Damp course and plinth (duplicate threads merged)

[JohnD]

What height did the cavity rubble reach?

Did you get water on the paving pooling against the wall? Any drains or downpipes nearby?

 

[bobasd]

As i suggested before "just a scrape and paint" wont do - you will have to hack off etc.

Whichever way your joists run they will have been seated in a damp wall, & in all probability have fungal damage.
Go under the floor if its possible, and examine the conditions down there.
Your skirting is modern which suggests previous Remedial work has taken place.

 

[Gasplumber]

What height did the cavity rubble reach?

Did you get water on the paving pooling against the wall? Any drains or downpipes nearby?

you can see in 1 of the pics
It reached just about the black plinth so just above my skirting in doors.

 

[Gasplumber]

As i suggested before "just a scrape and paint" wont do - you will have to hack off etc.

Whichever way your joists run they will have been seated in a damp wall, & in all probability have fungal damage.
Go under the floor if its possible, and examine the conditions down there.
Your skirting is modern which suggests previous Remedial work has taken place.

yes I think it was patched up ready for me to buy it

 

[catlad]

Yes it all looks new ish inside, getting rid of all that muck in your cavities will make a difference. As Bob says get under the floor and check the timber.

 

[noseall]

I dont understand: "DPC's at differing levels"? Do you mean all suspended floors or just this particular property?

Some timber suspended floors have a DPC beneath the floor joists and again at FFL.
We have incorporated more than one DPC into a building, depending upon varying external ground levels.

 

[noseall]

From the top of the plinth externally I’m raking out 2 ft worth of crap

And that's what is bridging the cold and the damp. No easy fix unfortunately. We actually replaced all the bricks at DPC level on a house by doing it in stages, rolling out the DPC as we went. Horrid job.

 

[bobasd]

Given that mechanical DPC's are the benchmarks for extensions etc - why would BCO allow variety in installations?

I still dont understand - why the extra time and expense of two DPC's? In what kind of wall?
Are you calling capped joist tails in brick pockets, or joist tails sitting on a bit of slate, DPC's?

Pre-1914 builds sometimes had weird DPC arrangements but they are exceptions. And i'm assuming that we are not talking exceptions?

Stepped DPC's are common enough when coping with changing ground levels, and only require the DPC to be stepped up - but there's still only a single stepped DPC.

 

[noseall]

Given that mechanical DPC's are the benchmarks for extensions etc - why would BCO allow variety in installations?

I still dont understand - why the extra time and expense of two DPC's? In what kind of wall?
Are you calling capped joist tails in brick pockets, or joist tails sitting on a bit of slate, DPC's?

Pre-1914 builds sometimes had weird DPC arrangements but they are exceptions. And i'm assuming that we are not talking exceptions?

Stepped DPC's are common enough when coping with changing ground levels, and only require the DPC to be stepped up - but there's still only a single stepped DPC.

Damp doesn't always travel from below.

DPC's protect other elements of the (suspended) floor detail as well as the masonry.

DPC's can stagger in height (as you know).

DPC's also stagger and coincide with gas membranes, cavity trays etc.

 

[bobasd]

To repeat myself "what kind of wall" are you referring to?

"Damp doesn't always travel from below" - yes, so what?
DPC's were originally installed, & have been installed ever since about 1875 to prevent damage by rising damp.


"DPC's protect ...floor detail ... masonry" - I know, I've already referred to joist seats in walls. What particular detail are you referring to?

"DPC's can stagger in height ..." - if by "stagger" you mean stepped DPC's then i've already dealt with that - "stagger" or stepped does not mean two DPC's.
If by "stagger" you mean something else then what?

"DPC's ...membranes ... trays etc." Yes, i understand that DPC's will often coincide with membranes, so what?
I also understand that DPC's will infrequently coincide with cavity trays - once again, so what?

 

[noseall]

so what?

You asked.

 

[bobasd]

No, i didn't - where exactly did I ask you that? Please quote me?

My "so what" isn't an attempt to be smart its a technical question like any other technical question.

 

[Gasplumber]

Thanks guys for the help. I’ve removed all the crap from that cavity and just repainted it.
Got a summerhouse build going on and only starting tackling this job as was waiting on a wood delivery haha.

special thanks to the guy who pointed out it was a cavity wall!