damp rising around edges of quarry tiles

[cfb]

we have bought a house which has quarry tiles in the hallway. they appear to have been laid straight on the earth/ lime and on wet days there is damp rising around the edge of each tile. A few "professionals" have said that the floor must be dug up and visqueen laid, are there any alternatives? Can the floor be sealed? The property has no central heating at present but when it is heated will this "rising damp" stop? Thanks for reading this....C

 

[breezer]

sounds like there is no damp course / membrane.

may be wrong

 

[masona]

When was the house built ?

 

[oilman]

You need help from someone like GwaiLo or renovator, who knows.

Immediately, ensure there is good ventilation, ie don't block up draughts. It sounds like the house is old, and it has been working ok for decades, so there is nothing to panic about, just don't change the running conditions too fast, and beware the damproofing surveyor. Open fires are very good ventilators, (though inefficient heaters).

 

[GwaiLo]

With Advice, as with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

On the surface it seems likely that a new concrete floor with a polythene (visqueen is a brand name) DPM laid, and possibly a DPC inserted. However, there are no "stock" answers to this sort of problem and it really does need a competent surveyor to look at it.

Look for a Chartered Building Surveyor in yellow pages or search for one on the RICS Website which is here If I may be able to help but I have to warn you that I cannot give free "Advice", because you can sue me if it is negligent and my professional indemnity insurer won't play along and give me free insurance

 

[cfb]

thanks for the responses, Masona asked the age of the house, it was built in 1901 and we do still have one open fire which we intend to keep. I have since read on one site that sealing is not an option as its laid on earth, and the tiles need to "breathe", and I have also read about musty smells due to the damp beneath the tiles being reduced with heating and good ventilation. I am still interested in hearing from anyone who has either experience of this "rising damp" around the tiles or who knows something about it .....Cheers C

 

[oilman]

Have you tried the forum here ?

 

[masona]

Masona asked the age of the house, it was built in 1901

The reason I asked was,my uncle who got a property in London built in 1810,I replaced all the floorboards and support wallplates in the cellar which goes right under the main road (interesting building).The wallplates rotted away,not the floorboards and I was amazed that the wallplates was bedded on hard dry mud with no air-vent or ventilation !!

As GwaiLo said,you really need a professional advice as you can do lot of work unnecessary,I don't want to say too much but sometime improving the ground drainage outside can help.

 

[renovator]

have to agree with Gwailo et al.

Have the issue professionally evaluated in situ.
This will allow correct identification of the issue and thereby appropriate remedy for the issue.

 

[GwaiLo]

It does remind me of my shock as a young soldier on my first tour of Northern Ireland discovering that some people lived in houses with Peat floors.