Bone dry under my floor, why??

[Ollesealey]

Hello all, just a fun question really (well for me). I've been crawling around under my timber floor looking at pipes, unblocking airbricks, you know normal stuff for a bloke to do. It's particularly fun because my 4 year old daughter runs around above me asking me periodically where I am.

Anyway, it struck me how ridiculously dry it is down there. I mean, so dry everything is powder and the dust is like you see in old movies about archaeological sites. I'd have thought given it's around a metre under the ground and a super old house so no big DPM or anything it'd be damp as anything. To give you an idea, my lawn about a metre from one of my air bricks is a quagmire that tries to pull your shoe off if you walk through it.

Am I missing something??

Happy new year all

Oliver

 

[securespark]

No, I've spent many a happy hour under my Mum's floor. Also the neighbour over the road when I rewired his house in the early nineties. They were both the same: bone dry.

Yet less than half a meter away from both houses front and back walls were very soggy lawns.

 

[crystal ball]

I remember lifting floorboards in a modern (70s) bungalow and seeing about a foot of water

 

[big-all]

its simple enough really
if there's a path for water to get there, it will
if there is not, it wont

 

[securespark]

Profound.

 

[big-all]

Profound.

yes i read it later and thought "rather pointless and obvious

my brain does tend to automatically go to help mode without full filter on

 

[securespark]

 

[conny]

When I was younger, (20's/30's), I used to love doing the jobs that took me into tight spaces such as crawling under floorboards, getting into the deepest recesses of a loft, under machinery etc In fact I was still getting into small spaces inside multi-million-pound cardboard making machines when I was in my early 60's! Tight spaces hold no fear for me. I never thought about coming into contact with spiders/mice/rats etc, things that I usually hate!

 

[jacko555]

Mine is also bone dry. I attributed it to airflow - the cobwebs flutter horizontally with the breeze. Its like a massive dehydrator. There's a visible slate dpc and early cavity wall (1920s) detached, and enough airbricks to make a surprisingly marked airflow. Varying pressure differential depending on what way the wind blows makes sure all corners get air.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

When I was younger, (20's/30's), I used to love doing the jobs that took me into tight spaces

Me too. Though these days those same spaces seem to have loosened up a fair bit.

 

[Brigadier]

Mine is also bone dry. I attributed it to airflow - the cobwebs flutter horizontally with the breeze. Its like a massive dehydrator. There's a visible slate dpc and early cavity wall (1920s) detached, and enough airbricks to make a surprisingly marked airflow. Varying pressure differential depending on what way the wind blows makes sure all corners get air.

Dry your washing down there

 

[Ollesealey]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Nice to hear others have had similar experiences.
It is very well ventilated as we're on a corner and loads of air bricks all over the place.