Screws/nails to use in damp area?

[markwm]

What type of screws/nails should I be using in a damp cellar? There's lots of water vapour in the air.

I'm fixing treated timber, will galvanised nails rust?

I also have some quicksilver screws from screwfix and some zinx coated multi prupose screws but not too sure which to use?

 

[breezer]

galvanising is to prevent rust.

but anything that goes in there will get damp, how about a vent or two?

 

[markwm]

Have air bricks already, I'm putting in more.

Still not enough. The problem is the cellar lets in water and the vapour from it rots the woodwork.

 

[Jaffa72]

Prevention is better than cure!! If you use treated timber & galvanised screws then these wont rot or rust..........but that doesnt escape the fact that they are being used in a damp area.Address the problem of the source of dampness.As breezer states,fit some form of ventilation.

 

[xerxes]

Most of the woodscrews available nowadays are not galvanised but zinc passivated (a different process).

Both will corrode in a damp atmosphere; zinc passivated screws will corrode more quickly than galvanised.

As others have said, you need to address the causes of damp and try to reduce it if you can.

 

[crazycanuck]

You might look at ventalating the cellar and adding a dehumitifier.
But use zinc plated or galvanized screws.

 

[Chud]

As Mike Holmes would say - do it right.

Finger in the air I'd say you need to dig a trench down the side of the cellar wall (on the outside), apply a membrane and treatment to the outside of the wall and install a land drain.

If water is upwelling into the cellar through the floor then it might be worth installing a sump and pump.

 

[2scoops0406]

Stainless steel? A2 or for worse environs A4

 

[robertito]

I once had a damp cellar - stored some wine in it, all the labels rotted and fell off - had to drink it to find out what sort it was.... Solved the problem by fitting an extractor fan to pull air from the cellar to outside, and setting a timeswitch so that it came on automatically for an hour a day. Problem solved !

 

[Trazor]

all the labels rotted and fell off - had to drink it to find out what sort it was....

One of the top ten excuses on this forum......................