My boyfriend and I are curently buying a Victorian terrace and two reports (our homebuyers survey and a survey by a damp proofing firm) have identified that the damp proof course is bridged. From what I've read this seems to be fairly common and fixing the bridging should solve any damp problem. However none of the advice seems to say how to solve it. The damp proofing company just said this was 'to be done by others'. Do we need a builder? Or can we just dig out a ditch ourselves? Sorry if this is a stupid question! Hope someone out there can help.
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Un-bridging a damp proof course
- Thread starter yoshimi
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Gervase
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If it's simply a matter of removing soil, rubble or whatever that's banked up against your wall, then you can do it - or bring in friends and neighbours to do it in exchange for a barbecue. You certainly don't need builders with their invoices!
If you're going to dig down to make a ditch there are some considerations, but again it's something you can do yourself. Have a look here for details on how best to construct one.
PS: I'd be wary of a report from a damp-proofing firm. They do have a vested interest in selling you an expensive product - and many modern damp-proofing products are totally unsuitable for old buildings.
If you're going to dig down to make a ditch there are some considerations, but again it's something you can do yourself. Have a look here for details on how best to construct one.
PS: I'd be wary of a report from a damp-proofing firm. They do have a vested interest in selling you an expensive product - and many modern damp-proofing products are totally unsuitable for old buildings.
Penners
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Yoshimi - just a few additional comments to Gervase's excellent advice.
It is, of course, important that you find all the places where the damp-proof course has been bridged (there may bemore than one). This may not necessarily have been done with earth or rubble - sometimes people can be very stupid about building concrete paths against house walls, higher than the DPC. I even had a damp problem with one house in the past when our neighbour dumped a huge pile of grass clippings against our wall!
Do you know what kind of DPC you have? If it's a physical barrier (slate or membrane), it should be visible as a dark line in the mortar, a bit above the ground (except where it's bridged!). If it's an injected chemical DPC you should find a line of filled holes instead. Find the DPC line and follow it right round the house to identify the bridging point(s).
Try to engineer things so that the bridging material (earth, rubble, concrete path, or whatever it is) is dug away from the wall, leaving the level about 6 inches below the DPC.
I do echo Gervase's recommendation about a damp-proofing company.
It is, of course, important that you find all the places where the damp-proof course has been bridged (there may bemore than one). This may not necessarily have been done with earth or rubble - sometimes people can be very stupid about building concrete paths against house walls, higher than the DPC. I even had a damp problem with one house in the past when our neighbour dumped a huge pile of grass clippings against our wall!
Do you know what kind of DPC you have? If it's a physical barrier (slate or membrane), it should be visible as a dark line in the mortar, a bit above the ground (except where it's bridged!). If it's an injected chemical DPC you should find a line of filled holes instead. Find the DPC line and follow it right round the house to identify the bridging point(s).
Try to engineer things so that the bridging material (earth, rubble, concrete path, or whatever it is) is dug away from the wall, leaving the level about 6 inches below the DPC.
I do echo Gervase's recommendation about a damp-proofing company.
yoshimi said:From what I've read this seems to be fairly common and fixing the bridging should solve any damp problem.
that is most optimistic
NT
Penners
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NT said:yoshimi said:From what I've read this seems to be fairly common and fixing the bridging should solve any damp problem.
that is most optimistic
NT
But that's a bit pessimistic.
Thanks for all the great advice everyone. I hope we're being realisitic rather than optimistic!
Next step is another viewing to have a good poke around and assess the difficulty of clearing the bridging and the type of DPC, now we know what we're looking for - so I'll let you know.
Thanks for the warnings about damp proofers reports too. I'd read lots of the advice on this site before we asked for the report so knew to be sceptical about the c.£3000 worth of work they thought was necessary!
Next step is another viewing to have a good poke around and assess the difficulty of clearing the bridging and the type of DPC, now we know what we're looking for - so I'll let you know.
Thanks for the warnings about damp proofers reports too. I'd read lots of the advice on this site before we asked for the report so knew to be sceptical about the c.£3000 worth of work they thought was necessary!