hi, i've just bought a terrace house and need to install a dpc. i've had a quote to do the work and have decided to buy the materials and do it myself to keep costs down. however in the quote ive had it says;
the party wall act 1996 entitles a building owner to insert a dpc all the way through the wall. however, there is an obligation on the building owner to give at least two months written notice before the planned starting date. if the work is started without giving notice in the proper way, adjoining owners may seek redress through the courts. more information about the party wall act 1996 can be found at www.rics.org

has anyone else done this before?
has anyone put a dpc in a party wall and ignored this or did not even know about it?

i've been on the website but its very long and confusing. any help would be much appreciated.
thanks, rob

I would leave it the pro's if I were you, double drilling is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair, I know of cases where the dpc installer mistakenly drilled all the way through and pumped the fluid into dext doors living room.

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By eck! ©

Just have a word with your next door neighbours and tell them what you propose to do.

If you get on well with your neighbours there will not be a problem, if you don't get on with them you might have to go down the written notice route.

I have done several houses with no problems, I bet the next door neighbours did not even know that a DPC was being installed.

Just give the neighbour a knock first to ensure that they don't work shifts of have a baby etc.


A bit of politeness and consideration can go a long was in these circumstances

gadget, i was going to get someone in to do it, they quoted £14 per meter for single skin and £28 per meter for double skin walls, does that sound about right? after a quick measure up thats gonna be around £800, and to do it myself around £300 and probably 2 days work so quite a big difference.
amarg, i have spoke to the neighbours to say sorry about the noise, one side is polish and doesn't speak any english, the other side has been very understanding with the noise so far. i think they both rent though so i'd have to see their landlords. i'm thinking they wont even know i'm doing it and probably know nothing about this party wall act anyway.
it was damp proofed into the bricks at some point but it has failed
thanks for the replies

Can't comment about the price really as it's thirty odd years since I've done any injection damp proofing.

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By eck! ©

Back to the beginning: why do you "need to install a dpc"? is there dampness coming down the wall? Is there a plumbing leak?

How old is the house? Was it built with lime mortar? If so, a DPC is almost always NOT the solution (despite what many "professionals" say!). If it's old, check out the dampness questions on the forum at
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matthewc- i need to install a dpc because my mortgage lender had an inspection done as part of the valuation and the inspector said it was damp and needed a dpc and replastering up to 1.2m. my mortgage lender has told me i need to do this within 6 months.
this is the only reason i'm doing it, i thought it looked fine.
the inspection was done by a company that also quoted for the work so its not surprising they said it needed doing.
the house is a mid terrace built around 1900.
thanks, rob