Damp concrete floor.

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Hi all,
Apologies in advance for the long post.

I recently removed the lino in the kitchen and found a damp patch about 1 ft long by 6" wide in the concrete floor. The back of the lino was mouldy in that area too.
Thinking that I had a leak from one of the central heating pipes buried in the screed. I know the pipes run near to this area from work done before. I carefully dug part of the floor up where it was the dampest. I have exposed the pipes and these are not wet or look to have been leaking. I dug a bit further and found the DPM to be torn in that section.
Under the DPM is sand which is damp also.

The damp patch is not near an outside wall or near any drains. It is in the middle of the doorway to the kitchen. I have shut the internal stop cock off for the water supply fearing that the supply pipe may be leaking and monitored the meter. The meter did not move over a full day.

Therefore I believe that becasue I am at the bottom of a gentle hill that this is rising damp.
Is there a way of repairing the DPM without digging the whole floor up?

Many thanks in advance for any advise.

 

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I have seen a liquid DPM in wickes. which I was thinking of using to paint over the tear in the membrane and then re-screed over that. Not sure if the liquid DPM can be screeded over or not.

Does this sound like the best idea or is there a better approach?

Many thanks

 

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Can anyone help. Please?

 

[mac391]

You can lay a liquid DPM over the concrete once the hole you have dug is patched in with more concrete.
I don't buy anything from wickes and can't imagine their dpm to be up to standard but i have never bought from wickes so i don't know.
A dpm that will work is available from from www.f-ball.co.uk but you will have to cover the whole floor or the damp from that one spot will eventually arrive at the place where there is no dpm..
It's easy to apply.. just type "dpm" in the product search pain on the f-ball site and you will need F75 or F76. They will also tell you who supplies it locally to you.

It's quite expensive but cheaper than digging up the whole floor to replace the original dpm

Good luck

 

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Thanks for the link and advise. I will contact them and get the stuff from them.

 

[dazlight]

F.ball, laybond and ardex do them as well mate.
You might have to screed the floor 1st with a smoothing compound before putting down a dpm.
Is any old adhesive on the concrete?

 

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Yes there is an old floor adhesive. On some of the floor. This is why i was thinking of using a liquid dpm under the problem part of the floor and then screening over the top.

 

[dazlight]

I agree with Mac best to do the whole floor. Can you post some pictures up

 

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Thanks for the help guys.
I done what you said and this has cured it.