Shoe missing in street

This could be titled: 'How to get a roof load of water into your floors and walls'.

Note the crack between the wall and the pavement

This is a very common sight in urban areas. Downpipes have had their shoes kicked off / removed and so all the water from the roof is being poured into the base of the wall rather than angled off into the main road drain.

In this particular location there was a large gap between the council's pavement and the wall. This has meant that for years the wall have been subjected to way more rainwater than it can cope with. No wonder there was damp in the wall inside.

The simple solution is to re-fit the shoe and get the system back working again. There will still be runoff entering the gap, but at least the volumes might decrease to a level where the wall can cope again.

Oh, for those who were wondering a 'shoe' is as follows: