Page 1 of 1

Damp Injection Failed, any ideas?

Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 5:59 pm
by properbodan
I have a 100 year old house I am currently working on that needs a new DPC as the old one was not done properly down one side of the house (there is a path next door down the side of the house that is at a higher level than the DPC, damp has got in over the top of the DPC). The current DPC runs at three courses high, and the path level next door is at four/five courses high.
I tried making a new DPC today but the solid bricks are so dense and tough, they are not absorbing the liquid I am injecting. I tested on a brand new brick that I had spare and in a matter of minutes it was fully injected.
I'm afraid injecting the mortar with cream will be of no use due to the condition and age of the mortar.

I used a pump up to 350 psi and had no luck with the injection.
I have no experience of DPC, this is my first attempt, I'm not sure if the pressure of the pump was too low? It begs the question, how did they do it first time round?
Is there any other option to Damp Proof this wall?

Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 12:28 pm
by thedoctor
The idea solution would be to lower the path as having a ground level higher than DPC will always give you problems. There is aboslutely no point whatever in having a dppc higher than floor level of the property as water will just get in below it and cause damp problems indoors anyway. If you can lower the path then it sounds like you may need to tank the inside walls which means removing the plaster to the required height (usually 1.2m) and painting on a special cement slrry which waterproofs the wall. The slurry can be bought from the sponsors of our underground waterproofing project.