The Natural Philosopher: JK wrote: Toby wrote: N. Thornton
wrote:

Cut back concrete along the wall, dig trench, fill to brim with
coarse
gravel.

This doesn't sound like a diy job. Not if you mean the application of one
of those terrifying massive grinders that pavement operatives use in busy
shopping centres to cut curbstones!

It is. You need indirectly vented goggles, tough gloves, and
prefrerably tough boots, thats all. Scrwefix sell 9" angle grinders
for what, £29? And treat with care

If you know the concretes only 1" thick even a 4" angle grinder would
do.


How wide does such a trench need to be
anyway?

depends on what teh surface is, if clay, quie big - maybe half a meter wide.

I'm not clear why 0.5m was suggested. As far as I can see all you need
is to keep the stuff off the wall and allow a bit of drainage, so 6"
should do it.

Hopefully the concrete is sloped very fractionally away from the
house, as it ought to be.


Indeed the concrete outside is at a slightly higher level than the floor
inside,

problem located. The solution to the problem is to solve the problem.
Ie lower the concrete level outside. Since that will give you a lower
water collecting area you will also need to add a drain to prevent
water collection.

You're right, but it's not an option. I need some kind of remedial
treatment for a problem created by bad design. Breaking up 10 sq metres of
concrete, digging out, installing drains is just too much, partly from a
cost point of view and partly because any mess has to be carted through the
flat to get it away.

1. You dont need to do 10m2
2. You probably dont need drains, but I dont have the knowledge on
that.
3. rubble sacks were made for carting junk through houses.
4. What else are you going to do?

You could try lifting the floor if wood, injecting every brick upto 6"
above ground, and injecting the floor if concrete, but it may or may
not work. I wouldnt be too confident.

The absolute minimum you could do would be to use a dehumidifier.
Drying the air will increase the rate at which the wall dries off.
Theres a chance that might make things passable.


Regards, NT