DPC...

...Damp Proof Course...

A DPC stops water from rising up through your brickwork and causing rising damp.  When I replaced my washing machine the other week I noticed my outside wall was a bit damp...  When I inspected the walls outside I couldn't see the DPC along the rear wall...  The ground has obviously been raised at some point!

The red line is the current ground level.  The green line is the DPC level.  The DPC should be 150mm minimum above ground level.  A bit more digging to be done...

I have lived here 13 years and I am an architect...  I should have spotted this before!  So, I will have to dig out and backfill with some sort of aggregate to allow free drainage...

It was the only photo I took today!