Damp - DPC is too low, what to do?

[dancingmango]

Patio has been built upon patio so now the ground level around our house is at the same height of the DPC. The best solution is probably a French Drain, digging a trench and filling it gravel around the house, but the builder who is doing work on our house says that rendering over the brickwork (and the DPC) will do the trick and seal it all up. Is he right?

...And is a french drain a simple job of digging a trench and filling it with shingle? Or does it need to be lined with concrete / plastic sheeting and run off to a soakaway?

 

[Softus]

Patio has been built upon patio so now the ground level around our house is at the same height of the DPC. The best solution is probably a French Drain, digging a trench and filling it gravel around the house, but the builder who is doing work on our house says that rendering over the brickwork (and the DPC) will do the trick and seal it all up. Is he right?

The only 'trick' that this will do is to breach the DPC and provide a moisture path into the wall at a height above floor level. The precise aftermath of this all depends on the amount of water that hits the wall. Also, should the render on that wall ever start to crack, then water will get in, with the risk that a frost will 'blow' the render off the wall; the resulting gap is a classic path for water to rise up the surface of the wall by capillary action.

My recommendation? Get a decent builder.

...And is a french drain a simple job of digging a trench and filling it with shingle? Or does it need to be lined with concrete / plastic sheeting and run off to a soakaway?

This all depends on the draining properties of the ground around and under the house. You need to know what you're doing. In the most extreme of bad cases, you can end up providing a path for a small river of water to gradually erode the soil that's currently propping up your house.

I think you're sorely lacking someone who knows what they're doing with your property.