DPC failed is it too high?

[kellylucinda]

@^woody^
I don't think the neighbours house has had a damp proof course.
Would this mean it could be spreading from next door? Thanks

 

[JohnD]

Can you stand back and take a wide pic of the entire wall, end to end and floor to ceiling?

The chimney breast in your recent pic has a mountain-shaped damp patch rising to a peak.

The source of water is probably at or above the peak.

It might be water dripping down the chimney or it might be a leaking pipe.

Is the chimney open, or ventilated with an air brick? It would be useful to see inside. It needs to be ventilated but it might be choked with builders rubble (builders often hide rubble inside a chimney when they can't get bothered to remove it).

Is the floor concrete or wooden?
(I don't mean the laminate on top of the floor)

 

[^woody^]

@^woody^
I don't think the neighbours house has had a damp proof course.
Would this mean it could be spreading from next door? Thanks

It could be.

The thing is, any injected DPC must be done from both sides of a party wall. So that's another thing to mention with your claim as why the work was not successful.

But yes, if the neighbours don't have a DPC, then if that causes damp to affect your property then they are responsible for rectifying it either in whole or jointly with you.

Another source is to get advice from your home insurer. Not as a claim at this stage, just advice. You may also have specific legal advice cover which you can use.

 

[JohnD]

I don't think the neighbours house has had a damp proof course.

It does, houses that age do. It is pretty sure to be slate. Slate lasts for hundreds of millions of years and does not wear out. It does not create water. There is another source.

Would this mean it could be spreading from next door? Thanks

Yes, it could.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

@JohnD
Sorry just left the house but managed to measure the difference in ground level from the outside with the neighbours property. So the neighbours outside ground level seems to be 10" higher than mine I'm assuming that's why the damp course in mine has been positioned where it has. My damp course starts at 23" from my ground level.
I have attached a photo of the outside of the house. I have also been able to enter the neighbours property and take a couple of photos of the party wall chimney from their side. The tenant has informed me her landlord is selling and wow I'm not surprised 6 kids the house was trashed and kids had drawn all over radiator, walls and doors! Photos of their chimney shows damp and also on the opposite side of their house which isn't a party wall with mine but has rising damp on it. The dining table was in the way so hard to see much and I didn't dare ask for it to be moved as the house was full of Polish people having a party and the lady was hesitant to let me in!
Thanks

Correct me if I am wrong...

The chimney and chimney breast, is in your neighbour's property?

Your damp issue, is at the back of their chimney breast?

In your final photo, looking at the RH of that chimney breast, I see what appears to be damp.. If the chimney is unused - There should be a vent in that chimney, top and bottom, to allow it to remain dry. I cannot see a vent, but there might be one hidden behind that unit?

23" above your floor, when the difference in height is 10", seems excessive. 13" would have been correct, but even so, you would have potential for damp to appear below that level, so the damp company ought to have addressed that. They were obviously aware of the difference in levels, when they drilled at 23".

 

[^woody^]

It does, houses that age do. It is pretty sure to be slate. Slate lasts for hundreds of millions of years and does not wear out. It does not create water. There is another source.

Unless the building moves and the rigid slate cracks. Or the mortar softens and becomes more porous. Or built-in defect builds up over time to a threshold when the DPC no longer performs, or ... [insert several other common reasons why slate DPCs fall]

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I don't think the neighbours house has had a damp proof course.
Would this mean it could be spreading from next door? Thanks

If the party wall, is a 9" wall, no cavity, then both sides of the wall need damp proofing, otherwise, the moisture will simply travel up their wall, bypassing your DPC.

[EDIT] In your photos, it looks as if it either has to be a cavity wall, or a single brick wall..

 

[JohnD]

Unless the building moves and the rigid slate cracks. Or the mortar softens and becomes more porous. Or built-in defect builds up over time to a threshold when the DPC no longer performs, or ... [insert several other common reasons why slate DPCs fall]

But slate does not wear out, and a crack will not create damp like we see here. There is another source.

 

[kellylucinda]

@JohnD
I have left the house now and don't want to disturb my tenant again!
Do you mean the chimney in the neighbouring property? I believe there was no fire in there it was just plastered out, I didn't notice a vent but the table was in the way. I noticed the peak to the left of the chimney.
Thanks

 

[kellylucinda]

@Harry Bloomfield Correct it is a 9" solid wall with no cavity.
Thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

@Harry Bloomfield Correct it is a 9" solid wall with no cavity.
Thanks

The bricklaying pattern, suggests not.

 

[kellylucinda]

@JohnD
Yes the chimney and chimney breast are in the neighbouring property. My damp appears on the party wall of their chimney.
I didn't see any vent at the top of the chimney so you mean in the upstairs bedroom or at the top and bottom on the downstairs room?
So my DPC is at the wrong height but also the neighbours need to vent their chimney.
I am still unsure whether to communicate with my DPC company regarding the height of the DPC and see if they will rectify.
Thanks

 

[kellylucinda]

@Harry Bloomfield
What type of walls do you think they are?
I have no idea about walls I'm just going of my EPC which says the property is solid walls with no cavity.
Thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I am still unsure whether to communicate with my DPC company regarding the height of the DPC and see if they will rectify.

Clearly, their treatment, and fix, has failed to work, so yes you should insist they fix what they claimed to fix, and were paid to fix. It would also have been obvious when they did the work, that it would fail, without tanking, injecting at such a height, above your floor level.

 

[kellylucinda]

It could be.

The thing is, any injected DPC must be done from both sides of a party wall. So that's another thing to mention with your claim as why the work was not successful.

But yes, if the neighbours don't have a DPC, then if that causes damp to affect your property then they are responsible for rectifying it either in whole or jointly with you.

Another source is to get advice from your home insurer. Not as a claim at this stage, just advice. You may also have specific legal advice cover which you can use.

Thanks, do you have any reputable websites where it would state that both sides of the party wall must be treated?
Thanks