Damp in Very Old Building in Floors and Walls That we are Renovating Re-generate an old or tired space and give it a fresh breath of life. Click here for answers, information and tips

[Tomsmr]

We are renovating a very old property. There are no foundations, the flagstones floors are on soil & the walls suck up moisture. There is no DPC at all.
For obvious reasons we are dealing with prevention & management (we are unable to remove or rebuild). With land slightly higher in one side than the other, does anyone know of a preventative method of reducing this damp? (French drain for example?).
We will be laying flagstones on these floors as we want to preserve them but prevent too much water coming up through the new floor.
Floor heights mean we cannot DPC sheet and cover do we are looking at other alternatives.
Many thanks!

[thedoctor]

This is madness Tom, you will be forever plagued with damp and mould problems which will lead to very expensive reparations and even health problems. You need to call in a specialist builder and get advice on site as to how you can properly address the cause of the damp and how to install proper DPCs and DPMs. The value of the property will be 0 if you do not address the damp problem at source and eliminate it completely. There are no shortcuts here.

[Bauwer]

We are renovating a very old property. There are no foundations, the flagstones floors are on soil & the walls suck up moisture. There is no DPC at all.
For obvious reasons we are dealing with prevention & management (we are unable to remove or rebuild). With land slightly higher in one side than the other, does anyone know of a preventative method of reducing this damp? (French drain for example?).
We will be laying flagstones on these floors as we want to preserve them but prevent too much water coming up through the new floor.
Floor heights mean we cannot DPC sheet and cover do we are looking at other alternatives.
Many thanks!

Hello,
the key idea is to use highly permeable, breathable materials to allow your older walls to dry to the outside.

Regards, Alexander