Damp coming up through tiled floor - help!

I live in an old stone cottage circa 1840 (cavity walls filled with rubble). I have no idea if there is any sort of damp proofing.
The ground floor is all one room and was tiled by the previous occupants (I wonder why? Hmm...). I have a central rug and recently discovered the bit under the sofa was damp. It's happened before but then, I thought it was because I didn't dry out the rug properly after I got flooded with surface water from the back garden years back.
I thought it might just be condensation but the underneath of the carpet is almost wet. I'm just checking whether there is damp anywhere else - so far it looks like it might just be an area about two foot square. I've never seen water on the surface of the tiles and the house doesn't smell damp. I've checked the pipe which runs from the stop cock behind the kitchen units and there is no leak.
Is this rising damp? What's the solution? I dread having to have the floor up. Not all the furniture will go upstairs! Any possibility of a 'spot fix'? Who do I get to check it? A builder? A plumber? A 'damp proof specialist'. I'm anxious to avoid rip off merchants! Thanks.

It HAS been raining a lot recently, so don't panic yet - it could be just a sign of potential issues. What are the floor tiles and the carpet/rug made of? On an old solid floor you need to use things that will let the floor breathe, so anything plastic/rubber/man-made fibre is not likely to do that, and it will easily get wet underneath.

If it's been flooded once with water from the garden then I would guess that the floor and the ground outside are pretty well at the same level, in which case you need to dig out some of the ground outside and get a difference of at least 4", preferably 6". Just do that and see if it has any effect after a couple of months of sunshine(!). You might even have the ground concreted up to the wall outside - that would have to go!

I had the same sort of thing on my house of the same age - see http://houseintheenchantedforest.blogspot.co.uk/ , especially the labels for dampness and limecrete. The kitchen has quarry tiles laid on about 2" of sand, and there was concrete or earth up to or even above the floor level inside. That's all fixed now and it is dry.

Avoid employed damp proof specialists as their only task is to increase business even if it means selling you something which will not work, which it almost certainly won't on a house that age.

Possel said:

Avoid employed damp proof specialists as their only task is to increase business even if it means selling you something which will not work, which it almost certainly won't on a house that age.

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This is what I was concerned about. I'm going to dry out the area and wait and see. Cheers!

It sounds like it could be the water table rising. Dig a hole in the back garden and see if it fills with water.

If it doesn't then it's either a leak or condensation.

tank the floor

FEBTANK is used in basements and you mix it and paint it on. its about 30-40 quid a bag and it goes a long way.

http://www.feb.uk.com/products/waterproofing/febtank-super

DO NOT tank the floor - all that would do is to drive the dampness into the walls, and then you just chase the damp around wihout ever getting rid of it.

Thanks everyone. I'm not sure about the water table rising. The house is built into a hillside. At the rear is a patio then a garden slope. At the front there is an access lane then a drop into the field below which slopes down. So I would have thought this meant natural drainage? That said, who knows with all the rain we have had. I'm going to keep an eye on things to see if it's resolved if and when the weather improves. Meanwhile I'm going to test to see if it is due to condensation or damp from below by putting some plastic down and taping around it for a couple of days to see if I get moisture underneath.
Interestingly I've only had the problem under the sofa. I wonder if it is something to do with the jute backed rug on cold tiles and the air not circulating? Cheers.

Yes. It will be condensation. Non-movement of the airflow is the usual cause (like behind a wardrobe, under the sofa).


BTW there is no such thing as a 'damp expert' just a con-artist damp bodger.

pineapple said:

The house is built into a hillside. At the rear is a patio then a garden slope. At the front there is an access lane then a drop into the field below which slopes down. So I would have thought this meant natural drainage?

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In which case what happens where the garden slope meets the back wall of the house? Is there adequate drainage to keep the water away from the back wall? Is the ground level below the floor level inside?