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Any advice, hugely appreciated
It's difficult to tell where the damp proof course is with that pebbledash render and whatever is happening with the black stuff / cement parging.
If the DPC is covered over, that could be a reason way for wetness to get in.
You'd think that the DPC is just below the line of the render, but if it's not, and it's at the level of the base of the parging, then that's quite possibly your problem cause. In which case, you'd need to lower the ground level
Digging a deeper French drain likely won't hurt (you'll hit brick footings soon enough, I'd guess. Stop when you do...).
The render itself could be a problem if it's cracked anywhere - It's lovely and waterproof, whereas your 100 year old bricks and mortar are porous, and it will stop the water evaporating.
Stripping the plaster & looking under the floor will give you more answers.
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It's not a french drain if there isn't a way for the water to run off i.e. a pipe at the bottom of the gravel to collect water. What you might have is a moat.
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NotThamesWater
Kurai
@Quincy
Advice/suggestions?
Realised that there’s so quite significant damp in the corner of the lounge. It actually spans across the front, although this is the worst part. It’s behind a sofa so only just noticing.
It’s a Solid external wall and the house is just over 100 years old.
Outside is this french drain thing. It has gravel for the top 5ish inches and then it’s dense, clay-like soil beneath. Would it help to dig away more of this soil and put in more gravel?
You can see the top of a course of bricks in the photos, which I guess the house is built upon.
Any advice, hugely appreciated as I don’t want the damp issue to worsen!
Cheers!
Edit - I dug down ca. 18” and it’s clay all the way down. If removing some of this soil and replacing with gravel is the right approach, how far down do I go before the house falls down?
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