Cellar conversion

[ClaretAL]

Hi all,

Looking for some advice please.

I want to convert my unused cellar in to a man cave. damp is evident on the outside walls although not to extent of smelling like a cellar. the house is Victorian, and still has the Aga, sink and bells which used to be wired to each room on a type of pull string. at the moment its used as storage and it is fair to say after a few months cardboard boxes suffer fro the damp.

I am planing to add a waterproof membrane to the floor and walls then add a raised floor on 2x2 and dot and dab most walls apart from where the Aga is which i will stud out and build a false wall.

my question is , should i install an extraction unit to battle the damp or a dehumidifier?

Where the old coal chute must have been has now been paved over at ground level so was thinking a mushroom vent to an explair, but the read other opinions to not allowing any external air in as this is why the humidity is caused. I dont want to go down the tanking route if the furniture I put in there is going to rot.

help please

[bfcjg]

Very easy to get wrong. TBH I have always found the best tanking is good old asphalt however there are some fantastic tanking products on the market. Most contractors rate Sika products but stick to the instructions. If you have the space once the tanking has set a metal partition with air vents to prevent condensation behind the partition.This is my favourite and there bespoke products to do it. Dot and Dab is ok but unless you introduce a vapour barrier you can create a dew point condensation problem. Another option is to plaster the tanking with a lightweight renovating plaster which is warm and prevents condensationFloor as you have said. Resin bond no mechanical fixings. Do everything even nooks and crannies. Re ventilation I would install a fan on a humidistat. If you can get a rad in as well so much the better. Ensure the DPC in the room above is sound and the skirting also as you will be pushing moisture up that would otherwise dissipate in the cellar. One term for this is hydroscopic pressure. Also check your joist ends and ensure they are clear of the wall either by wrapping in dpc if you can get to them or packed on roof slate. Good luck,you can't beat a man cave

[ŽižkovClaret]

We had a nice basement in my old flat over here. they got a fella in for a rodent issue. he sealed the whole ceiling of the cellar up with vinyl sheets and then sealed it with some stuff out of a tube.

He chucked a football flare down to test if there was any airway left unsealed, which i thought was strange.......

He then pulled an old can of zyklon b from the back of his van and chucked it down and sealed the door before sodding off.

Im glad i moved tbh. i didnt go back to the flat for 48 hours

[bfcjg]

We had a nice basement in my old flat over here. they got a fella in for a rodent issue. he sealed the whole ceiling of the cellar up with vinyl sheets and then sealed it with some stuff out of a tube.

He chucked a football flare down to test if there was any airway left unsealed, which i thought was strange.......

He then pulled an old can of zyklon b from the back of his van and chucked it down and sealed the door before sodding off.

Im glad i moved tbh. i didnt go back to the flat for 48 hours

This fella,has he recently visited Salisbury ?

[ŽižkovClaret]

This fella,has he recently visited Salisbury ?

Ha if i see him again, i'll ask him. He was from the north of the country where, let's say, a lot of hardware got dumped, and some of it got found

[Quickenthetempo]

Do the best job you can afford as it will add value to your home. Keep an official record of all the work done if using a contractor.
Add a window if possible so you can count as an extra bedroom I you choose to sell later on.
If it's ever been a victim of flooding put all electrics in 5ft above floor level.

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

Do you have a height restriction?
I'm asking because 50x50 isn't so clever.

[gawthorpe_view]

A floating floor my be an option to consider for the floor.
Damproof membrane then polystyrene panels or similar, with a wood finished surface.
Link to Kingspan products below.

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[bartons baggage]

Now i'm getting the name Josef Fritzl coming through strong.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Now i'm getting the name Josef Fritzl coming through strong.

Hey as long as that was the only thing coming through...

[bfcjg]

https://www.sikawaterproofing.co.uk/pro ... re-bagged/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Lots of help on this site.

[Archie Claret]

Whatever you do, put some claret in it. It’s what cellars are for!

