It's nearly the end of our first month camping out in our poor little house, and we're still loving it. Mainly because it's lovely being able to see both of our children so often and so casually but also because we've discovered a shop just round the corner that rivals the blessed Thorns!
Apart from slum-cearance in the back and front gardens we've done very little to the house itself, apart from make (and then refine/alter/totally rethink) plans. But our musings, and an encounter with a next-door neighbour, have thrown up a big question about the cellar:
You may remember that a few weeks ago I posted a photo of our little cellar that revealed the possibility of extending it across the whole width of the house. It would mean removing a wall and then quarrying tons and tons of soil from underneath the sitting-room, shoring it up as we went, of course. A builder who came round to quote for the other work told us that he's seen this done elsewhere, but we'd need a structural engineer to draw up a spec. for it.
So far, so good.
BUT - we've had a pretty hefty de-humidifier going non-stop for the past week or so, and it still produces two bucketsful of water per day. Bearing in mind Penners's Rule about bricks drying out at a rate of an inch a month, I'm assuming it'll take a very long time for it to get rid of the moisture from an awful lot of cubic feet of soil (if ever!), but the OH is getting really alarmed. What hasn't helped to restore his equanimity is the encounter we had with our next-door neighbour, whose cellar adjoins ours. He took us in to show us his cellar, which was opened up a long time ago, and which is nearly 2 inches deep in very clean water. Apparently this happens periodically, but with no discernable relation to weather conditions. All his walls have been tanked, the floor is cement, and there's a sort of 6"-thick cement "skirting" along the bottom of the party wall. I suspect that none of this is helping but, like Manuel, "I know nothing".
As well as the mystery about his water, there's also the question as to why, even during the recent Rains, our cellar wasn't wet. Damp, yes, but no sign of standing water.
Do you think there's any hope for our cellar? Is it being affected by next door? Should we abandon the idea of opening it up?
Apart from slum-cearance in the back and front gardens we've done very little to the house itself, apart from make (and then refine/alter/totally rethink) plans. But our musings, and an encounter with a next-door neighbour, have thrown up a big question about the cellar:
You may remember that a few weeks ago I posted a photo of our little cellar that revealed the possibility of extending it across the whole width of the house. It would mean removing a wall and then quarrying tons and tons of soil from underneath the sitting-room, shoring it up as we went, of course. A builder who came round to quote for the other work told us that he's seen this done elsewhere, but we'd need a structural engineer to draw up a spec. for it.
So far, so good.
BUT - we've had a pretty hefty de-humidifier going non-stop for the past week or so, and it still produces two bucketsful of water per day. Bearing in mind Penners's Rule about bricks drying out at a rate of an inch a month, I'm assuming it'll take a very long time for it to get rid of the moisture from an awful lot of cubic feet of soil (if ever!), but the OH is getting really alarmed. What hasn't helped to restore his equanimity is the encounter we had with our next-door neighbour, whose cellar adjoins ours. He took us in to show us his cellar, which was opened up a long time ago, and which is nearly 2 inches deep in very clean water. Apparently this happens periodically, but with no discernable relation to weather conditions. All his walls have been tanked, the floor is cement, and there's a sort of 6"-thick cement "skirting" along the bottom of the party wall. I suspect that none of this is helping but, like Manuel, "I know nothing".
As well as the mystery about his water, there's also the question as to why, even during the recent Rains, our cellar wasn't wet. Damp, yes, but no sign of standing water.
Do you think there's any hope for our cellar? Is it being affected by next door? Should we abandon the idea of opening it up?
Hooray, glad you are back Moo, in one piece, albeit discovering that all those plans made before moving need to be adjusted---but, you will get there! Can't help much with cellar advice except that I have read the replies with interest, all make sense!