Flooring for damp cellar foor - what product
 

Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.

The best plan would be to dig it up and put a damp proof course etc.

As I really don't use the cellar that much I would love to lay a "mat"
with holes so that the floor can "breath" and more importantly not
smell once it had been down there for a while.

Any ideas for the right product..

First thing I would do is dig up the dead bodies. Next spread ample amounts
of lime to eliminate residual odors. Before you pour a new layer of
concrete make sure you put down wire screaning to strengthen the concrete
pour. (It will also help deter those pesky police from digging it up)

Next and most important...................... errrrrr OOPS WRONG NEWS
GROUP




"Yitzak" wrote in message
om...
Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.

The best plan would be to dig it up and put a damp proof course etc.

As I really don't use the cellar that much I would love to lay a "mat"
with holes so that the floor can "breath" and more importantly not
smell once it had been down there for a while.

Any ideas for the right product..

"Yitzak" wrote in message
om...
Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.

As money and time come available, just do a small area at a time. There is
no point in removing the sound concrete.

Years ago, my parents basement had the same problem. In thier case, tree
roots had first pushed the "slab" up and then when the tree died, the
"slab" cracked into the void.



The best plan would be to dig it up and put a damp proof course etc.

Why? That's a major job: bust up a lot of sound concrete; hawl the stuff
away, prepare the base, and pour and finish it. You don't need it and the
new slab might crack if you missed the cause of the first failure.



As I really don't use the cellar that much I would love to lay a "mat"
with holes so that the floor can "breath" and more importantly not
smell once it had been down there for a while.

Any ideas for the right product..

In article ,
(Yitzak) wrote:

Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.

The best plan would be to dig it up and put a damp proof course etc.

As I really don't use the cellar that much I would love to lay a "mat"
with holes so that the floor can "breath" and more importantly not
smell once it had been down there for a while.

Any ideas for the right product..


Cheap solution:

Polyethylene sheeting to keep the dampness down and then shipping
pallets over that to store things on. If you plan to walk on it a lot,
you can lay plywood over the pallets.

--
-JR
Hung like Einstein and smart as a horse
Remove NO SPAM from e-mai address to reply

Yitzak wrote:

Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.

The best plan would be to dig it up and put a damp proof course etc.

As I really don't use the cellar that much I would love to lay a "mat"
with holes so that the floor can "breath" and more importantly not
smell once it had been down there for a while.

Any ideas for the right product..

Why do you want the floor to breath? The cheap solution would be to
put down outdoor carpet, the kind that has a grass like texture which
you often see trailer campers use under the awnings. Other wise put
down 4 mil plastic and on top of that put 1/2 outdoor plywood. Or you
could just use those fit together floor pads for shops (they have
holes and come in bundles of about six 2'x2' squares.

"Yitzak" wrote in message
om...
Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.

The best plan would be to dig it up and put a damp proof course etc.

As I really don't use the cellar that much I would love to lay a "mat"
with holes so that the floor can "breath" and more importantly not
smell once it had been down there for a while.

Any ideas for the right product..

================
A short term solution........

Keep a pair of wellies at the top of the cellar steps. Many people do this
for their gardens so why not do the same for your rare excursions into the
cellar?

Cic.

On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 23:10:43 -0400, JR-jred
wrote:
Any ideas for the right product..

Target has floormats to wipe your feet on. Place one at the door and
use it on the rare occasion you go down there. $5 sollution.


Steve B.

"Steve B." wrote:

On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 23:10:43 -0400, JR-jred
wrote:
Any ideas for the right product..

Target has floormats to wipe your feet on. Place one at the door and
use it on the rare occasion you go down there. $5 sollution.

Except the OP isn't likely to have a Target nearby!
(The suggestion of a doormat is a good one, though.)

"Yitzak" wrote in message
om...

Hi I have a corridor like cellar, with a concrete floor which has
broken in many places exposing damp dirt floor. This means I always
bring dirt back upstairs when I come back.


you possibly cound inject goo into the cracks to seal it all up, bit
by bit as the mood takes you. Acrylic or silicone presumably - or tar
even.

