Brick is porous

[johnh]

I have a brick-built garage. It has a concrete floor. There are 4 brick courses from the garage floor up to the damp-proof course.

A brick on the ground level, which butts up to the ground level of the concrete, is letting water through onto the garage concrete floor. There is heavy damp and white deposit around the area and the brick.

At the moment I'm using layers of newspaper to soak up the seepage.
The brick wall is only one brick width. The garage was built in 1960.

The outside of the wall, where the offending brick is placed, is just at and slightly below, soil and grass level. This is were the rain is soaking in to the brick via the soil.
Clearly, the damp will begin spreading to surrounding bricks, and I'll run out of newspapers. :wink:

I am not 'able' to do any repair work myself.
Access to the outside wall is easy. There is a grass verge which is about 5 feet wide, and then an 'access road' to houses that are at the rear of our property. We own the first 'foot' width of land, for the length of the garage.

I have read the threads about replacing damaged bricks, but this brick comes with added replacement problems.
I would tackle the job myself if I could, but I can't.
All advice will be much appreciated.

Before I phone around for a builder to come and do a 'proper job,' what should I know, and what should I insist on being done to prevent this happening again in the near to distant future?

Many thanks.

[stoneyboy]

johnh,
The only way you will reduce this problem is to lower the ground level around the garage - on or two courses below the floor level.
end

[TheDoctor4]

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