub all the dirt off best you can and paint with the waterproofer. Installing Agline and drainage gravel in a trench next to the foundation would also be a good idea. Don't forget to follow up on this roof leak, though.
Mitchell
Another great lesson learnt. We followed what you suggested, testing the downpipe ourselves, our hose is broken so we used a 9-litre bucket instead. You're right. No leaking / dripping from the downpipe at all !!
So it's the poor soil drainage that we need to deal with. We are now digging a trench now to make a AG line next to foundation. Will head to Bunnings to get the waterproof paint.
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About the roof,
we still haven't remove the eave vent, and did not see any sign of rot from outside. but we used moisture meter and detected 50-90% moisture around the fascia and soffit.
And we also noticed a crack here:
Which type of tradesperson is capable of telling if it is leaking from fascia into our wall cavity causing the damp corner? We browsed the roofers websites and they seem only to provide installation or replacement. We see there are some leak detection companies offering use of thermal detection, is it the right service for our circumstance?
Or the best way is, simply hire the roofer to replace the fascia?
Great work @ivanptr. You'll have this issue sorted in no time.
For the roof, possibly a handyperson that is interested in investigating the issue for you would be the most cost-effective option. We need to find out why the water is leaking and what damage has been done, as that crack doesn't look fantastic. To resolve the leaking gutter, it could be as easy as painting the inside of the gutter with a sealant. That brushable waterproofer I recommended earlier is perfect for fixing leaks in guttering. They'll also be able to pull off the eave vent, have a poke around and assess that fascia boards' structural integrity. If they discover major rot in the ceiling space, you'll likely then have to call a qualified tradesperson to fix the damage.
Mitchell
@MitchellMc ok! we will get a handyman for inspecting fascia board by opening the eave vent + ceiling space to investigate the issue.
If the leak we see is from the corner of the fascia board instead of the metal gutter, should we still paint inside the gutter? or seal the corner of / replace the fascia board ?
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For the soil drainage, last week we booked the plumber with a restricted builder license, and he came this morning for quote. We didnt use this company before so would love to hear your thought. He walked around our backyard and commented:
1) The soil away from the retainer wall looks drier, and the bedroom damp corner is caused by the poor soil drainage nearby. And the water is from the higher ground.
So he proposed the work he can do for us:
- The digging with machine down left hand side of house to expose footing.
- The waterproofing along edge of house.
- The laying of new 100mm socked aggi line from back of house to front yard.
- The back filling of trench with 20mm gravel and installation of 200mm pit in back yard connected to aggi line.
We are considering to use a plumber because after we took away 4cm thickness of soil beside the footer along the house, we cannot dig deeper anymore, the rocks are at a much higher level than the rest of the backyard. We have been using this Ryobi 1500W SDS+ Rotary Hammer Drill for grading the ground level of our backyard when our spade hit some rocks occasionally. Works very well if the soil composition is about 70% clay soil + 30% rocks. But now the whole ground base alongside the house is compacted with large rocks 60% + 40 soil. It took us a very long time to get the rocks out.
It makes us wonder, what tool do you guys use? or better to hire somebody for excavation?
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For the roof, he mentioned even if the fascia board is wet, it is unlikely the water can go down to the corner of our bedroom because board is another component separate from the brick wall. (Sorry we forgot his exact wordings but pretty sure that's what he meaned)
We're not sure if this makes any sense but we will get a handyman to inspect it..!
Hi @ivanptr
Your goal is to stop the leak coming from your gutter and possibly the fascia. If both areas need repair, I suggest fixing them both, this takes them off the list as possible sources of water coming into the house.
If the excavation is becoming manually too hard, hiring someone with a machine will make the job go faster. I suppose these days it's difficult to book plumbers. I usually suggest getting other quotes for comparison, but if they are the only game in the area, you'll not have a choice but to hire them.
Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your new drain laid out.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
@EricL Cant agree with u more, it is not a small expense so we booked another quote for next week for comparison.
Now we are after some non-corrosive products that can clean the mold off the bricks / mortar without damaging the brick wall. We hope to get the mold off the brick before any waterproofing.
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As for the impact of leaky gutter on fascia, got it!
So now we need to seal the leaky gutter first to stop further damage.
Watched the video shared by @MitchellMc , but one challenge is our gutter is very narrow.
Basically we could only fit 2 fingers in. I reckon we will need a smaller wire brush (and rust converter) to treat rusty surface of the gutter first.
Something like this: https://www.bunnings.com.au/josco-3-piece-hand-wire-brush-kit_p6114348
Will it be a problem if we dont use bandage after 1st coat, and just apply 1st thick coat + 2nd coat of waterproofer?
Not too sure if we can place the bondage properly with 2 fingers.
(Photo of our narrow gutter, taken before all rusty screw were replaced last month.)
Some 30 Seconds 2L Spray And Walk Away, and a pressure washer will get that wall perfectly clean for you. The chemicals used in the cleaner won't damage your brick wall.
Generally, you'd remove a few of the first row of screws to gain access to the gutter. You'll then be able to lift the roof sheet slightly. This might be an excellent opportunity to check inside the roof cavity. You can use the Crommelins product without the bandage, but it does help to reinforce the repair.
Mitchell
Just want to revive this post by sharing our latest situation,
we emailed the plumber and remind them several times to waterproof the corner as well, and we even already dug out some soil around that section (in blue):
They said okay, no problem.
In the end:
When they installed the Ag drain (while I was not onsite), they only waterproofed the section alongside the house:
And they explained:
"When we uncovered the earth from the footing level on the left hand side of house and under the downpipe along the back, we found that there was no moisture on the back wall at all. Due to this, we did not waterproof the small section under the downpipe as it was not required."
A little bit disappointed actually.
They found no moisture around that section, can this happen because we have already dug some soil out and left that section exposed for days and the moisture already got evaporated?
If i were them, i would have done what i promised the customer, waterproofing that corner as well for customer's peace of mind😂
Just want to hear you guys thought on thisss
I probably will buy some waterproofing products from Bunnings and do it myself!!
Hello @ivanptr
Was it specifically mentioned in your email/quote from the plumber? If it was, then they should do as you have asked. If the service was mentioned and included in your bill, you can say that the job was not done to your satisfaction. You had already prepared the area and specifically told them to waterproof it. You can escalate the issue with Fair Trade in your area.
However, if it proves to be too much effort, wastes a lot of your time and you were not unreasonably billed for the services, you might as well waterproof the area yourself.
Let me tag our experienced members @Adam_W, @diy_hausdesigns and @TedBear for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
