Ventilation under floorboards

[jezztri]

I am going to see if I can get one of those little cameras with long leads to look through each vent and poke it down the gap under the stairs. I really don't think I could crawl down there.

i'll be back next week sometime with an update

 

[ree]

Burnerman,

There is no such thing as "hard cast render"

"The only thing I can see there" What an idiotic statement after previously being told by the OP that her interior floor is level with the external ground.
But how could someone ignorant of the building trades be expected to know what potential for damage he is looking at?

The OP has also already told us that the bay air vents are above the FFL - so no matter how many "seem ok" if that is a solid wall then they are in the wrong place.

"there will always be damp on the concrete hearth" - no there wont. Where's your evidence for this ridiculous assertion? My reference was pretty obviously to the chimney breast & flue based on the OP's previous reference to a c/stack area leak, and side wall water penetration.
Perhaps its difficult for you to follow these simple connections?

"the more space between the air bricks and the ground the better"?
What a wild claim. Please explain?

"Any rain running down the render should drop clear of the DPC. "
Please indicate which DPC you are referring to? The render continues to ground level, precisely where is the "drop" supposed to take place from?


"floor base" - your layman's term for the oversite. Not only do you use a laughable expression but its self-contradictory ... make a big effort & think about it?

Burnerman, given the OP's issues with ground levels, FFL's & ventilation etc. maybe you would like to set out what your remedial measures would be?

 

[Burnerman]

But Mr. Ree ......I am an ignoramus! You said it, so naturally therefore it must be true.
Due to this fact, I can't possibly comment further, for the sake of this Forum.
In fact, how I have managed to get through my life thus far is totally beyond me......clearly you know better
Of course, insults could be exchanged until the end of time but until then, I'll bid you farewell.

 

[ree]

How kind of you to think of the Forum. I only hope that your thoughts are also with the OP - given that your pretence to knowledge could cost them dear.

Your quote: "how have i managed to get through my life thus far is totally beyond me" - how you manage to tie your shoe laces is beyond me.

You sneak away with a duff apology that becomes you - dont change a word, its entirely you.

You attempted to insult me - i had never even noticed you - and now you meet an adult who will snap back at your cheap shots you scuttle away.

 

[jeds]

I am going to see if I can get one of those little cameras with long leads to look through each vent and poke it down the gap under the stairs. I really don't think I could crawl down there.

i'll be back next week sometime with an update

The problem is there are lots of possible causes and it can often be more than one. Without being able to do a thorough site survey the best way to tackle it from a distance is work through the most likely first until you narrow it down. At the moment I would rule out excessive moisture beneath the floor. The photos you posted don't show a lot but what they did show looked quite dry. I've often seen pools of water under floors like yours that didn't cause the smells you've got. So that leads on to ventilation.

Just a point on the air vents. Although they look like they are in the wrong position they almost certainly are not. It is highly unlikely that they would have been built in the wrong position and left like that by the builders. In fact (see my earlier post) vents are often built with telescopic type ducts that take the air through the brickwork from one level to another and that is almost certainly what you have got. Although, again, it does need to be checked to make sure.

Also, as I previous said, it is very common for people to misguidedly block up vents and sleeper walls thinking they are preventing draughts. That also needs to be checked to either confirm or eliminate.

Another possible is that it isn't a dampness or ventilation at all. It could just be that you have something extra smelly under there. i.e. something crawled in and died. It does happen.

For the time being I personally wouldn't think too much about French drain type trenches. My feeling at the moment is that it is either ventilation or just extra smelly. I'd confirm or rule that out first.

 

[Burnerman]

Yep, on the nail Jeds.
Here's a different one......a while back, in the Tyne valley, I was asked to lift some floorboards in various properties prior to a surveyor arriving looking for damp.
The only connection was that historically they were all railway owned - I guess 1930s. Every property had an earth floor, and all had been heavily saturated with linseed oil on construction......sleeper walls, wall plates, the lot. The damp prevention between sleepers and joists was actually slate.
No rot whatsoever! Presumably the railway got the oil as a job lot
Never seen that anywhere else!
John

 

[ree]

jeds,

The telescopic theory regarding the positioning of the vents in the bay will only work if the walls are cavity? If you disagree with this statement then please say why ?

AAMOI, all the vents so far shown are in the "wrong" position for one reason or another. All of them. If you disagree with what i've just said then please explain why?

You say that "it isn't dampness" - But a quote by the OP says the flat "smells damp"

You suggest that "something crawled in and died" - what, after every rainfall (to paraphrase the OP) some creature comes crawling in?
Perhaps its Lord Lucan or the Second Coming? And thats your best shot at an answer? I mean, to crawl in once and die is a nuisance but to keep doing it is cheeky.

Your quote "extra smelly" - thats the conclusion from someone who claims to be a professional surveyor.

You advise the OP not to "think too much about French drain type trenches."
A suggestion thats actually working for someone (drpepe) and you reject it.
Whatever, thinking is never going to trouble you.

 

[ree]

Burnerman,

I'm sure that in some mysterious Mystic Meg manner your last post moves the thread forward - unfortunately the how escapes me.

Oil on troubled waters?

Distraction from his present troubles?

A sort of bonding with his fellow sufferer - him knowing that someone somewhere is also under the duvet is such a consolation. the world wonders?