{"id":15441,"date":"2016-07-11T08:54:15","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T08:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=15441"},"modified":"2018-10-31T10:18:43","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T09:18:43","slug":"surveyors-guide-home-maintenance-ground-level-build","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=15441","title":{"rendered":"A surveyor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guide to home maintenance &#8211; Ground Level build-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The walls of a property are, quite evidently, the barrier which keeps the elements, and particularly water, from reaching your comfortable internal environment.<\/p>\n<p>In order to fulfil that function effectively, however, they need to be clear of soil and ground level build up.<\/p>\n<h2>The problem<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Old properties<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Already prone to rising damp, solid and cob wall structures will deteriorate significantly more rapidly if soil or other material is allowed to build up in contact with the structure.<\/p>\n<p>Damp conditions will speed the deterioration of the protective render layer and, once this is compromised, the masonry or cob underneath can become damp. The result can be decorative issues inside, rotting of timbers embedded in the walls (like joists) and an unpleasant, musty internal environment.<\/p>\n<p>In extreme situations, damp affected cob or solid walls could lose their structural rigidity and fail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Modern properties<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A modern home is protected from rising damp by a damp-proof course (DPC), usually installed at around 150mm above ground level. However, this is only effective so long as it is not breached by a ground-level or soil build-up <em>above <\/em>the DPC.<\/p>\n<p>If the ground-level is allowed to build up to above this level, moisture will be able to enter the external leaf. If this is able to track across the cavity, perhaps via a wall-tie or mortar drippings, then it can impact the internal environment in the same ways as above \u00e2\u20ac\u201c creating unpleasant damp stains, deteriorating decorative finishes and providing for a musty, unpleasant living space.<\/p>\n<h2>Inspect<\/h2>\n<p>Whilst potentially serious, this problem is not going to be an issue for most homeowners \u00e2\u20ac\u201c particularly those on flat, landscaped plots.<\/p>\n<p>That said, the seriousness of the consequences indicate <strong>that routine inspection is sensible.<\/strong> A simple walk around the external envelope (exterior facing walls) of the property every year is sensible. Check for soil, leaf or other vegetation build up and clear away anything that may present an issue.<\/p>\n<p>If a piece of sloping ground near your house slips and comes into contact with the walls of the property, <strong>don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t delay in removing the debris<\/strong> and clearing the walls.<\/p>\n<p>In a modern house, also <strong>check that the DPC has been fitted properly<\/strong> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with several millimetres of clearance beyond the face of the brickwork. If this clearance isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t maintained\u00c2\u00a0-\u00c2\u00a0due to poor workmanship or deterioration &#8211; \u00c2\u00a0rising damp could progress up the wall via the gaps in the barrier.<\/p>\n<p>*<a href=\"http:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/INDEX\/MonthlyNewsletter\/2016\/July-2016-Newsletter.html\"><em>Back to July 2016 Newsletter<\/em><\/a>*<\/p>\n<p>\u00c2\u00a9\u00c2\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/\">www.propertysurveying.co.uk<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0 SJ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The walls of a property are, quite evidently, the barrier which keeps the elements, and particularly water, from reaching your comfortable internal environment. In order to fulfil that function effectively, however, they need to be clear of soil and ground level build up. The problem Old properties Already prone to rising damp, solid and cob &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=15441\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;A surveyor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guide to home maintenance &#8211; Ground Level build-up&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-15441","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A surveyor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guide to home maintenance - Ground Level build-up - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=15441\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A surveyor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guide to home maintenance - Ground Level build-up - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The walls of a property are, quite evidently, the barrier which keeps the elements, and particularly water, from reaching your comfortable internal environment. 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