Hi all, I have very high (concrete) ground levels around my Victorian semi-detached, causing rising damp plus rain splash back onto the external bricks. I had a trench dug around the external walls and in-filled with shingles, which solved the splash back and rising damp nicely. HOWEVER the trench now allows rainwater through the shingles and down into soil around the house foundations, risking subsidence. So solutions are: 1. convert to a French drain & run said rainwater safely away from house. Alas there's nowhere practical to discharge the water, plus varying slopes around the house make pipework a nightmare! 2. re-fill trench with concrete, but put a damp proof membrane first between the wall and new concrete. Also slope the new concrete so that rainwater falls away from the house Having explored feasibility & cost, 2. is by far the best option. However the splash back problem will then return! Any ideas how to address this? See below pic for an easier explanation. Ta!
Bump - sorry to nudge but did anyone get a chance to look at this? Still struggling to find a solution!
I'm not sure what you mean by "the trench now allows rainwater through the shingles and down into soil around the house foundations, risking subsidence". By that I mean that I know what you mean about the rainwater soaking down through the shingles but it seems to me that most houses have rainwater soaking into the soil around the foundations. That's why there is a mechanical barrier (DPC) to stop the damp wicking up through the floor/up the brickwork. Your current solution seems to be the best solution to the problem of having a concrete pad above the DPC level (a problem I have myself).
Thanks for this. It's because it's clay subsoil and the foundations aren't very deep - so if the soil gets softened then (over the long-term), movement is possible. I think the structural engineer who advises this is right - as when the (Victorian) house was built, it probably would have been Yorkstone or similar directly at the base of the external walls. Not just soil/grass/pebbles aetc.
P.S. the only possible solution I have found thus far to the splashback from floor to bricks once I (re)concrete the trench, is to put a strip of astroturf over the top which the rain shouldn't bounce off
There's a solution you can buy to apply to external brickwork that, in effect, waterproofs it. It doesn't colour or stain the brickwork.
Sorry this Is a old thread but does it actually make too much of a difference to not have a concrete pathway on top of clay subsoil? I have a n Victorian house 1906 build and the path was too high at the side of the house ( concrete slabs) so I lifted them and all the sand hardcore etc underneath them, lowing the pathway about 150mm and around my bay window (my air bricks where at ground level) was going to just level the my pathway up and use some golden gravel ...is this a bad idea? I don't want to put my house at risk of subsidence as rain is more likely to seep through gravel then concrete?
thanks for your reply's few pics of my Edwardian house Going to paint around the plinth with this stuff also
Thanks for the photos. I wouldn't worry too much about subsidence from rain water. If your house hasn't suffered from it in 114 years, it's unlikely to start now. Anything that seals bricks is a bad idea. They (and the lime mortar used at the time) like to breathe. It's when water gets in but can't get back out again (especially in frosty weather) that the problems start.
Sorry for the later reply and thank you for your help with this, much appreciated! the house has suffered with quite a lot of settlement movement over the years and has about an inch (some rooms more) lean in every room (heading in the same direction) there are no signs of cracks or damaged brick work and the surveyor said it was likely historical movement and has now settled, this is my added worry with leaving the walkway open to the elements, there is clay about 5mm under the dirt pictured, think Im best banging a french drain down the side or would you think 20mm+ of golden gravel should be ok laid on top? Cheers
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