Single Skin Garage - Damp

[cwhaley]

Hi all, have a brick garage built from a single skin of reclaimed imperial bricks. Nice and solid but the recent period of relentless rain has exposed a problem caused by having no DPC. Former home owners just had it built with absolutely no form of damp proofing.

Exterior walls are visibly darker nearly to the top, garage smells of damp and I've got surface mould on paper/cardboard. Bit of a problem as I have all my tools and machinery in there, plus an old car. I ventilate it permanently but it's not enough.

What DIY approaches are there? I've seen Screwfix selling chemical rod injection kits, but have no knowledge of the reliability of these. Unsure of other methods.

Just want to keep the damp out of the garage.

 

[23vc]

Pretty common for these not to have a dpc, and arguably a bit pointless having one anyway, as it’s not going to stop water tracking sideways through/under the single skin.
I deffo don’t think any kind of retro fit dpc will be worth doing.
Maybe a few coats of Thompson weather seal type stuff on the outside, and try and protect the brick/ground junction around the perimeter from getting too saturated…

 

[mikehammer69]

Does ventilation improve or disimprove damp ?

 

[cwhaley]

Pretty common for these not to have a dpc, and arguably a bit pointless having one anyway, as it’s not going to stop water tracking sideways through/under the single skin.
I deffo don’t think any kind of retro fit dpc will be worth doing.
Maybe a few coats of Thompson weather seal type stuff on the outside, and try and protect the brick/ground junction around the perimeter from getting too saturated…

Thanks. First thing I did with it when moving here was to dig a channel all the way around (to reduce the ground level sat against the brick work).

Was just hoping there was a way of stopping or at least reducing the amount of water wicking up the wall. I'll look into the weather seal. The inside is ventilated permanently via open windows, but I may have to introduce mechanical ventilation at either end to 'pull' air through and push it out.

 

[cwhaley]

Does ventilation improve or disimprove damp ?

I've never not ventilated so I don't have a comparison sadly.

I open windows at either end but I am thinking of introducing two mechanical fans to push air through the garage.

 

[mikehammer69]

I've never not ventilated so I don't have a comparison sadly.

I open windows at either end but I am thinking of introducing two mechanical fans to push air through the garage.

I was advised that ventilation was a good thing for damp

Don't know if true or not

 

[cwhaley]

I was advised that ventilation was a good thing for damp

Don't know if true or not

I ventilate the upstairs of my house 8 hours per day and get very little condensation and no mould. I'd say it's essential for reducing ambient moisture levels.

 

[Old Salt]

Use a dehumidifier for a few hours a day. Had the garage doors open on mine the other day and the humidity dropped from 84 to 56%

 

[foxhole]

Use a dehumidifier for a few hours a day. Had the garage doors open on mine the other day and the humidity dropped from 84 to 56%

Waste of time in a garage .

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The inside is ventilated permanently via open windows, but I may have to introduce mechanical ventilation at either end to 'pull' air through and push it out.

My garage/worshop, has precast concrete garage panels, built on a slab, concrete block workshop, again built on a slab. The garage slab, used to flood, in very wet weather perhaps once per year, due to ground level, poor ground drainage - since dealt with, and now perfectly dry. The front faces the prevailing wind, and I made a point of building it so there were plenty of air gaps, to allow a good through air flow, front to rear. Everything remains dry in there. So air flow, and good ventilation, is important.

 

[cwhaley]

My garage/worshop, has precast concrete garage panels, built on a slab, concrete block workshop, again built on a slab. The garage slab, used to flood, in very wet weather perhaps once per year, due to ground level, poor ground drainage - since dealt with, and now perfectly dry. The front faces the prevailing wind, and I made a point of building it so there were plenty of air gaps, to allow a good through air flow, front to rear. Everything remains dry in there. So air flow, and good ventilation, is important.

I think the key is going to be airflow. Although I do have the windows open permanently, there aren't any windows I can open at the front. I think controllable vents at the front and rear would help direct fresh air through it as you've described.