Low oxygen in cellar

[StevenW]

Hi all, I converted a damp cellar into a workspace by using a DPC on the walls and flor and installing a marine treated subfloor. I have since put up batons and then plasterboard and a new ceiling. The problem is there is no air flow and when I go down there I get short of breath very quickly.

There is an old coal shute going in to the cellar which I stupidly used to chuck loads of waste into and seal up. I could take some plasterboards off, cut into the DPC and remove all this to allow access to the air bricks. Is that the best thing to do to allow air movement?

It's not like it all the time, usually only when it rains for some reason, but I really need to get it sorted. If I remove all the waste and open up the old coal shute, I know that rain will come in but as the ceiling of the cellar is below ground level I can't see another way round it unless I use a pump and vent in air via another route.

I am on a mega budget, preferably free! Any ideas greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Deluks]

Well do you want to suffocate or drown? You need to get a vent up to the surface somehow. Can you make a hole in the ceiling for ducting? You ideally need one at each end of the room, one in/one out.

 

[foxhole]

The floor above should have an air vent to exterior?

 

[RedHerring2]

Apparently carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen, so no ventilation could mean a build up of carbon dioxide.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_heavier_oxygen_or_carbon_dioxide

 

[ajrobb]

The problem is there is no air flow and when I go down there I get short of breath very quickly.

I suggest you get a carbon monoxide alarm down there to be on the safe side.

unless I use a pump and vent in air via another route

Yes, I'd consider getting a bathroom extractor fan hooked into the lights and an air vent on the other side of the room.

As an aside, the new plasterboard ceiling should give 30 minutes fire protection for the rest of the house, which is an improvement over the original. Maybe an intumescent fire grille over the vent(s) would preserve this new fire protection. Likewise, a fire door might bring the arrangement up to modern standards for a building with more than 2 storeys.