DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

My house is a 60's house, with a garage on the side. My house is set slightly further back and slightly lower than my neighbour's, with his external wall forming the internal wall of my garage. As it is his house wall it has a DPC, But his DPC ends up about 1m from the floor in my garage due to the difference in elevation between the two houses. I am suffering from bad damp on that lower section of my garage wall, and also on the concrete floor (which I don't think has a DPC). After heavy rain it is not just damp, but actually gets wet. What is the best method for me to prevent this? I've heard of some kind of paint that I can apply?

Go to our projects page and click into the project called DPC injection (small jobs) The ******* in there is called Property Repair Systems and if you click through toi their website you will find a telephone number which you can call for free, no obligation advice. It will be much easier to explain on the telephone and they will be able to tell you DIY ways to stop the damp.

So the garage in effect is partially below the ground level of the adjacent property? As a garage is usually a utility area treatment is not usually worth the money. Especially if water is entering as drainage would need to be encorpotated into a system.

A short term aid, which wouldnt cure the problem but may ease it would be the application of a resin based paint such as an epoxy paint. This will be able to cure and set in a damp enviroment and will form a barrier. However, the pressure of the dampness will eventually cause this to flake and blister and this could cause the dampness to laterally spread.

I stongly advise not applying a render system as this could bridge the dpc and potentially cause problems in your neigbours property.