More dpc concerns

[Pocster]

Right !

ive got my first course in which gets me above ground level .

its plumb but wobbly - the brackets the lintel sits on weren't perfect .

i could run my dpc along this course no issue .

but as I assume you dont render over the dpc ( I. E it will be visible ) it will look crap like a Mexican wave !!

shoukd I for example use a course of engineering bricks to get everything level then apply my dpc ?

i guess it all depends on whether dpc is visible or not .....

 

cheers as always

[Mr Punter]

You need your dpc to be 150mm min above finished external ground level.  The render can go on above dpc level.  Put a bell cast bead at the bottom of the render and it will give you a nice straight line and a small kick at the base.  I am a fan of engineering brick for 3 courses below dpc.

[Pocster]

150mm no problem down the side 

so can the bell cast bottom be level even if the dpc isnt? Is that what your saying ?

also the ground level at the front of the house is higher - can I change the level on the dpc as I turn the corner ; is that allowed ???

[Mr Punter]

All your exposed brickwork above ground should be laid to line and level, as it will be visible.  There is no problem with stepping the dpc up or down.

[Pocster]

Right !

so on top of my wobbly block work I should lay a level course of bricks - then dpc on that as it will be straight !!! :-))

[Steptoe]

You need to be level BEFORE you come out of the ground, otherwise, as @Mr Punter said, it will look terrible, 

[ProDave]

I am worried WHY your blocks are "wobbly" and I hope you mean wobbly as in not level, rather than they wobble?

[Pocster]

Lol 

sorry wobbly = not level 

a brick course can make it level and then that which is below dpc can be rendered ??? 

[Steptoe]

you cant render across the dpc, you need to have a seperation, no idea how big, but I'd imaging a couple of inches either side maybe ? 

[Mr Punter]

If you want to render below dpc, the form seems to be bell cast bead above, stop bead below.  even a 2mm gap will be enough as water does not jump.

[Triassic]

5 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Put a bell cast bead at the bottom of the render and it will give you a nice straight line and a small kick at the base. 

 This should hide the Mexican Wave.

[Declan52]

Hard to make out on this photo but the dpc on mine is where the dash stops. It kicks out like a bell cast and then steps in for the rubbed up section below. Any rain that runs down the wall drips of away from the wall onto the slabs below.

You can't have your dpc higher than your finished floor level so don't step it up much. It is usually a course of block below this level.

[ProDave]

47 minutes ago, Steptoe said:

you cant render across the dpc, you need to have a seperation, no idea how big, but I'd imaging a couple of inches either side maybe ? 

That is conventional wisdom. When I bought a previous 1930's house it had "rising damp" which was caused by the original render bridging the DPC ansd was cured by hacking off the render below DPC and leaving that bare, and forming a bellcast at DPC level. That ws a 9" solid wall.

 

But up here, even on a new build timber framed house, it is common for the roughcast render to extend right down into the ground clearly bridging the DPC. One can only wonder what issues they are storing up for the future, and only the cavity can stop the damp tracking up into the TF.

[Pocster]

Thanks all 

[Pocster]

Ok.

 

This is what I did!

I slightly cheated!

 

I knocked down the concrete blocks that weren't quite level ( due to riding on the lintel).

I then cut 10mm or so off a few thermalite blocks and put them in their place!

 

This is all above ground but below DPC. The thermalite block spec does say they can be used below ground; but like most people I prefer concrete blocks.