Covering quarry tiles

[snug1]

I wonder if anyone out there could help me with this little quandary.

We live in a 200 year old stone built house. One of the rooms is built partially below the external ground level by approximately 2-3 feet. One wall is tanked but under heavy rain conditions rainwater seeps through into the room at the base of the tanking on to the original quarry tiled floor. In addition there is often a strong damp smell when it has rained even if the floor stays dry.

A damp specialist company has recommended fitment of a cavity membrane and an internal drainage channel to stop the water ingress. I think this sounds like a solution but they have also recommended covering the quarry tiles with a two part epoxy membrane. I am uncertain about this. Is this necessary?

The quarry tiles themselves will be damaged when the drainage channel is put in plus they are not in the best of condition anyway but I am concerned that the floor would no longer be breathable. Is this likely to cause other problems?

Any comments would be gratefully received.

 

[Nimster]

Couldn't you just lower the external ground level? If you dug a ditch round the outside of the house to below the interal floor level, that would solve your problems and wouldn't mean wrecking your floor.

Although there's probably a good reason why you can't do this, so I'll just shut up now.......

 

[Lime]

My suggestion is the same as Nimster makes.
The real problem is the soil up against the outside wall.
I think the "solution" that your expert has come up with will only make the entire floor damp and hold in the wet.
Just like the tanking leaks around the edges so will the floor epoxy membrane.
The other walls in the room will then get damp too when the water reaches them.

 

[Nimster]

The other thing to bear in mind is that the solution proposed will cost a fortune, while you could dig the external ditch yourself. It would take an afternoon and a fair bit of effort, but would be a much cheaper solution (that would actually work) than that proposed by the (ahem) experts.

I'm confused as to why a specialist damp company would try to treat the symptoms rather than the cause........

 

[snug1]

Thanks Lime and Nimster. I am able to dig a ditch outside on the external wall and this may well help.
The water seems to seep from an internal wall however. If you can envisage a room set four feet lower than the room above (dining room) where you descend four steps into it. It seems the water seeps under the room above, descends at the wall junction where it is held back by the tanking and finally seeps out at the floor and wall junction internally.
Hopefully the membrane system the company has recommended would solve the water ingress issues but would there be any point in having the epoxy membrane?

 

[Gervase]

It is possible that you have a water source under the floor - it's not unknown (particularly where you have clay on top of otherwise porous underlying rocks)
If that is the case, then you'll need to lift the quarry tiles and install some herringbone drainage under the floor, with the exit pipe going under your wall to a soakaway some distance downhill from your current floor.
That's a worst case scenario, though. In my experience, nearly 90 per of damp problem can be cured by sorting out what happens to rainwater on the outside of your house.
In your case it does sound as though removing the earth against the wall and digging a French ditch below the existing floor level would sort the problem.
On no account should you go down the route suggested by your damp specialist company. I would advise you to avoid both the membrane and the epoxy coating. You will ruin your floor and will not stop the damp.
If you need any more details, drop me an email.

 

[Moo]

Snug1 - you refer to 'the tanking'. What exactly does this consist of? I'm no expert (the opposite, in fact) but I wonder whether this might be part of the problem.

 

[Lime]

Quite simply you will not stop this problem in the future unless the cause is dealt with, namely the earthed up outside wall.

You are not the first to have had this problem in your home for sure and all the previous attempts at "stopping" the water has directed it elsewhere.

You have the result staring you in the face....water coming out in the middle of the room.

The work now suggested of wrecking the floor and then putting a plastic covering over it will only cause further problems. That is absolutely certain.

Until the entry of water into your property is stopped by removing earth surrounding and burying your home the problem will just go on and on.

 

[snug1]

Thanks for the response chaps.
Lime/Gervase/Nimster - I think you have persuaded me to dig the ditch first to see if that stops the water coming in. After all a bit of hard work never hurt anyone and all that!!!
I can only do this on the external face of the room,however, and I am concerned that the water might be finding its way under the floor of the room above and seeping through from there (similar to a cellar). I think it is worth a try though before committing to any expensive damp proofing.
Once again thanks for the views.
Moo - the tanking is waterproof cement based plaster about an inch thick.