New Home Owners And Snagging Forum
Advice on buying a brand new home => Snagging and defects => Topic started by: concerned new home buyer on October 11, 2018, 10:34:15 am
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Hi, looking for advice please.
We bought our new home and moved in last October. A couple of weeks ago our kitchen was flooded after I accidentally left the hose on outside. It turned out to be a good thing, because we have now discovered that our DPC is actually about 1-2cm below our external ground level, virtually the whole way round the house.
Unfortunately, we have just spent a fortune having a new porcelain patio put in at the back (sticking with the original ground level from the developers). We're waiting for a response, but from what I've read online, the who external ground level will need to be reduced? Am I right?
Also, does anyone know where we stand with them replacing our patio if it has to be lowered? Will they have to replace it like for like? Thanks.
I've attached a couple of pics. There appears to be two levels of DPC but the builders said the bottom one is the proper one.
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Who is the housebuilder?
It does look like the bottom dpc is "the proper one" and would be obviously 150mm too low.
However, it is normal practise to have a dpc tray over the airbricks which will extend beyond the air brick each side, but not be all the way round the house.
It could also be the case that having realised the dpc was too low they put in another at the correct height above finished ground level.
So chip out a bit of mortar on this course away from any airbricks and see if there is a dpc there.
Regarding the patio you had installed, It was the contractor's responsibility to do it at the right height. No housebuilder would pay for it to be lowered.