Damp Cellar

[Small85]

Hi,

My cellar, which has always been a little damp seems to have got much worse over the past few months. During some really bad rain I could actually see it seeping through the walls and pooling up on the floor. I've had the guttering cleared as there was some overspill at the time.

I was looking at the walls yesterday and thought I'd give it a bit of a scrape and the paint on it just started to fall off. I've also noticed that the wood around the old window (that has since been bricked up) is rotten. Obviously I'm scared as to what the hell I've uncovered here.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated about what I should do? How much these kinds of things cost? What tradesmen I need to be talking to?

The previous owners installed a radiator on this wall... should I have this on/off each day?

I've attached a few pictures.

Many thanks

 

[sunny singh]

My neighbour had the same issue recently and since has used a slurry on the walls - this has stopped the water seeping through and keeps the damn out also

 

[Small85]

Thats really helpful thank you.

I'm still unsure what to do with the old rotting wooden beams... any one have any ideas?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Those joists look quite new.

Andy

 

[Small85]

Yes the joists are quite new and are fine... me saying "beams" my have been confusing. The rotten wood i'm referring to is where the old window frame is still in the brick.

I've marked it out in the attached picture.

I've figured I can remove all the paint and crap with a hand scrabbler and then tank slurry it. But I'm just unsure how to tackle the rotten wood thats in between those bricks.

Thanks

 

[JohnD]

Hi,

My cellar, which has always been a little damp seems to have got much worse over the past few months. During some really bad rain I could actually see it seeping through the walls and pooling up on the floor.

please show us some pics of the outside. There may be a fault such as paving against the side of the house, or a leaking gully.

Is, or was, there a light well outside this bricked up window? has it been partially filled in?

It looks like somebody has made a futile attempt to control damp by drilling a row of holes along the foot of the wall, for useless silicone injections.

 

[Small85]

The cellar window would've been directly under the the front window seen in the picture attached.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Take a picture further back, how high is that wall?

Andy

 

[tell80]

You can chuck up a grinding cup in a angle grinder to remove the paint back to the bricks.
you can use a hammer and large wood chisel to split off pieces of the old frame thats embedded in the wall.
remove it piece by piece. do the verticals first and then

cleanout the vertical pockets and then spray the pockets with wood rot stuff.
you can then brick up with filler bricks.
Afterwards do the same and take out the head piece. remove the horizontal head a section at a time, bricking up as you go. Or you can prop the two joists and do it in one go. Either way will give support to the joists resting on the horizontal head frame.