What is the best thing to Damp proof my cellar...

[handyman77]

Mike! Please listen to what we are advising, I really don't like agreeing with fredystwin, but you give me no choice. Have a look at the FAQ for the Cellarcote I mentioned earlier and phone the technical dept to get any info about preparation. This tanking solution will hold back up to 10bar pressure! It can be applied to damp Walls you can also use it for the floor. Prepis the key! Trust me it's easy even a clown like freddystwin could do it! Please don't keep putting things on this thread regarding roofing felt on Walls or you will get laughed out of here. I know one mans **** is anothers gold. If you got spare felt put it on EBay? As for your neighbours ply, do you know if it's Wbp if not keepit away from your cellar wouldnt even usenit to lay my tools on! Sorry to go on but I'm just trying to advise!

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Go ahead laugh as much as you may, I am trying to use resources that would otherwise just go to waste, and are available to me FOC.

I bet you cannot even suggest as to why using a roofing felt sandwitched between a damp wall and a marine ply won't stand up to the task better than some slurry type of re[pair, if anything it might outlast the later.

Provided it is done with utmost care and not just lashed up with a couple of screws here and there. All screws sealed with mastic inside out., even coat the boards with a bitumen coating again I have sevarl tins floating around from doing roof repairs.

 

[handyman77]

You obviously like a bit of DIY! I'm not laughing at you I am trying to advise. I can say wholeheartedly that what you are suggesting is doomedto fail, there's many reason. I promise you r wasting your time, basements are difficult, remember there's actual water pressure coming in through the Walls it's below ground.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You can lead a horse to water ......

 

[handyman77]

I'm not taking your missus anywhere!



Sorry couldnt help myself!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I took your missus up the back passage!

 

[handyman77]

I bet you didnt even touch the sides! I knew you liked it up the wrong'un! She told me that you made her do you with a strap on! You dirty bug.ger! Or should that be bugg.erer??

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

 

[masona]

I think you will find my idea I suggested using roofing felt and plywood screwed onto the wall is quite similar in principle to tanking it up, i suggested using a rtoofing felt, again thats because I have several rolls lying around!

The problem is you will be chucking dead money than ever putting it right as tanking the cellar the correct way will be cheaper in the long run.

Just because you've got some materials lying around doesn't make it the right materials

 

[Mikefromlondon]

guys! behave, I have been married for the past 30 odd years and still haven't managed to penetrate the backside yet, well actually i am lieing, I did but just once only, and it was truely an awesome accident, she threatened to divorce me if I ever it slipped again! even by accident.

Tomorrow I am having the floor screeded, as it is uneven and full of pebbles and the concrete around the pebbles has stsrted to wear out and causes exterme dusty conditions, thankfully 90% of my cellar walls and floor is totaly dry.

The bit that I want to treat is only about 8 foot in length from one corner. and is around 5 foot high, since I am having the floor screeded I told the builder that I wanted him to scrape off all loose flaky plaster from this effected length of the wall, it turns out that behind the flake is a solid and quite dryish surface, so i am sure Cellarcote will do a nice job.

However, looking at where all the perforations occured, they occured exactly where I had previously applied bitumen coating (I can't remember what it was called) so in other words that made the condition worst because did not allow the wall to breath naturally, immediately above this section the wall is perfectly dry and not perforated. Even though the top section of this wall is equally submerged in the ground, it did not suffer from any discoluration or perforation, normally damp walls will have discoluration and appear flakey and often mouldy. mine isn't quite anywhere like it. I thought it might have been damp, but after my builder scrapped all loose flakey plaster off, it appeared quite dry not only to touch but also had some signs of dusty appearance.

I am therefore wondering if the suggested coating of Celarcote won't end up the same way, i.e. start to perforate as that bitumen coating did, which prevented any trapped moisture from breathing out.

 

[handyman77]

As long as your DPC s sound it will be fine. I would advise doing the floor with the Cellarcote before screeding! Trust me this stuff is the mutts nuts! Just follow the instructions carefully and good luck!
What part of London are you in I could recommend a couple of suppliers, bare in mind it will take a few days to get in as it's not something heybwould have lying around!

 

[Mikefromlondon]

As long as your DPC s sound it will be fine. I would advise doing the floor with the Cellarcote before screeding! Trust me this stuff is the mutts nuts! Just follow the instructions carefully and good luck!
What part of London are you in I could recommend a couple of suppliers, bare in mind it will take a few days to get in as it's not something heybwould have lying around!

I am based in Barking, close to East Ham, or Ilford, the cellar floor is extremely dry, and very dusty, we had to splash water to calm the dust down and wear dust mask, totally dry floor, problem is the builder is starting to screed tomorrow, he came in today between 9pm and 11.30pm and made preparations, cleared all my stuff away from half of the cellar over to the other side and prepared the surface ready for screed.

Earlier today i ordered a ton of sharp sand and 6 bags of cement, we will get some more cement as we need, going do at least 4:1 sand/cement screed, apart from the usual preparation of the surface like applying the pva/bonding to ensure the screed stricks to the pebbles and concrete, all should be well as far as dampf proofing at the floor level is concerned, If the cellar had a decent bit of height, i would have gone for insulation as well, but that won't be possible now as already the cellar height is restricted and just touches my head! and I therefore can't affoard to bring the floor up too high, 2" screed at heighest point to about 3 to 3and half inches at the lowest point, the floor is very uneven. We could have gone down to get some decent standing height by digging up down, but then it gets too much for what we are going to use it for and it could weaken the foundations.

Please let me know where I can get that stuff from around east london. thanks


edited:

just googled Sealocrete, and got some very good information about the product, thanks for your reccomendation mate, sounds the only stuff that can resist damp froma 100meter head of water! wow! I hope it is not too expensive! I am definitely going for this and 1 litre covers 3-4m sq. http://www.sealocrete.com/product_260_16

 

[handyman77]

Just remember it needs two coats. The first coat takes a lot more than second coat. Make sure quick with it and don't think you are going to reuse the roller and brush. You also need to mix it a paddle attached to a drill at low speed. Sorry I'm based in north London, google and see how far away holloway rd is, if it's doable Chris Stevens paint shop, I doubt you will get a cheaper price and yes it is expensive. I managed to haggle them down to about £110 for a 5 litre tin! Good luck! Not sure if you know this you will need more than one tin as once mixed it won't keep!

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Thanks again mate, i am waiting for Bostic as they are called to phone me back with regards to local distributors/stockists of their product, and try and pick 5L can today if they have in stock. Cheers

 

[handyman77]

You will need 2 lots as once you mix the hardener it goes off in half an our and you need to apply the second coat while the first is still tacky