Cellar Tanking??

[Adam F]

Sorry to ask what may have been done before, but Ive searched and cant find an exact answer.

Our CO visited our Geo F/H last week and gave us the go-ahead if we wish to cover the cinder floor in our cellar with flags, as long as they arent perminant - so loose layed on sand.

I currently use the cellar for wine storage, and whilst it doesnt appear that damp, cardboard boxes only last a couple of weeks on the floor.

So my question is - is it wise to put a layer of DPM down under the sand before I lay the flags?

BTW - the walls seem quite dry at the moment.

Many thanks

 

[Nemesis]

I'd not - any damp there is will have to find a way out, and that may be up the walls. Leave the floor to 'breathe'.

Where I store things on flagstones, especially in the unheated pantry which is partly under the exterior ground level, I either do it in plastic storage boxes (which are slightly raised as the moulded bases have a 'lip') or raise things off the ground in other ways. A little bit of air circulation is required.

 

[Moo]

BTW - the walls seem quite dry at the moment.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it (as they say).

 

[Penners]

Laying a flagstone floor to stop your cardboard boxes getting damp seems like a (costly) sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Can't you just put your carboard boxes on some sort of platform or shelf, clear of the floor?

Or is there more to it than that?

 

[stickybeak]

.

 

[Adam F]

Thanks for the replies - I feared curing the floor and driving damp up the walls, so your advice has confirmed that.

I didnt explain it very well. I would like to convert the cellar into a semi usuable room, mainly for wine storing but also for tasting.

So my plan is to lay flags on top of sand which will hopefully dry the floor a little and also stop me making black foot prints around the house! I also have a grill in the ceiling/wall that is boarded over - I plan to open this up for air circulation.

Plus - my win lables ae going mouldy!!

 

[Moo]

We had a similar dilemma in our cellar (the manky remains of an old brick floor), so we put paving slabs on a sand base and it's been fine for over a decade. The beauty of a solution like this is that it's so easily reversible.

 

[Nemesis]

Yes, some ventilation will help too - uncover that grille, and if you can add more that would be useful. My pantry has one of those sliding wooden 'windows' which can be opened and shut to allow air to circulate, with zinc mesh on the outside to keep out insects.

It also has iron bars set into the stone - no doubt to keep out larger undesirables!