garden path covering dpc

[nebrevilo]

Hi, Hope someone can offer some advice here. My Garden path covers the blue bricks course around my house so I am going to cut through it and build a channel around the house to expose them as I am getting damp on the inside walls.

My question is do you know if I can just fill the channel with peashingle or should I buy a half pipe with grate cover to put in the channel?

 

[cmother1]

Those plastic rtated channels are pretty expensive, but would certainly work. Something along the lines of a French drain would probably work out cheaper - a 4" perforated pipe buried in a channel filled with 20mm aggregate. You do need to dischage it somewhre though for it to be effective - soakaway, surface water drain, ditch, or whatever. Just Google "French drain" on images and you'll get some nice piccies.

 

[Thermo]

assuming the pathways are falling away from the house, then doing wht you suggest with pea shingle will have the desired affect. Its not there to drain a lot of water away, its to allow the brickwork to breath and dry out.we do this if we install a patio on older properties where ther is no dpc, just to be on the safe side. If the paving is falling towards the house you will need drainage channels that discharge into a soakaway or a drainage system

 

[nebrevilo]

hi,
both great pieces of advice thanks. Just one more question. Would you line the trench with waterproof membrane then add the aggregate and perforated pipe?

 

[Thermo]

what are you trying to achieve? Does the paving slope to the house or away from it?

 

[nebrevilo]

in some places it slopes towards it and other places it slopes away. What I am trying to achieve is a better breathing space for the brickwork as I am getting damp on the inside walls. i thought if I were to line a 20-30cm deep trench with membrane then dd a perforated drain with 20mm aggregate thus would work as both a drain for water running towards the house and as a breathing space for the brickwork.

 

[Thermo]

ok, have you got somewhere for the drain to empty in to?

 

[nebrevilo]

yes. the pipe will be in a few sections each with a drain from a guttering downpipe to go into.

 

[Thermo]

in that case i would go for afrench drain with gravel. do NOT put any form of waterproff memebrane in there. you want to allow it all to be as free draining as possible.