Hi,

I have a single-skin brick garage. It appears as though the DPM is at
ground level! I'm sure the garden has not been built-up so I think
this was a mistake by the builders. When it rains heavily and puddles
form on the ground, sometimes these seep into the garage.

Inside the garage one wall has been painted, the other is bare brick.
I am finally about to line the walls with insulation and plywood but
am wondering what to do about the brickwork first. On the painted
wall, a couple of the bricks at ground level have peeling paint. That
could be due to age (I've never painted them since moving here) but I
think the bricks may be a little damp but it is only one or two bricks
on the bottom course.

Without digging up the floor and laying a new membrane, what are my
opinions? Would painting the walls with a waterproof paint help or
would that make things worse? I was thinking either bitumen paint or a
special waterproofer. I found this:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Stru.../sd2809/p73362

Though don't know anything about it.

Would you paint the bottom few courses only or the whole wall? I was
thinking of painting inside rather than outside but would it be worth
painting the bottom courses outside too? I think in the past they had
black masonry paint on them.

TIA