I have recently purchased a new property and I am looking at converting the detached garage into a workshop.
The garage sits at the bottom of a reasonably steep slope leading up to the house and the rear garage wall doubles up as a retaining wall for the garden behind it.
In order to reinforce the rear wall, the retaining portion has been laid as block on flat, which also leads to me having a handy lip on the inside of the garage on which to support a permanent workbench.
Due to the wall being in direct contact with the earth behind it, I expect there to be some degree of damp/moisture permeating the concrete block (this isn't evident currently, as the garage is well ventilated, but I can imagine it might be more pronounced should airflow be restricted). Therefore, I want to put something between the timber and the concrete to prevent the timber from soaking up any moisture/rotting prematurely.
Would I be better to staple some dpm to the back/underside of the timber, or would breathable membrane be a better option in this circumstance, or is there a better option I haven't considered?
Damp proofing the exterior of the wall isn't really an option currently as it would require significant excavation.
I've attached a rudimentary illustration to better describe what I'm planning to do. Not to scale, obviously!
Any input is much appreciated!
The garage sits at the bottom of a reasonably steep slope leading up to the house and the rear garage wall doubles up as a retaining wall for the garden behind it.
In order to reinforce the rear wall, the retaining portion has been laid as block on flat, which also leads to me having a handy lip on the inside of the garage on which to support a permanent workbench.
Due to the wall being in direct contact with the earth behind it, I expect there to be some degree of damp/moisture permeating the concrete block (this isn't evident currently, as the garage is well ventilated, but I can imagine it might be more pronounced should airflow be restricted). Therefore, I want to put something between the timber and the concrete to prevent the timber from soaking up any moisture/rotting prematurely.
Would I be better to staple some dpm to the back/underside of the timber, or would breathable membrane be a better option in this circumstance, or is there a better option I haven't considered?
Damp proofing the exterior of the wall isn't really an option currently as it would require significant excavation.
I've attached a rudimentary illustration to better describe what I'm planning to do. Not to scale, obviously!
Any input is much appreciated!
