brickwork, building

[htg engineer]

I hope this is in the correct topic area.

I recently had to have my drains renewed as the old ones collapsed.

The soil pipe comes down inside the house then passes under the front of the house just above the foundations to the main drains.

When we first noticed the problem we tried rodding the drains as we thought it was just a blockage and this caused a wet patch to appear on the external brickwork to the house just above the drain.

Now that the drains have been renewed and evertything put back the wet patch on the brickwork still hasn't gone, can't tell if its still wet or just stained, it's been 3 weeks now and I thought it would of dried out by now. Do bricks tend to retain water for a long time, do they stain easily. any ideas ?

[thedoctor]

Not sure what you mean by drain. If you mean a gulley with a grid then this will be from surface water drainage such as gutters as any foul drainage is not open to the air except up at high level for ventilation via the soil and vent pipe. If it is, then its possible that when it rains and water pours into the gulley some could splash up onto the brickwork and kepp it wet. If by drain you mean manhole cover then its possible you could have dislodged a joint when rodding and you should get a test done on the pipework. Masonry, when saturated, takes a month for 1 inch in thickness to dry out so if your damp patch is depper than an inch it may take a little longer.

[htg engineer]

it's a foul drain, taking waste from the toilet washbasin and shower, and it does have a vent at roof level. The damp/wet patch did appear after rodding the drains but all joints have been renewed, so just wondering how long the damp would take to dry out.

[TheDoctor5]

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