Stuart Noble wrote:
nightjar cpb@ wrote:
"Chris Styles" wrote in message
...
Hi,

A friend is looking to buy a Victorian Terraced house, and it doesn't
have
a
damp course.

After spinning her an elaborate story about having the entire house
sliced
out of the terrace and lifted up on blocks while a damp course is
fitted,
I
promised to ask around to find out how much she should expect to pay to
have
a chemical DPC done.

I seem to recall someone else having the chemical DPC, and it
requiring a
certain amount of replastering to be done after, because the plaster had
to
be stripped back at the bottom of the wall. Is this normal (or even
anything
to do with the DPC?)

Any hints, tips gratefully received.

The Building Research Establishment did extensive tests, to try to detect
rising damp, by standing various building materials in water for
prolonged
periods. They concluded that damp does not rise more than, at most, a few
inches, which implies that the DPC is entirely superfluous. Good
ventilation
is far more important for avoiding damp problems.

Colin Bignell



One wonders why damp courses ever became standard practice
Indeed.