basement store, earth floor

[STUART27]

Hi Folks

I have a store room in the basement of my house located under the stairs. It has an earth floor and everything I put in there gets very damp. I try to keep things off the floor and this helps, but anything on the floor ends up as mush.

What would be the best way to make the room more useable? The remainder of the basement is tiled (believe baseent was tanked about 7 years ago).

The store room is about 5ft wide by 20ft long with another smaller section under the stairs.


Stuart

 

[Lime]

Tanking?
That will not help.
However the earth floor will always create a damp problem if something covers it because that is where all the water can evaporate now, made far worse by the tanking.

I suggest something simple such as suspended storage hung from the ceiling keeping everything off the earth.
Combined with ventilation of course.
-------------
On further thought I'd be concerned about the tanking causing this small area to be more damp as it is under the stairs....the last place you want to be damp.
Even if you tank the cupboard you will send the water further up the wall directly to the timbers of the stairs.
Perhaps forced ventilaion is a more sensible route?

 

[STUART27]

Thanks for that....I never really understood tanking until quite recently. The previous owners had it done and whilst it seems to have been quite successful for the livable part of the basement, it may be responsible for the dampness in the store room...or at least it may be worsening it. Ventilation of this room is difficult as it is located under the stairs and is not the most pleasant of spaces. I did clear it out recently and this seems to have improved the situation.

Thanks again



Stuart

 

[AMc]

I have a two brick vaulted cellars with pammet (brick tiles) laid over bare earth. When we moved in last year one seemed dry so I put some boxes with wine bottles in on the floor - a few weeks later they were all mouldy and falling to bits (thankfully not the wine itself ).

I've just bought some entirely plastic shelving units (so no rotting or rusting or damage to the house).
This keeps everything off the floor to allow ventilation and means I can store boxes with wine and beer in them without them rotting to bits.

Hopefully this link will work - the stuff just pushes together and I've seen it in all the big DIY sheds for various prices.
http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=20001&langId=-1&catalogId=1500000701&productId=1500080763

 

[chuckey]

Ventilation would help, can you not run a duct to an outside wall? I would be tempted to put down a plastic sheet temporarily to try and find out if this area can be made dry. I am trying to work out the layout of this basement. Is the divideding wall (from the tanked bit) under the hall wall, with this little bit at the back,right under the stairs?
Frank

 

[STUART27]

Hi Frank


The store is at the back of the house. There is a coal store directly next door (also with earth floor) and a study directly next door to that. These are all to the back of the house. The study and all the other rooms are tanked and have tiled floors. At the front of the stores, there is a hallway and a living room and a utility / store room to the front of the house.

I would have sent a floorplan, but don't have a website area to store the images. (Really need to be able to upload images directly to this site!)

Getting stuff off the floor has made a notable difference to the store room...so I'll see how it goes. Routing a duct is probably not viable.

Thanks



Stuart

 

[chuckey]

You say the store is at the back of the house? Can you not dig a hole next to the wall at this location? Then providing the hole goes deeper then the internal groundfloor level, knocking a hole through will take you under the floor and appear at ceiling level in the store. If you are really ambitous, dig the hole 6' deeper, then the air vent will be low down in the store!
Seen a door put in a cellar this way, just a load of digging. House foundations are normally lower then the cellar floors or the house falls down.
Frank

 

[Lime]

Yes, unless you ventilate the store the situation will get worse, bearing in mind that the tanking was done only 7 years ago.

 

[NT]

Good application for a dehumidifier.


NT

 

[STUART27]

Hi Folks

It is actually more complicated as there is an above ground extension at the location where you could have broken through to ventilate. The only way to ventilate would be to break through to the coal cellar and take it out that way.


I think I'll look at this in more detail at the weekend as it's now starting to explain why there is some more evidence of damp in the extension at the back. This extension was built not long after the original house so it's probably > 100 years old. Since I've moved in, the dampness behind the wooden t&g panels has become more notable. As the tanking was only done in the basement 7 years ago, it's possible that problems are only starting to manifest themselves now.


Stuart