Shipley's older streets are stone terraces and semis in local sandstone, with later brick housing in between. Hillside rows take driven rain on the gable ends. When the joints open, the water goes into the wall and shows inside as a damp patch after rain.
The first question on an older Shipley stone house is what mortar the wall was built with. Pre-1920 stone was almost always laid in lime. Where it has since been pointed in hard cement, moisture is held behind the joint and the stone face can spall in frost. We check the existing mortar and the stone before we specify anything. Where a wall needs lime, we do not quote cement.
Our Shipley services
NSJ approach in this area
Diagnose the water route first, then specify the repair. A damp patch inside a Shipley terrace can come from failed pointing, a failed window seal or a cracked stone. Treating the wrong one solves nothing. Find out about building leak and water ingress inspections.
Older stone is usually lime mortar repointing. Later brick and post-war housing is usually cement mortar repointing. Where stone faces have spalled, masonry repair comes before the pointing. Failed seals around windows and doors are dealt with by external sealant replacement, and bathroom and kitchen silicone by internal sealant replacement.
From our base we also cover Windhill, Wrose, Frizinghall, Idle and Thackley. For the village next door see our Saltaire page, and for the hill above the town see Baildon.
Nearby areas we cover include Bingley, Guiseley, Yeadon and Menston, Keighley and Bradford. Renting out property in Shipley? See our page for landlords and letting agents.
Seeing mortar coming out of the joints or gaps between bricks? Read about mortar falling out between bricks.