The Natural Philosopher 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.


Well it made about a foot in my old house up 18th century porous brick.

Be interesting to hear how you determined that the water rose up
the wall, rather than being lateral penetration or condensation.


NT