Cracked brick at window reveal - MOULD!

[Meatyfool]

Hi,

Title says it all really, and explains the increased condensation in the room this winter that resulted in my buying a dehumidifier - seems the mould in the reveal was a symptom of the cracked brick allowing water through the wall rather than internal moisture from people, washing and cooking!

I am clearly going to have to get a builder in to repair (beyond my abilities), but just wanted to know what to expect to avoid a cowboy.

The cracked brick is at window board level. After removing internal plaster, I have noticed:

a) it appears to be only a corner of the brick on the cavity side,
b) it is an old property so that the brickwork (mostly) joins the inner and outer leaf (cold bridge)
c) Except that there does appear to be a space between the outer leaf and inner leaf on that brick line, about 5mm, and there appears to be a dpc visible on the thin edge of the brick.

Sheesh, should have taken a photo now that TLF allows them, but basically from external side left to right, I have:

snowcem type covering -> external plaster -> outer leaf (brick broken) -> small gap ->dpc attached to -> brick perpendicular to inner leaf ( and assume it is attached to inner leaf as well!)

I'm guessing that the window frame won't need to come out? Assuming the broken brick needs replacing, the easiest way is from the outside, but that means leaving a massive "gap" in the snowcem, can this be easily repaired so that it is barely visible? Don't want to have to redo the exterior plastering of the gable end just yet!

Any ideas?

Meatyfool..

[sg31]

A photo is always helpful.

If I understand correctly the outer skin is separated from the inner skin by a damp proof membrane (DPM) and the brick on the outside skin is cracked.

Replacing the brick is a trivial matter, it should be easy to cut out and replace. Have you recently had the window replaced? Older wooden windows should be easy to remove but if the builder is a bit ham fisted (or sometimes just unlucky) the brick at the bottom corner can crack or become dislodged. The window fitter should replace it if this happens but many don't. Assuming you have had the window replaced I would call them back and insist they fix the damaged brick free of charge.

If you want a quick temporary fix to stop more water coming in try running clear mastic into the crack in the brick. That should stop the worst of it giving you time to get the job done.

If there is a DPM between the two skins it should stop transmission of water between them. It is possible there might be a bridge across the DPM. This can be a problem to rectify so get the brick fixed and see if the problem goes away. Just be aware of the potential DPM issue if the problem persists.