dpm

The building regs say a DPM should be 1200 gauge - but what about DPC? The DPC's you buy in Toolstation and the like seem to be thicker than 1200 gauge, but what is the actual requirement? Could you use a sheet of DPM cut into strips as a DPC? - for example, as a cavity tray above a lintel...

Hello everyone, I have spent the last few days reading lots of posts on constructional hearths for solid fuel stoves but very little reference to gas fires. The background: I have bought an 1890's victorian semi which was unoccupied for 16 months and previously rented out. The property...

Hi there, hoping someone can assist with this particular headache! We had an extension built (now 2 years ago) and are currently in process of adding a patio. The key design feature of the extension was to have a flush through floor in and out of the large patio sliding doors. Now we are half...

Hi guys, I’m building a single skin, 4 courses solid engineering brick retaining wall to retain a small garden lawn. I’ve left weep holes every 2nd brick at ground level and will backfill with 10mm pea gravel, but wanted thoughts on whether a polythene membrane should be put along the side of...

Hello. Our Victorian terrace house is built with the garden wall continuing as the party wall for the property. Water is sucked into the interior of the house as it was built without any vertical break or damp proof course, it’s just one long wall. I removed the concrete render from the interior...

Hi all, hope you are well. We currently have an extension underway and it appears the dpm will be a good bit higher than the finished floor level (almost a block higher). I assume they have got this wrong due to sloping ground and having to add a cavity tray. The builder is no longer with us...

Hi all, having searched and searched for a clear answer I’m hoping some one can help. I’m going to try and build a 3m x 3m garden room over lockdown. There is already a concrete base down which I am going to put it on which was laid in 1950s I think, very flat and level. I planning 2” x 3”...

Hi All, We have had someone round to check an opening for PVCu doors and he recommended we take the course of bricks down a level. The builder has responded that he can’t go down a course of bricks as this would mean he is below the damp course of the building. However, this means there is a...

Hello, I’m planing and laying click flooring on our ground floor. I intend to screed to get a good level using NA. Most of the ground floor are marley tiles. I’m planning on either screeding over the tiles or remove, depending on how easy they come up. ( I’m aware of the asbestos issues and...

My first question is, my architect has not included a level threshold detail for my bifold doors. Can I differ from the drawing without having it approved? Can my BCI just approve a method? can someone explain or show me the detail for a level threshold? (Beam and block floor) I would’ve...

Hi all, looking for some advice with a garage suffering from damp and mould. the garage wasn’t used for storing a car when we moved in and that’s never changed. It had a carpet down and a condenser tumble dryer, fridge freezer, a bench and some free weights and other random things stored out...

Morning all and happy new year, new this out of the way here is my question. We want to convert our attached garage into a living space. The garage floor is 100mm lower than the inside floor, would it be possible to put a course of brick across the doorways (will have to have new shorter doors)...

Hello all! First time poster: I have a semi-detached house in a high water table area and I noticed that under the suspended wooden ground floor there was some standing water. I carried out some investigation and it appears that more water flows into the crawl space (approx 4ft high) in when...

Hi i have a garden flat in a victorian terrace and am about to undertake a single story side/rear extension. A builder told me we can build using the existing brick garden wall. i have a couple of queries: 1. I presume he doesn't mean just insulate the garden wall. is this even possible? I'm...

Evening Ladies and Gents. I moves into a house with a garage conversion and have been renovating from what the previous owners did. For the flooring they had installed carpet laid over hardboard, however there were signs that the hardboard had become damp over time. In order to improve upon...

Hi, my house is on a bit of a hill so the external wall has previously been painted - I assume it’s a damp proof paint, it’s black and stops just before floor level. It’s a bit shabby and making the garden look a mess as it was hidden by decking previously. I plan to repaint it and Drybase DPM...

During the build of our extension the builder built the walls (outer and inner) before laying the slab. This means the DPM does not go under the course of blocks containing the DPC. Is this a normal practice these days? There is also a gap between the end of DPM in places and the DPC, can this...

I blocked up the old car port to convert it domestic use. It has a membrane under the conc slab but building control say I also need a dpm over the slab and slightly up each wall: makes sense I suppose, it'll have a plywood floor + engineered wood, on battens. What type of membrane do I need...

Hi - I am hoping somebody might be able to help me please. As you'll be able to see in the attached photos, I am getting water in brickwork above the DPM after heavy rain. The affected walls (to the left and right of my front door) are covered by a porch and it is not possible for rain water...

3 old pitch pine joist ends are partially worm eaten at the sides. It's not bad and appears to be shallow only. Easiest to do is double up and bolt ons without chopping off wormed ends. Then again worm may not be dead, though my feeling is it is. Can I somehow treat in place wormed ends in...