building regulations

[cazza]

can anyone tell me does lanzarote have building regulations like we have in the uk.such as does a property by law have to have a damp course?

[Stephen]

http://www.vista-lanzarote.com/real_estate/building_management_company/index.html this may help you i know that there are building regulations concerning the height of buildings and what they look like , but any damp proof i dont know but send a email to these people and hopefully they will reply

and this will help as well http://media.ukinspain.com/documents/pdfs/ServConsulares/laspalmas_settling.pdf

[mary]

Damp course is a very new concept in the canary's and so I doubt that building reg's have caught up with that yet.

[rab_c.]

As a builder by trade i believe all buildings should have a damp course membrane 150 mm above ground level.
i have never checked the building regs regarding this in the canaries but due to changing climates if it is not a building regulation now it will soon have to be
in scotland most houses are built with an inner and outer leaf which is called cavity walling and wall ties are set at 1 mtr. apart and approx every 500mm in height wallties stop any dampness coming through a wall by sending any dampness to the foundation and the dpc. stops it from rising again.
most buildings in the canaries are more or less built with concrete blocks and do not have a cavity for the air to circulate hence buildings built in to cliffs often have a dampness or fungus often showing after heavy rainfalls. luckily due to hot conditions most moisture drys out before it gets a chance to penetrate right through after rainfalls.
hope this helps a little
rab_c.

[shirley]

No there is no damp proof courses in buildings here.I think that there should be in some situations. But its just not in the plans.The water runs all the time under the rocks when it rains, So that if you are the lowest apartment built on the side of a hill, There does tend to be some damp after the rain in those apartments.The weather here has changed a bit in the last few years, Flat roof buildings have been changed now to pitch roofs, in planning regulations.Due to all the problems here with flat roofs and the rain penetrating.
It should not penetrate if it has been sealed properly, shame but here many havent. There are products to cure damp problems here in your local ferreterias. You only need to ask about them in there.Also terraces have to be sealed properly because of apartment ceilings underneath them, sadly once again sometimes this is not done properly. They are just not used to much rain here and so dont think of these problems as they should do.There are excellent products to seal flat roofs again in the ferreteria. A new one has opened up in puerto rico past the shell garage
under the motorway bridge.They are very good and have been established in the north of the island many years.

[shirley]

Normaly here if a basement is built or underground garage, before the soil goes back. Bitumen is used to coat the breeze blocks. To stop damp penetration. Normaly 3 good coats of bitumen does the job, But again it depends on the builder. But regulations do not ask for the type of damp proof courses built into the walls that you have in th uk and other countries.Same with flat roofs Bitumen is used, Then there should be a plastic membrane, then cement and then bitumin once again then either tiles, or specialy manufactured paint that you get here for roofs.