the face of several bricks have broken off, they are all under the damp course
Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 2.58 PM
my house is 8 yrs old, several bricks have had their faces break off, these bricks are all under the damp course line and are on the same level at the back of the house, i've had a couple builders look at this problem, 1 of them said frost could be causing the damage and the other builder has told me the bricks underneath the damp course line should be a better quality to those of the rest of the house, but my house has the same type of bricks throughout. as my house is under 10 years it is still covered by NHBC, but they only only provide cover is the bill exceeds around £800
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
I agree with one of the builders that a property of that age generally should have an engineering brick under the damp course or could be a bad batch of bricks seen problems with older properties and the soft red bricks ( red rubbers) but a property this age should not expect this problem I would seek legal advice regarding the £800 excess as this a fault of the architect or engineer or builder and whether you have to pay for works to remedy this or not is another matter they should at least let you know what has gone wrong not wash their hands on the matter.
Regards
Joseph
Hi.
The bricks below dpc should be engineering bricks. Below dpc brickwork is normally built with a 3:1 sand and cement mix which is too strong for a normal facing brick, which if used will blow over time as moisture comes through the brick instead of the mortar.
I would say that this is the fault of whoever designed the house, as they would specify which materials are used where! Are all the houses on this development built the same and do they all have the problem? If so you can all have a moan and see if the house builder or the NHBC will sort the problem.
Either way, I dont see why you should have to pay for someone elses incompetence!!
Regards,
Rick
