Wet patio

[Tony Hayes]

Hi all,

I have posted before and have since been disputing with the person who laid this patio. Basically, I had the patio laid and stupidly I knew nothing about the 150 mm rule. He has not laid it to this depth. Anyway, if you look at the picture you will see the bottom row of bricks are wet. This happens nowhere else on the patio where in some places it is at the same height.

I am saying it is the patio causing the problem. He is saying it is the weather. He says if the patio was causing the problem it would be the same everywhere. He is refusing to put this right. He says the patio slopes away from here (which it does) and water does not accumulate.

You will also notice I have pulled up some slabs and filled with stones to let the area breath, it has not done anything.

Should I be concerned? The ground is a clay base. It is all a bit messy.

 

[SammyInnit]

Proabably not a massive issue no. I'd be pretty surprised if they weren't wet this time of year. At least you know your damp course is ok.

However, presuming you had any written agreement with the person who did it, unless you consented to building above the normal 150mm, you're entitled to ask the work be put right; or money back etc.

The Building Regulations require at least 150mm between the dpc and the ground or any paving. This is what is known as 'Best Practice'. However, there are situations where it is just not possible, or practical, to maintain this regulation. On professional work, and new build projects, every possible effort should be made to ensure the 150mm rule is not breached, but, for small, domestic projects, such as a driveway or patio, there are cases where keeping the paving to 150mm below dpc would involve a huge amount of work that cannot be justified. In such cases, the 150mm rule can be 'bent' a little, but with the following provisos...

• The rule should only ever be 'bent' on private property, never on public or commercial properties.
• The property owner must consent to the breach.
• The paving/ground level should always be at least 75mm below the DPC. Anything less than that is just asking for trouble.

It should be noted that breaches of the 150mm rule are the sort of thing that is noticed by Surveyors when valuing a property and it can lead to a reduced valuation or a requirement for remedial work to be undertaken.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/dpc01.htm

 

[Tony Hayes]

Thanks for this. I can see it will be difficult to put it right as the relationship has become quite heated.

My concern is/ was that the slabs were responsible. I didn't consent to the patio height. I didn't even know until 2 months later that you needed 150mm. I realise that is my fault to some extent.

I have considered cutting the rest away myself. However I have not noticed any splashing above the DPC.

It's weird that it is only in the part.

 

[SammyInnit]

Thanks for this. I can see it will be difficult to put it right as the relationship has become quite heated.

My concern is/ was that the slabs were responsible. I didn't consent to the patio height. I didn't even know until 2 months later that you needed 150mm. I realise that is my fault to some extent.

I have considered cutting the rest away myself. However I have not noticed any splashing above the DPC.

It's weird that it is only in the part.

If it's that much of an issue you may want to consider the independant surveyor/solicitor route but it probably isn't worth it.