Damp proof course

[GeorginaHR1989]

My late father had a conservatory built in may last year, I'm now the owner of the house my dpc level on the back of the conservatory goes well below 150mm I've been in contact with the company that built it and they said it's because of the flags and I need an aco drain. BUT they put the flags there so am I right in thinking they should of put one in? If not how much would it roughly cost me to get it done properly. Thanks

 

[Petemcc]

Irrespective of whether there are slabs or not, the builder should have put the dpc in a minimum of 150mm above FINISHED ground level. As they laid the slabs, they should have known the ground level. I'd go back to them and ask for an aco to be installed or a chemical dpc injected. The building control officer that inspected the conservatory should have picked up on this

 

[foxhole]

Why would building control inspect a conservatory ?

 

[KenGMac]

GeorginaHR1989, good evening.

One problem you may face in trying to get the Builder back is that the Contract who constructed the Conservatory was with the previous owner, not you?

I am bluntly saying that the Contract to undertake the Construction was not with you? Sorry to be so blunt but if you [the new owner of the property] did not enter into a Contract to have the Conservatory constructed then you will probably have no claim on the builder? to rectify poor workmanship.

Ken.

 

[Doggit]

Kens right I'm afraid Georgina, although you might be able to negotiate a cheap rate for them to do the job. The floor level inside will have been set in respect to the DPC level, so doing a chemical injection, may require remedial work to the lower part of the internal wall to reflect the raised external level.

If you were to install an surface drain around the conservatory, do you have a convenient place to run the drain into. You'd need someone with a diamond blade on a 9" angle grinder to cut a slot around the conservatory, and then cement the drain into place, so do you know someone that's reasonably competent to do the job.

 

[vinn]

In the initial design & during build the DPC in the conservatory should have been set level with the DPC of the main house. Is that the case?
The flags might have been installed with the conservatory build or at some later date?

 

[GeorginaHR1989]

The flags got laid down by the same company who did the conservatory, I've spoken to him and he said he put them back down as a favour to my father. The conservatory has a 10 year guarantee and my father had insurence for if the company went bust and they said it depends on the contract my father had with them if the guarantee can be passed over to me if that makes sense. I dealt with the company when they was building it. I have no clue what to do I'm still waiting on them to get back to me to send someone round. They also said he dpc level is set with the main house but tonne it doesn't look like it is.

 

[GeorginaHR1989]

That's the only drain I have in the garden and you can see my dpc level of the house

 

[Doggit]

Assuming that's the conservatory by the drain, then you should be able to cut a surface drain around it, and then finish it in to the drain. The insurance the builder was referring to will very likely only relate to the double glazing, but if it covers the whole conservatory, then you may be able to claim on it, but it may well need a solicitor to have a look at it. When someone comes round, get them to prove that the dpc levels are the same.