Hi all. My partner has just phoned me with the news that the carpeted
floor of our cellar is wet through. Last night in London we had very
heavy rain which makes me think that this must be connected, rather than
having some leaking plumbing or similar.

We are in the process of removing all "stuff" from the floor of the
cellar to allow it to dry, and opening the door to get what ventilation
we can down there.

The walls of the cellar are lined with painted plywood looking material.
The floor is carpeted as said, above a (fairly imperfect, i.e. not level
and possibly cracked) concrete floor. I've noticed some damp and mould
growing before but I've treated it with simple cleaning before. I don't
know the details of how the floor was treated.

Clearly I would like to avoid this happening again. As a DIY newbie I
don't really know the first place to look. Any advice?

Thanks, Dan

"Dan Gravell" wrote in message
...
Hi all. My partner has just phoned me with the news that the carpeted
floor of our cellar is wet through. Last night in London we had very
heavy rain which makes me think that this must be connected, rather than
having some leaking plumbing or similar.

We are in the process of removing all "stuff" from the floor of the
cellar to allow it to dry, and opening the door to get what ventilation
we can down there.

The walls of the cellar are lined with painted plywood looking material.
The floor is carpeted as said, above a (fairly imperfect, i.e. not level
and possibly cracked) concrete floor. I've noticed some damp and mould
growing before but I've treated it with simple cleaning before. I don't
know the details of how the floor was treated.

Clearly I would like to avoid this happening again. As a DIY newbie I
don't really know the first place to look. Any advice?

There is a likelihood/possibility is that the water table has risen thanks
to the heavy rain. You will not be able to stop water ingress under these
conditions without significant work (and probably not then as a risen water
table is pretty much unstoppable). When the water table drops it will dry
out. I would suggest carpet is less than ideal for such a floor! It would be
worth checking with any close neighbours who have cellars. If theirs are
identical you almost certainly have the problem described. If not then it is
possible that broken drainage systems etc, may have caused a localised
problem.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 10:37:22 +0100, Dan Gravell
wrote:

Hi all. My partner has just phoned me with the news that the carpeted
floor of our cellar is wet through. Last night in London we had very
heavy rain which makes me think that this must be connected, rather than
having some leaking plumbing or similar.

We are in the process of removing all "stuff" from the floor of the
cellar to allow it to dry, and opening the door to get what ventilation
we can down there.

The walls of the cellar are lined with painted plywood looking material.
The floor is carpeted as said, above a (fairly imperfect, i.e. not level
and possibly cracked) concrete floor. I've noticed some damp and mould
growing before but I've treated it with simple cleaning before. I don't
know the details of how the floor was treated.

Clearly I would like to avoid this happening again. As a DIY newbie I
don't really know the first place to look. Any advice?

Thanks, Dan

I would look at tanking and sump pump. There are many products if you
search the web, buts its a big job.

Basicly you clean back as far as you dare, apply the tanking membrane,
and plaster, apply floor. The membrane maks a gap between the old and
new, so the water runs down the gap, to the sump & pump.

Rick