[BarstewardsEnquiry]

Tanking is the best method, but most expensive. Personally speaking I wouldn't go in for doing a DIY job on a cellar its a pretty specialist job. Softwood timber floor joist will rot in no time at all. How much head height do you have? How many sq.mtrs floor space? I'd weigh up pros of having your man cave vs cost. I was quoted 12k for 16 sq.mtrs for my cellar to be fully tanked out, that was before any sockets or plumbing or decoration. As an aside when it is absolutely hammering down with rain for a prolonged period, have a good thorough look around your cellar for any water ingress.Hope this helps.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Is it maybe more practical to have a man shed?

[dsr]

Mine was a non-specialist builder job - actually we have two cellars, one that has never been out of use and one that was filled with rubble and sealed up when the house was knocked about, forty years ago. We opened up the cellar about twenty years ago, using a decent quality but non-specialist builder. To clear the rubble, lay waterproofing and a wood floor over the original stone, plaster, paint, clean up cost about £7k for a room about the 16 square yards, at a guess. They're both more or less underground, but have vents near the ceiling.

Drawbacks - you can't put books or paper directly onto the stone shelves; they rot. A bit of plywood on the shelf does the job, or books on standard bookshelves are fine. And it has a dehumidifier running all the time, which takes in about a gallon of water a day in summer, a couple of pints in winter. It wouldn't add as much to the value of the house as it would if it was done properly, but that's not why we did it.

Big advantage - if you don't like really hot summer days, it stays nice and cool down there.

[ClaretAL]

Thanks for all the replies, some definite food for thought it seems. I was hoping the damp proof membrane you can buy in rolls now ( link below)and then studding on top would be ok, but seemingly not.


https://www.permagard.co.uk/p-seal-20-floor-40m" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bfcjg]

Thanks for all the replies, some definite food for thought it seems. I was hoping the damp proof membrane you can buy in rolls now ( link below)and then studding on top would be ok, but seemingly not.


https://www.permagard.co.uk/p-seal-20-floor-40m" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The product you are looking at requires a drain in the floor for water to run onto that comes through the walls behind a similar vertical membrane or behind a cavity wall with a drainage channel in it again running to the drain. More commercial use. I have seen cavity style tanking jobs fail.
Tank it as suggested you won't regret it.

[AndrewJB]

I live in a terraced house with a half basement (under the hallway). This is now the only area we can extend. The house to our left is a mirror image of ours (our front doors are not next to each other. I was quoted £20k to have our cellar extended under our front and middle rooms (just bare walls) Would I be right in thinking the job would be cheaper if both houses extended their cellars at the same time?

[bfcjg]

I live in a terraced house with a half basement (under the hallway). This is now the only area we can extend. The house to our left is a mirror image of ours (our front doors are not next to each other. I was quoted £20k to have our cellar extended under our front and middle rooms (just bare walls) Would I be right in thinking the job would be cheaper if both houses extended their cellars at the same time?

Be very very carefull. This is a specialist job. The mass removed supports the foundation's which in older houses are slab stones. Twenty thousand sounds ridiculously cheap for all the specialist disciplines required. You will more than likely negate your buildings insurance if something goes wrong.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.expr ... ilders/amp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ClaretAL]

The product you are looking at requires a drain in the floor for water to run onto that comes through the walls behind a similar vertical membrane or behind a cavity wall with a drainage channel in it again running to the drain. More commercial use. I have seen cavity style tanking jobs fail.
Tank it as suggested you won't regret it.

I do have a drain, that I can direct the drains too if need be. the difference of the above mentioned £12k to tank it and £500 to membrane it is massive?

[FCBurnley]

We just won 3-0 at West Ham and you are asking about your cellar !!!!!!!!

[bfcjg]

I do have a drain, that I can direct the drains too if need be. the difference of the above mentioned £12k to tank it and £500 to membrane it is massive?

The off the shelf tanking products you can buy are easily applied and a competentDIY t person should be able to do it. Problem with drains is blocking and backing up. Good luck which ever option you go with.

[ClaretAL]

We just won 3-0 at West Ham and you are asking about your cellar !!!!!!!!

Cock!!! you honestly believe Im not aware of that or didn't watch it, and over the moon about it? or maybe I should refrain from any conversation until next week sometime. A vote was carried out on whether or not to separate football and none football posts on this board, which I actually did vote to separate, but majority rule ,so suck it up and read posts about the match instead of Cellar's knob head.

[IanMcL]

Dodgy things have happened in cellars!