tanking / waterproofing

[cupcake]

Hi
My long stonebuilt 'garage' is below ground level by about 4foot on one side. The land that the garage is built into is mine, a very wet field, on a slope so it will always be wet.
The garage was built in the early seventies I think, in stone reclaimed when the toilet block for our row of cottages was knocked down!
I would like to convert my garage into a kitchen for my business [I make cupcakes] but am worried about the wall that is below ground level. In a wet winter - like the last one, water literally pours through the gaps in the stone, then runs away across the floor.
Should this wall be tanked / waterproofed in some way? but how? would the whole garage need doing?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jon Maine]

You have two options as I see it.

1/ Dig the land away at the back to introduce some drainage below internal floor level as a preference.

2/ If that is not possible due to ownership problems ( although a negotiation with a neighbour would be best ) you could line the inside of the wall with a free draining system such as Newtonite lath. It still lets the wall leak, you need to form an internal drain to take the water away from the base of the wall. The lath means you can apply a plasterwork finish which is protected from the damp behind.

 

[Penners]

As Jon has said, by far the best solution would be to cut a trench between the earth and the exterior walls of the building. Dig it down below internal floor level, then put some porous piping in the bottom, and cover this with gravel. Lead the piping to a soakaway downhill from the building.

For stability, you might have to angle the wall of the trench so that the soil "leans" away from the building, then reinforce it with a wall, shuttering or at least a planting mesh that grass can grow through.

Do you have the space to do that?