Hi all.
I've had an ongoing struggle with my developer to fix faults on my house. All the levels around my house were level with or above the DPC, all air bricks were covered by soil or decking.
Round the back the damp would rise up the render turning it green and black. They are currently working on this to clean it and then paint, although with the weather it is proving impossible. A ten day estimate is now 2 months and no further forward. Back garden is a swamp due to it being solid clay. Scaffold all around the house but nothing can be done.
Anyway, these issues are hopefully being sorted.
The front of the house has a small garden approx 3-4 foot wide. This is where the soil or rather clay was right up to the DPC. The warranty provider advised it was a problem due to the DPC breach. In his report he suggested this as a possible fix.....
Our Observations:
The external ground level on all three elevations is at or close to damp proof course (DPC) level i.e. less than 150mm below DPC. See photographs 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
All paving and drives with the exception of the principle level access into the dwelling should be laid at least 150mm below the damp proof course of the dwelling.
A simple ground work solution to resolve the problem could be to;
1. Cut back the various external ground finishes at least 150mm back from the face of the external elevations.
2. Excavate the 150mm wide trench to a depth of 300mm from the level of the DPC.
3. Form the edges of the trench.
4. Back fill the 300mm deep trench with 150mm free draining gravel.
5. Level the upper 150mm of the trench clear to maintain the 150mm clearance of the DPC.
"..........."..........
This was nearly 2 years ago they were told to do the repairs and they have tried to start from the beginning of October when it rains most days.
The public paving out front is level with the garden and my DPC.
As they took so long to start these repairs I had to dig out a channel around the front of the house, about 30 foot in length. I dug about a foot down and a foot across to clear the DPC and air bricks. The remainder of the garden is level with the DPC. So a trench I have running around. Problem I have is I asked the warranty provider where the water will drain to. They have not answered. The developer is saying it does not need any drainage as its fine as is.
The rain and subsequent surface water has no where to go. It pools up in the channel. When it eventually soaks downwards, presumably against the foundations ,the brickwork just underneath the render/DPC is constantly soaked. Even after 4 days of no rain, they remain soaked. When it rains, it splashes from the remainder of the higher part of the garden onto the render. This puts mud all over the white render, approximately 1-2 foot high.
Should this channel have some sort of drain fitted to take the water away from the house? It's a townhouse, a lot of water runs off into this channel.
Here is a few pictures to show what I mean.
I've had an ongoing struggle with my developer to fix faults on my house. All the levels around my house were level with or above the DPC, all air bricks were covered by soil or decking.
Round the back the damp would rise up the render turning it green and black. They are currently working on this to clean it and then paint, although with the weather it is proving impossible. A ten day estimate is now 2 months and no further forward. Back garden is a swamp due to it being solid clay. Scaffold all around the house but nothing can be done.
Anyway, these issues are hopefully being sorted.
The front of the house has a small garden approx 3-4 foot wide. This is where the soil or rather clay was right up to the DPC. The warranty provider advised it was a problem due to the DPC breach. In his report he suggested this as a possible fix.....
Our Observations:
The external ground level on all three elevations is at or close to damp proof course (DPC) level i.e. less than 150mm below DPC. See photographs 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
All paving and drives with the exception of the principle level access into the dwelling should be laid at least 150mm below the damp proof course of the dwelling.
A simple ground work solution to resolve the problem could be to;
1. Cut back the various external ground finishes at least 150mm back from the face of the external elevations.
2. Excavate the 150mm wide trench to a depth of 300mm from the level of the DPC.
3. Form the edges of the trench.
4. Back fill the 300mm deep trench with 150mm free draining gravel.
5. Level the upper 150mm of the trench clear to maintain the 150mm clearance of the DPC.
"..........."..........
This was nearly 2 years ago they were told to do the repairs and they have tried to start from the beginning of October when it rains most days.
The public paving out front is level with the garden and my DPC.
As they took so long to start these repairs I had to dig out a channel around the front of the house, about 30 foot in length. I dug about a foot down and a foot across to clear the DPC and air bricks. The remainder of the garden is level with the DPC. So a trench I have running around. Problem I have is I asked the warranty provider where the water will drain to. They have not answered. The developer is saying it does not need any drainage as its fine as is.
The rain and subsequent surface water has no where to go. It pools up in the channel. When it eventually soaks downwards, presumably against the foundations ,the brickwork just underneath the render/DPC is constantly soaked. Even after 4 days of no rain, they remain soaked. When it rains, it splashes from the remainder of the higher part of the garden onto the render. This puts mud all over the white render, approximately 1-2 foot high.
Should this channel have some sort of drain fitted to take the water away from the house? It's a townhouse, a lot of water runs off into this channel.
Here is a few pictures to show what I mean.
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