Damp Solum

[Mark]

I would be happier if the bare earth is capped as from all accounts the ground will never totally dry out.

Well, concreting over the planet is more of a sixties thing isnt it
Concrete the solum and all you do is spend money. given a bit of time the concrete will get damp and then you have a layer of damp concrete. I know they will lay a dpc, but they degrade and fail, and are no good from the start if water is going to run into the solum from outside.
Spend your 5K on sorting out airflow and stopping the solum acting as a soakaway which is what is happening if the land slopes down to it.

 

[Matt Green]

I will be taking the plunge soon and if the concrete/DPC works are uneccessary and the woodwork only is carried out it could mean the difference between £5K and £10K of work.

The water that is currently evaporating through your solum is likely to start evaporating through your walls as it will have nowhere else to go. You can't remove the water from under the solum- just move it somewhere else.

You have stated the ground levels need lowering and the high ground levels are the cause of any decay in the joist ends/sole plate/base of framework, not the water evaporating through the solum. which is the point I was trying to make last time: high humidity on its own is pretty unlikely to cause fungal decay. Water ingress due to timber being in direct contact with soil is very likely to cause fungal decay.

Lower the ground levels and repair the damaged timbers isolating them from the walls by wrapping them with DPM or slate. Then see what happens. from my experience that is a pretty stable condition for a floor of a period house to be in.


Matt Green

 

[derekmclay]

Thanks Matt, your advice on this matter is well appreciated.
As usual, its the simplest approach that makes the most sense.
I hope it helps other folk with a similar predicament too.
Cheers,

Derek McLay.

 

[derekmclay]

And thanks to all the others also !!!
Cheers.

 

[Jerrinnes15]

I notice this was a long time ago, I just wonder what solution you went with Derek, and how it played out. Have a similar predicament at the moment.