Hi,
I moved into an old Cornish cottage in April this year and as the weather gets worse, suprise suprise the walls have started to get some serious damp.
The house is built directly onto the granite below and there are no foundations. Additionally there is no drainage, and the garden at the back of the house is very steep and terraced, and the house is pushed up against it.
What I want to do (having consulted with various builders etc.) is dig a drainage system around the house, but one that is below floor level, and put a grate over the channel to try and stop moisutre getting right up against hte property.
What I want to know is for the drainage ditch, do I need to line it with concrete on all sides, is it worth lining the bottom of the ditch with concrete as well? Or is it better to simply make a french drain and then put a gutter system on top of that? Also I assume there is some risk in digging so close to the walls themselves, is there anything to watch out for or any way to mitigate the risk?
Any advice is much appreciated!
regards,
N.
I moved into an old Cornish cottage in April this year and as the weather gets worse, suprise suprise the walls have started to get some serious damp.
The house is built directly onto the granite below and there are no foundations. Additionally there is no drainage, and the garden at the back of the house is very steep and terraced, and the house is pushed up against it.
What I want to do (having consulted with various builders etc.) is dig a drainage system around the house, but one that is below floor level, and put a grate over the channel to try and stop moisutre getting right up against hte property.
What I want to know is for the drainage ditch, do I need to line it with concrete on all sides, is it worth lining the bottom of the ditch with concrete as well? Or is it better to simply make a french drain and then put a gutter system on top of that? Also I assume there is some risk in digging so close to the walls themselves, is there anything to watch out for or any way to mitigate the risk?
Any advice is much appreciated!
regards,
N.
