Thanks for all the advice and guidance on the main site and this forum. I've spent weeks on here, made some good progress but still lacking a bit of knowledge.
I've recently bought a house (FTB) and discovered the block paving driveway has been built up to the house and above the DPC. This appears to be the cause of two areas of penetrating damp to the front and side of the house. This wasn't picked up by the surveyor, but that's another story.
The land slightly slopes from back to front so the front of the house is minimally affected. The problem there appears to be the driveway has been built up to an air brick and thays where the damp is coming from.
However to the side, the slope runs the full length of the house so in heavy rain the water runs against the length of the house above the DPC. An additional problem is caused by old sand and cement render to floor level but I've knocked most of that off and the brick work is starting to dry out in the good weather.
My plan is to remove the course of block paving adjoining the house, dig down to below the DPC and lay aco drains running to the storm water drains at the front and rear corners of the property. It would result in there being a drop between the driveway and the house but I'm thinking I can install kerbs or fabricate a second grate to sit on top of the aco drain, level with the drive - assuming splashback from a grate is less severe than from black paving?
A couple of questions:
1. What would be the better and more robust finish? Kerbed edging and then a drop to the aco drain below DPC or a second grate level with driveway and above the DPC that sits on top of Aco.
2. Would aco drains be reccomended at the front of the property, given the slope is away from the house or would it be sufficient to dig below the DPC and air brick then line with shingle to soak into the soil?
3. If I installed the aco drains level with the existing driveway and against the house above the DPC would the depth of the drains ensure the integrity of the DPC is maintained, with the only residual risk being splash back from the grate which could be mitigated with sealant paint?
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