Keeping the interior of the house dry is utmost crucial for a building to last longer. Damp buildings and foundation are considered unhealthy as it may cause severe damaging to the structure, leading to unnecessary expenses. Dampness in your building can be caused due to many reasons including defective designing and construction, usages of below standard construction materials, rise of dampness from foundation and improper execution of the building materials. To prevent all the issues caused by dampness you must ensure to provide your building with DPC or Damp Proof Course at the time of construction. It is the ultimate and most effective method of preventing dampness in any building.
What is DPC or Damp Proof Course?
DPC full form is Damp Proof Course and it is usually applied at the foundation of the building during construction that prevents the movement of moisture via floors and walls. But for better damp proof in your building it is necessary that you make selection of best DPC Material and ensure to apply it properly to avail its benefits for years to come.
The foundation of all constructions usually embedded in soil and bricks are porous in nature which can’t be used for foundation construction. Bricks can trap the moisture easily from the soil or adjacent ground. The moisture trapped by the foundation would travel higher by capillary method and this may damp the walls to a greater extend. Moreover, the rain water may also aid the entry of the moisture to floors and walls. So, to prevent this from happening and provide your construction with ultimate damp proof a continuous layer of impervious material is offered to the foundation at the time of construction. This layer is called DPC or Damp proof Course.
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The layer of DPC is usually laid at the plinth level of the floor which guarantees ultimate Plinth Protection. DPC is also applied on outer walls at ground level so as to protect the floors from dampness, whereas the vertical DPC is mainly applied on outer walls of internal surface from the ground to the Plinth Level which is 45cm above the ground level.
In terms of thickness, the horizontal DPC for the boundary wall must be 25mm thick and for the building it must be 50mm or 40mm in thickness. The DPC materials include cement concrete, iscoarse sand and stone aggregate or BAZRI. The DPC laying needs to be in full width of the wall and ensure that it is not setting back the face of the wall. The DPC needs to be consistent for the entire length of your construction. You must ensure that there are no construction joints in DPC which would cause Defects in DPC later. DCP must not be used across the openings and doorways.
Guidelines for DPC Laying
There are few guidelines which you need to follow in order to lay the DPC for your building. Before you lay the DPC you need to ensure that the surface of the stone masonry and brick are in level and also check the edges of the DPC which need to be straight, vertical and even. Besides, the side shuttering of the structure must comprise of steel form, while ensuring that it is strong enough and never get damaged when laying and compacting the mixture of concrete for DPC.
The side shuttering for the DPC laying must be tight enough to withstand the concrete and mortar mixture perfectly without causing any leakage from its side. The mix ratio for the concrete and cement must be 1:2:4 and you need to ensure that all the gradients like water, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and cement are according to the required specifications for proper DPC.
The concrete and cement mixture needs to be of workable consistency and the builder needs to tamped it rigorously so as to create dense mass. Ensure that the side surface of the DPC is smooth and free from the honeycombing designs.
Important Tips for Efficient DPC Results!
After laying the DPC you are required to leave it for cure for at least seven days. It takes around 7 days to completely get dry before the application of the bitumen
Ensure to clean the surface of the DPC before application of the bitumen. Use brush to clean the surface and apply a coating of kerosene oil on the surface using a piece of cloth prior to applying hot bitumen.
I’ll be very honest, before this blog, I had very little idea about Damp Proof Course and I tried to read about it but never understood it completely. Your blog was so simplified and it pointed out the main points that we must know. So, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this topic.
This article is very helpful for me as recently I am constructing my dream home, and you know that DPC creates a very important role in the construction of a home. Previously I have yet to learn what a DPC is and how I can manage them. Thanks for sharing such a good article.