dpm

Hi. We are building an extension and laying new floors inside the existing house as well. We are managing the job ourselves, but seems like we are making lots of mistakes, relying on "specialists" trades instead of doing our own research to get the right solutions. I know we got it wrong, so...

Hi, More for my understanding and planning right now, but my wraparound extention is set to have a box frame steel beam running below the floor (where the wall will come down), right down the middle of the room which will be encased in 100mm concrete. My question is, can the top of that...

Hi All! First time post but have been a long time reader of the forum. I bought my first property in 2020 which is a 1970's maisonette which includes a single garage which is one of the middle garages in a row of 4. Last winter and whenever there is heavy rainfall the garage becomes damp as...

I am currently renovating my kitchen and am looking for some advice in how to screed over a cavity. A section of the old screed layer has broken up around the edge of the patio door threshold. At the moment, there is a dpm under the patio door overlapping the cavity and meeting the main dpc...

I have a timber frame structure mounted on concrete blocks around the perimeter, which are bedded on a concrete base.The concrete base has a membrane but is cut off flush. as i'm doing a solid floor inc Ufh made up of 150mm celotex , a seperation layer then UFH stapled on top , before a 75mm...

It seems that previous attempts to waterproof the first few courses of brickwork on our outside walls was done with Blackjack paint. Reading up on the stuff it doesn't say for use in masonry. It's neees another coat so I was thinking of just using the same again, I'm not sure how breathable it...

I am trying to convert my Victorian out building into a summer house / gym. The floor is brick and very damp but also has a slope of about 7cm across 3.5m it is also very uneven. I have already put a DPC into the walls and now I need to damp proof and level the floor. Should I: 1) flatten the...

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...