Damp coarse height

[phil on a fazer]

Hi

I've just ripped up a fairly shoddy/sunken patio and i am about to put a new one down.

As for damp course...the way i remember it is - the important part is 8 inches from the house. In this 8 inches (200mm) the ground level should be 150mm below the damp course. The patio ive just ripped up was around 100mm.

My problem is the level of the new patio is kind of set by the first step of a concerete (with slabbed treads) set of steps thats leads up the garden to the next tier. If i make the new patio lower it could be 150mm below the damp course but that first step will be BIG! if i heigher the patio the first step will be fine but the height to damp course to patio will be even lower!!

I know ways around this is to start the slabs 200mm from the brick line, and lower the 200mm to a suitable height and fill with gravel. But, for aesthetic reasons and practical reason i dont really want to do that....the max i could do is 6inces from the building line (ideally i would do 3.5inches which i would continue all round the whole patio filled with Cotswold stone)

Pretty sure there is no law against this but it can get picked up in a house survey (when selling your house). A bloke i work with is an ex builder and he has done jobs where he's had to go and rectify patios that are too high against the building line.

Did any understand that?     Ideas on a postcode please as im quite stumped!

[Skippernick]

Just spent a week dodging rain relaying the decking that came with my house for this exact reason.
It was picked up in the survey, i don't know exact figures but he said a 2inch channel between the house and the edge of the decking would do.
So thats what i did and filled it with gravel.
Nick

[chaz]

is the house wall solid or cavity? as I understand there should be 150mm between ground level and DPC so rain doesn't splash above it, although rain often hits the wall as it often is windy, if you could get 150mm even if its only 80mm wide then you shouldn't have any problems.
mine are solid walls and the concrete path is about 100mm below DPC, not any problems and the house is 90+ years old.

[phil on a fazer]

Just spent a week dodging rain relaying the decking that came with my house for this exact reason.
It was picked up in the survey, i don't know exact figures but he said a 2inch channel between the house and the edge of the decking would do.
So thats what i did and filled it with gravel.
Nick

Thats interesting.....im sure its meant to be 8 inch??? are you selling your house then..Hence the survey?

Looking at the area again this morn the biggest gap i can go for really between building line and patio is 4.5inch, any bigger and it will look weird. I've spent the last few years building this mutli tierd garden and the whole garden has a gravel edge thats around 3 - 4 inches wide. Also any bigger and the patio will be a tiny bit to far away from the rear door.

[taylor]

I do this for a living, most are 150 mil below, coming up level for disabled access,with a small aco drain at the door, as long as no more than 10% are level with damp this is fine,, as for a gap between the house and the patio don't do that anymore, and that is the case for most of the big boys, mc,alpines, persimmon, dawnus , barrat etc etc etc, we do them all. ps disabled access is law.

[Skippernick]

Just spent a week dodging rain relaying the decking that came with my house for this exact reason.
It was picked up in the survey, i don't know exact figures but he said a 2inch channel between the house and the edge of the decking would do.
So thats what i did and filled it with gravel.
Nick

Thats interesting.....im sure its meant to be 8 inch??? are you selling your house then..Hence the survey?

Looking at the area again this morn the biggest gap i can go for really between building line and patio is 4.5inch, any bigger and it will look weird. I've spent the last few years building this mutli tierd garden and the whole garden has a gravel edge thats around 3 - 4 inches wide. Also any bigger and the patio will be a tiny bit to far away from the rear door.

No bought the house a year ago. No plans to sell for several years.
The decking is still 80mm below the damp course but now 2 inches out as well.


Taylor, this house was a Persimmon Show home 8 years ago, proves what they know.

[ajmes1]

I'm trying to get rid of 6m of linear drainage channel if that helps?!

[taylor]

so skipper was there any damp in the house?  or was this just a precaution ?, like I say disabled access is level with the damp, and that's a law,  personaly  I wouldn't fancy that, but they wont pass the new builds without that.

[Skippernick]

so skipper was there any damp in the house?  or was this just a precaution ?, like I say disabled access is level with the damp, and that's a law,  personaly  I wouldn't fancy that, but they wont pass the new builds without that.

He found absolutely no damp at all.
But i wasn't going to take any chances because we couldn't afford to sort it out.
Any way piece of mind now. Thanks for your help. Having highjacked the thread.

[taylor]

phil on a fazer , drop the steps m8t

[phil on a fazer]

Just spent a week dodging rain relaying the decking that came with my house for this exact reason.
It was picked up in the survey, i don't know exact figures but he said a 2inch channel between the house and the edge of the decking would do.
So thats what i did and filled it with gravel.
Nick

Thats interesting.....im sure its meant to be 8 inch??? are you selling your house then..Hence the survey?

Looking at the area again this morn the biggest gap i can go for really between building line and patio is 4.5inch, any bigger and it will look weird. I've spent the last few years building this mutli tierd garden and the whole garden has a gravel edge thats around 3 - 4 inches wide. Also any bigger and the patio will be a tiny bit to far away from the rear door.

No bought the house a year ago. No plans to sell for several years.
The decking is still 80mm below the damp course but now 2 inches out as well.


Taylor, this house was a Persimmon Show home 8 years ago, proves what they know.

So was this picked up by the surveyor when you bought the house, then you rectified it? i just want to do the job right so when i sell my house in the future it doesnt end up as an advisory on the survey.

Taylor - lowering the step is a massive ball ache!! It's s solid concerete lfight of 7 steps which is then slabbed. Ialso just uncovered a manhole, so if i did drop the step the chamber would need altering.

Im going to put my patio as low as poss which is about 75 - 90mm below the damp course, then leave a 5"  gap which i will drop as close to 150mm below DPC as i can....then fill with gravel to match the whole garden

Hopefully in the future Mr Surveyor man wont have a problem with this.

[taylor]

75 to 90. nothing wrong with that, as for the 5 inch gap, up to you , if it looks good do it,