But dont polythene it over, trapping damp like that will lead to
mould, and some mould is toxic as well as pongy.

If you want to do it properly, sledge hammer out the old stuff and
repour with insulation, dpc and expansion gaps.


NT

Thanks for all the posts

Bit worried about the fella - with knowledge of decaying bodies :-)

To answer some of the questions them, its quite cramped down there and
musty. If the floor doesn't breathe - it will end up stinking like any
textile I've stored down there even in plastic bags. It does get some
ventilation but not enough.

I don't want the dirt and hasle of laying concrete as access is only
through the house. Should have done this before I did teh house up.
Stupid!!

But the extending the mat idea to a long role of perforated "grid
like" will give me acess to all the cellar and I can store stuff on it
so it doesn't get damp.

Its just finding the right material

Yitzak wrote:

Thanks for all the posts

Bit worried about the fella - with knowledge of decaying bodies :-)

To answer some of the questions them, its quite cramped down there and
musty. If the floor doesn't breathe - it will end up stinking like any
textile I've stored down there even in plastic bags. It does get some
ventilation but not enough.



I don't want my cellar floor to breathe. I live in the NE of the USA,
and radon gas is a big problem here.
We are advised to seal all cracks to prevent radon from seeping through.

I don't want the dirt and hasle of laying concrete as access is only
through the house. Should have done this before I did teh house up.
Stupid!!

But the extending the mat idea to a long role of perforated "grid
like" will give me acess to all the cellar and I can store stuff on it
so it doesn't get damp.

Its just finding the right material

Yitzak wrote:
Thanks for all the posts

Bit worried about the fella - with knowledge of decaying bodies :-)

To answer some of the questions them, its quite cramped down there and
musty. If the floor doesn't breathe - it will end up stinking like any
textile I've stored down there even in plastic bags. It does get some
ventilation but not enough.

I don't want the dirt and hasle of laying concrete as access is only
through the house. Should have done this before I did teh house up.
Stupid!!

But the extending the mat idea to a long role of perforated "grid
like" will give me acess to all the cellar and I can store stuff on it
so it doesn't get damp.

Its just finding the right material


Solution 1:
4-6 mil poly sheeting on top of existing floor.
1/2 plywood on top of that.
A dehumidifier set at about 55-60% RH.


Solution 2:
Break out old concrete in areas where damaged (preferably in a nice even
square or rectangular shape).
Dig out some dirt (8-10" deep) and level hole bottom.
3-4" of pea gravel or 3/4" stone (whichever is cheapest in your area) tamped
down.
2" Syrofoam SM Type 2 cut to fit
4-6 mil poly sheeting or other rubber/bituminous membrane.
3-4" 2500psi or better concrete (with rebar mesh if required by code)
A dehumidifier set at about 55-60% RH.

HEY!!! At least I dont go around calling myself "John Smith" at least you
could use a more creative Nom de guerre ; - )



"John Smith" wrote in message
...
Yitzak wrote:
Thanks for all the posts

Bit worried about the fella - with knowledge of decaying bodies :-)

To answer some of the questions them, its quite cramped down there and
musty. If the floor doesn't breathe - it will end up stinking like any
textile I've stored down there even in plastic bags. It does get some
ventilation but not enough.

I don't want the dirt and hasle of laying concrete as access is only
through the house. Should have done this before I did teh house up.
Stupid!!

But the extending the mat idea to a long role of perforated "grid
like" will give me acess to all the cellar and I can store stuff on it
so it doesn't get damp.

Its just finding the right material


Solution 1:
4-6 mil poly sheeting on top of existing floor.
1/2 plywood on top of that.
A dehumidifier set at about 55-60% RH.


Solution 2:
Break out old concrete in areas where damaged (preferably in a nice even
square or rectangular shape).
Dig out some dirt (8-10" deep) and level hole bottom.
3-4" of pea gravel or 3/4" stone (whichever is cheapest in your area)
tamped
down.
2" Syrofoam SM Type 2 cut to fit
4-6 mil poly sheeting or other rubber/bituminous membrane.
3-4" 2500psi or better concrete (with rebar mesh if required by code)
A dehumidifier set at about 55-60% RH.