Damp proof course

paul161201 · 18 Dec 2016

I read on the internet that house built after 1875 would have been built with a damp proof course.
I live in a house built in 1902 Victorian terrace, should this house have a damp proof course?

LuckyA · 18 Dec 2016

I'm not sure about the dates, but the easiest way for you to find out is to go outside and have a look for the following signs:

1. See where there are signs of rising damp (typically green in colour with some white effloresence). If this stops about 3 brick courses above ground level, then that's ONE of the signs.

2. Look for a membrane in the mortar about 2/3 brick courses above ground level. THAT is you dpc.

HOWEVER, DPCs fail over Time and moder ones are more resilient.

Better to get an opinion of a structural engineer. I only know this much because I had to deal with some rising damp and dry rot in our 30s semi.

Let us know how you get on.

stuart45 · 18 Dec 2016

paul161201 said:
I read on the internet that house built after 1875 would have been built with a damp proof course.
I live in a house built in 1902 Victorian terrace, should this house have a damp proof course?

It should have a DPC, but there are post 1875 houses around without one.

vinn · 18 Dec 2016

LuckyA · 19 Dec 2016

I absolutely love it when people argue and think they know what they are talking about, even though we are trying to help someone in need here.

What exactly is a DPC - a Damp Proof Course? Yes, one of the ways is to provide a polythene membrane in the mortar approx. 150mm above ground level (usually). There other ways of providing DPC.

Yes I agree with you that efflorescence can happen anywhere but if you get a nice line of it higher than 2/3 courses above ground level then thats ONE of the signs of rising damp.

You obviously haven't read my post properly and haven't bothered with any research.

I'm a civil engineer BTW who deals with these types of issues in the field. I'm not saying I'm a know it all, hence why I said to get a second opinion. Obviously you don't have to HIRE a bloody SE - that's stupid. All you have to do is phone one up and ask for his opinion advice - that's it. Geez Louise.

Gerrydelasel · 19 Dec 2016

paul161201 said:
I read on the internet that house built after 1875 would have been built with a damp proof course.
I live in a house built in 1902 Victorian terrace, should this house have a damp proof course?

That's a myth. The Public Health Act of 1875 doesn't mention DPCs, and they didn't become standard practice for many years after that (my house was built 1879 and has no DPC). But I would expect a slate / bitumen/ engineering brick DPC in a 1900+ house.

vinn · 19 Dec 2016

wicki has a number of references to late 19thC damp proofing measures including an article in the British Medical Journey of 1872 (?) - referenced in BRE 245.

London made DPC's compulsory in 1875.

I have seen other ref's to DPCs, and Health & damp proofing around that time but I cant locate them.

Model Blg Regs were optional for Local Authorities, up to & even after the 1936 Model Regs.

In 1966 the first mandatory (National for England and Wales) Regs were introduced.

Note: even in Authorities that had mandatory requirements for DPC's, air bricks and cavities from the late 19thC on often had their Regs ignored as those of us who have worked on properties from that period can verify.

So its not "a myth" - as Jeff Howell's in his badly researched book"The Rising Damp Myth" claimed, & many others have followed. The president of the RICS said the same merely for effect and he's been taken out of context ever since.

Capillary action exists - rising damp is capillary action.

Gerrydelasel · 19 Dec 2016

vinn said:
London made DPC's compulsory in 1875.

Reference?

vinn · 19 Dec 2016

I cant locate the reference, and I dont intend to wade through any more confusing and almost indecipherable documents again.
AAMOI University of West of England's building history site (uwe.ac.uk) contained ref's to DPC's in London but the relevant detail has been relocated or removed.

vinn · 19 Dec 2016

LuckyA · 19 Dec 2016

I'm going to try be as polite as possible here:

1. I've realised you like to pick up on the little things. After I've criticised you for not reading my original post properly you've gone on the attack. Well done. You've gone back and picked out the little inconsistencies.

2. I said we. What I should have said was I. I am so sorry for that your royal highness.

3. What is a bed typically made of? Please tell me that.

I can go on and on. But I hate grammar Nazis.

You've just actually made me realise that it's because of people like you that I'm in the condition that I am in right now. Despite when you try to help people, you get grilled for it. Nobody deserves to be trusted. Furthermore, nobody deserves to be helped.

End of discussion.

Have a nice life.

vinn · 19 Dec 2016

Luqmam Ahmed,

I apologise for being thoughtless & going over the top - please accept my apologies.
I tend to forget that this is only a web site, its not all that important in the scheme of things.

I have no wish to see you wretched or confused, hopefully you will continue to contribute to these forums & share your experiences & strengths.
I'm sure that you have helped many people in the past, and will keep helping others.

LuckyA · 19 Dec 2016

I should apologise too mate. I've gone over the top too.

I'm not using this an excuse, but I am genuinely in a difficult situation at the moment and my depression causes me to lash out a bit.

Just imagine you had a dream of designing things and seeing your designs be built on the field and being to help resolve on site issues. I used to do that. But now because of my epilepsy, I'm mostly confined to just office based design work. Yeah sometimes I go out on site visits but I can't go out to large scale active construction sites anymore, and that sucks big time.

AdamSpringLane · 19 Dec 2016

paul161201 said:
I read on the internet that house built after 1875 would have been built with a damp proof course.
I live in a house built in 1902 Victorian terrace, should this house have a damp proof course?

I would suggest it is likely to have one, ours is 1804 and has a slate DPC

John D v2.0 · 19 Dec 2016

To the op, the usual problem is these old houses do have a damp proof course, but 100 years of patio laying has left the outside ground level too high and the damp penetrates through above the dpc. Also condensation is very common near floor level due to cold walls near floor level. Need more ventilation too solve that. So sort those two issues that are more or less inevitable, and see how the damp goes.
When we bought our house a couple of our neighbours told us all the houses on the street have damp. Except our next door neighbour. After realising why and solving ours, I noticed there was a step in the heights and next door is 2 bricks higher than ours. Hence no damp coming through. Also they heat their house really hot and have massive draughts everywhere!

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Damp proof course

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