u/CardiologistWide1294

I’ve a damp basement. Only one wall is exposed to damp soil (the rear has an extension, the front is above ground level, and the other side is another house).

I’m doing the usual things… air bricks, dehumidifying etc. I’m looking at lowering the ground by the side. I’ve dug down 4-5 bricks and have got to clay. There’s a natural drop off to the land towards the front of the house, so easy to direct water along and away into the drain. I’m considering whether I should

A) dig down further
B) fill with gravel and a French drain type setup
C) install a plastic drainage channel at the bottom of the trench (underneath current waste pipes)
D) put anything on the wall itself
(Or all of these/none of these)

At a later date I may lower the whole ground level - but unlikely in the short term.

Fairly sure I’ve got a way to the foundations - basement floor is 1.5 or so m further down from where I’ve dug to.

Hi all, newly purchased house (1900s). It rained last night and it appears we have water ingress on the top floor. Damp appearing on the underside of the sloped roof and water dripping through the spotlight - both marked. There’s no access to the roof space above… trying to work out my next steps. Advice welcome.

Proposing to switch off electric, remove spotlight, investigate around hole, then cut away the plasterboard to eyeball potential ingress points. Fix if possible and obvious, call roofer if not. Look if one leak may be causing both issues - else follow up by cutting away plaster from sloping section too.

May then put in an access hatch for the future and replace insulation if wet. Gonna be a fun few weeks… anything I should consider or do differently?

Nb. There is a chimney breast to the left - but this is capped and was recently rebuilt, so hopefully a less likely culprit.

Thanks all!