Is a PIV a solution for a cellar?

[foxhole]

What do you want to use the space for remembering it was designed as a coal seller and not for a habitable space?

 

[^woody^]

PIV is a solution for mould growth, not damp control and not ventilation.

 

[JohnD]

If you ending up adding more vents, you can generate a certain amount of air movement by having one duct open at ceiling level, and another running down to floor level. You probably know that thermal convection currents, if there was a heater in the room, would tend to draw air in at the bottom, and warm air to flow out the top vent, but water vapour is lighter than air and will rise to the ceiling, unless you have a fan or something mixing it up.

I do not have any figures to quantify it, though.

Usual practice is to have crossflow of air from vents on one side of the house to the other. The slightest breeze will cause air movement.

 

[RNot]

Mostly as storage that isn't going to suffer from humidity, not a great deal of headroom so other than that could use as a basic gym. Really nothing fancy.

 

[foxhole]

Mostly as storage that isn't going to suffer from humidity, not a great deal of headroom so other than that could use as a basic gym. Really nothing fancy.

Gym equipment would tend to rust fairly quickly in that environment.

 

[RNot]

Thanks Woody, that was somewhat why I was scratching my head with PIV..

 

[RNot]

I agree foxhole.. I am not hoping to be too ambitious but if i can maintain a decent humidity without a disproportionate spend we may gain a somewhat more functional space. Just exploring what's feasible. Thanks

 

[RNot]

JohnD - really appreciate the input, getting that crossflow feels like an important step I'll have to invest time working out how best to achieve. Also the dessicant dehumidifier I am looking at is the Ecor Pro 1200 that can be sited at the ceiling and vented out returning warm dry air into the room.. seems a good price considering and very practicable.

 

[^woody^]

The problem you may have is that the amount of moisture penetrating the walls, combined with the amount of moisture being produced within the room and property generally may be greater than the air movement and ventilation can deal with. The salts produced by penetrating dampness can become hygroscopic ie attract more moisture, and local pockets of the room or structure can develop high humidity and attract mould spores - devastating to timber as the hyphae can spread not just in voids but behind plaster.

So you need to consider the extremes of penetrating and condensation damp that will occur - including wet winters, wet springs and autumns for ground water levels, and humid springs and autumns and cold winters for condensation issues.

 

[RNot]

Lots to weigh up.. thanks for the additional information. I've been reticent to pursue full tanking believing it better to support natural ventilation rather than risk redirecting any dampness elsewhere. It takes me back to aiming for adding Input routes as a key part of the solution. Is that view of tanking agreeable ? Over a full 12 months now there hasn't been any adverse changes to the dampness I.e no actual water forming just varying degrees of coldness to touch and varying moisture levels. We stripped out the plasterboard walls which were actually free of (visible) mould but did collapse in large chunks having absorbed moisture. By pulling them off we cleaned the walls up of loose material and good or bad ended up with more widespread humidity. It was clearly being held back by the plasterboard