O/T Drying out a dampish cellar
Turbo Mini Forums

Making an effort to clear the cellar out and get it organised enough to put a pool table down there (and the obligatory beer fridge).

It's a little bit damp. Paint is flaking a bit. There's a decent sized radiator and I have the dehumidifier running 24/7 (when I remember to empty the bucket). I had neglected that a bit over the last year or two.... There some carpets down there which where a bit damp, so they're heading to the tip shortly.

Are there any other ways I can get the damp up and out of there?

Get your self a nice big industrial heater and leave it running, along with the dehumidifyer. Should do the trick.

The turbo build has finally started

Your gunna build a lambo down there arent ya

1/4 Mile 14.3secs 96Mph Terminal 10psi of boost.


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Well cat litter absorbs moisture in damp cars... lol

Thats all i know you can do, what your doing. couple electric heaters and hope for the best

p.s. i wouldnt reccomend a gas jobbie for the gas thats expelled afterwards.....

Edited by MINIMON on 15th Dec, 2011.

Thanks Liam.

No Mike. There's already got a sauna down there if you want to join me

all well and good but what about the source of the damp?

It wasn't bad when we moved in 3 1/2 years ago.

Wifey left the hose on overnight in the back garden last summer and it all drained down there... Had about 1/2" of standing water across about half of it.

My thoughts exactly.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Have you got solid concrete floors above or are they timber? If they are gimber you need to check for rot on the ends of the joists where they tie into the wall.

The turbo build has finally started

yeah, dehumidifier, they do pull the water out of the air well,

We use one to dry our laundry out, really makes a difference

Concrete floors.

Just need to get the dehumidifier to pump straight outside I guess...

I've got the next model up from you. Prob won't need it when I move if you want to borrow it for a while.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

finding the source of ingress/ moisture would be a huge help although basements can be inherently damp. There are systems you can get to line the place but i'm not keen on them

Edited by apbellamy on 15th Dec, 2011.

Perhaps something like a paint that seals against water would help stop the water ingress?

Might help to hot air or get a blowtorch on the brickwork/masonry to dry it out a little before ou apply the paint.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHRINK-WRAP-GUN-...=item256a48e159 If you can get hold of one of those, it would make life a lot easier!

Damp proof paints are really only any good if you have solved the problem with water ingress before you apply it. Otherwise the water just ends up stuck in the brick work...

True, but the brickwork is never truly dry underground, nor is concrete. The stuff may set but its only ever as dry as the soil/ground around it. Eventually it will all drain away from the house, Just a suggestion to get the cellar dry a bit quicker

if that is the case then air circulation is what you want as well

On 15th Dec, 2011 apbellamy said:

On 15th Dec, 2011 John said:
I've got the next model up from you. Prob won't need it when I move if you want to borrow it for a while.

That would be good

Rob - I think it's just a hangover from Lisa's little accident. A lot of it has been trapped in the carpets etc that have been left down there. They are all languishing at the tip now.

It doesn't feel particularly damp any more, but there is over an inch of water the dehumidifier's bucket collected in the last 4 hours.

I think some of it is more psychological with the cracking paint and a couple of bricks where the faces have blown slightly.

EDIT: It's split into 3 rooms, the two smaller ones are dry (one has half my mini, the other has all of wifey's wine...). It's just the main room that got flooded that's the problem.

There's a vent brick in one corner. Would an extractor on that be a good plan?

That wont solve the Problem of the brick work being damp as the brick work is set into ground which is damp and are solid walls. If there was a cavity then you wouldnt have as much cold/damp in there. You could once fully dried out look at having the room tanked. That way it will stop the damp coming into the room and also help to keep it warm. If there is an airbrick in there gow high off the ground is it? You may find that in heavy rain it lets water in. If so you can block the bottom row of holes up.

The turbo build has finally started

get some duct tape over the air brick and any other air outlets for a few daysand keep the dehumidifier running, get it properly dry then you should be able to see if there anre any problem area's where damp is getting in.

There is a cavity, but it's not big - less than 50mm in places so no room for cavity insulation

The air brick is one course above ground level so shouldn't be letting much in if any. I'll block it over for a few days and see how it goes on.

You want air circulation. Think about trying to dry the wall out first, and keep the dehumidifier running, and ideally if you have one of those blow heaters, just set it to cold to save electricity and let it blow across the wall/floor.

Ye the new regs say a min of 50mm i think which is 2 courses. So try blocking the bottom run off. If you can i would avise tanking it especially as you are wanting to use it. I will get an estimated m2 rate for you tommor if you like? Could then work out how much it would cost. Or send me a measure and il have a look for an estimate.

The turbo build has finally started

TBH I'm not going to spend any money on it. Just want to get it a bit drier.

Thanks for the offer though.