Subterranean cellars
What most people fail to recognise is that traditional Cellars are subterranean sellers, meaning they were constructed in the ground-ground which contains moisture,moisture from rains soaking into that ground
Goods inwards departments
Originally cellars were used for the coal and logs to be stored in, they may have also been used as 'cold' rooms' for food storage, they may also have been used as a 'Butlers Area'
What are the most common signs of damp you see in cellars of older buildings?
Why do Cellars get damp?
Because they are built in the ground, and when it rains, it rains on the ground (incredibly). The brick walling therefore gets saturated and allows moisture to come into the cellar.
The walling often shows signs of dampness along with the ceiling areas.
What steps can homeowners take to prevent damp from returning to their cellar after it's been treated?
Maintaining regular Air flow and Air changes.
Meaning that stale moisture laden air is removed and replaced with fresh, dryer air.
One input fan at one end of the cellar and a second output fan at the other end, both controlled through cheap programmable timers, is a quick,cheap & simple way to start moving air.
What are the most effective methods for dealing with damp in a cellar without damaging the building's heritage?
Regular Air flow and moisture changes are vital, the coal man used to open the door or open the flaps, which allowed stale moisture laden air out, and fresh air in, then once he had delivered the coal, he closed the door / flaps again, this was usually a daily occurrence meaning regular air changes also happened daily.
How does damp in a cellar typically affect the rest of a period property?
Salt hydrolysis which often creates structural damage (see our "Salts damage" page)
Do not go down the route of tanking cellars
Today people see their cellar as an unused 'space' and may decide that their cellar would make another bedroom, or storage room (cardboard boxes are not exactly clever thinking, or even a cinema!
But these are simply crazy thoughts, if that's what you really "need" then buy a house built for today's "needs" because a 150 year old building was not built with today's "needs" in mind.
Accept what you have, and live with it, you really do not "need" any of your modern day thinking.
The damp 'special people' love a good tanking job because that pays for one of their annual holidays in the Gulf of Mexico but the answer is in managing damp, not thinking you can stop it.
Salt Hydrolysis
Check out our "Salts Damage" page for more information on how Salt Hydrolysis occurs, and also how structurally damaging that can be - tanking is a great way of supporting this damage to your home.
This next video is one we looked at last year, now watch this and see the glaringly obvious (in fact we even point it out for you!)
