What the hell is causing this damp?

[Cloo]

Finial? Maybe.

Yeah, after trying out various word combos I found it is finial. You can get owl, cat and dragon ones, averaging about £300 it looks like.

 

[existentialist]

I could do - there doesn't seem to be any visible problem, though I note the paint has been peeling away from the base of the masonary around that corner of the window. There is an overflowing gutter which I wondered about, but neither builder brought it up. On balance it seems the most likely thing - some (very expensive!) roofing guys were supposed to take a look at it while they did some work (including the window sealing) but evidently they didn't - although at least they cured a horrible leak at the back which just turned out to be where the chimney breast had been removed by the chimneys weren't capped; that has stopped getting worse now.

Maybe next time it's tipping down I should film the gutter so we can show it to someone.

The first thing I thought (and before I read two sheds' post) was "guttering". If you've got a leaky gutter, then that needs fixing before you even think about anything else, IMO.

And, initially, getting someone up on a ladder just to make sure it's not blocked up with detritus, would be your best and cheapest option.

 

[Cloo]

The first thing I thought (and before I read two sheds' post) was "guttering". If you've got a leaky gutter, then that needs fixing before you even think about anything else, IMO.

And, initially, getting someone up on a ladder just to make sure it's not blocked up with detritus, would be your best and cheapest option.

It's already been cleared, but problem persisted, so pretty sure it's a structural problem with the gutter

 

[existentialist]

It's already been cleared, but problem persisted, so pretty sure it's a structural problem with the gutter

Ah, could be. Sometimes, if the gutter moves a bit, it creates a leak, and of course the extra water flow then tends to funnel all the gunk and crap right into to the leaky point.

Probably builder time, then. Boo.

 

[Cloo]

Ah, could be. Sometimes, if the gutter moves a bit, it creates a leak, and of course the extra water flow then tends to funnel all the gunk and crap right into to the leaky point.

Probably builder time, then. Boo.

That was basically what he was saying it was, as everything was building up in that corner, on opposite side to down pipe. This was a roofing firm recommended by neighbours (and being used by another one over the road right now as it happens). I will feel much happier when all this is done, then we next have to have a think about repainting the front so we stop being the tattiest-looking house on our terrace. Well, actually, priority is buying a shed for back garden before summer I think.

 

[equationgirl]

Finial? Maybe.

I think it is a finial. Try an architectural salvage place. Builders or roofers would likely also know one in your area Cloo