BigWallop wrote:
"troubleinstore" wrote in message
...

Yesterday, I had the building control officer come to see me about some
damp which is affecting the inside of the outside wall at the back of
the house.
He told me that the reason for the damp was when the previous occupier
of the house had had flagstones laid in the back yard he had bridged the
damp course.
This part of the puzzle is easily remedied.
What I am concerned about is that he told me I would have to have all
the back wall tanked.
Damp is about one foot up the wall.
So could someone advise please. What is tanking. Do I have to rip up the
concrete floor (yuk), can I plaster over it on the walls.... etc etc etc.
He did say that the problem was not considered urgent.
Your help would be most appreciated.

troubleinstore



Tanking is just putting a waterproof layer on the inside of the walls and making sure
that water runs between the inside of the existing wall and the outside of the new
tank type structure. It's best for you to dig out the flag stones and make good the
problem that's causing the damp, then you won't need to do any tanking on the inside
because the damp won't occur again.

Bridging the damp proof course of walls is a common problem that cowboy builders cause
and is the easiest to remedy by undoing what they've done. It might take a couple of
summers or a dehumidifier to remove the damp marks, but this is better than spending
thousands on something you don't really need done.


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Many thanks for the above reply.
What worried me was the fact that upon removing the flagstones, there
would be 2 foot gap from the others that are there to the house wall,
but I have decided to cut about 6 inch off the flags and and then put a
border stone what you have in gardens so that it makes a trough:-



house x
x x - edging stone
x xxxxxxxxxxx - flagstones
xxxxx
!
trough

the reason for the trough is that water can run straight into the the drain.

As I will be replastering the inside walls anyway, would it not be
prudent to put some tanking on the inside walls and if so, could you
reccommend a suitable waterproofer to do the job...?
--
troubleinstore
www.tuppencechange.co.uk