Damp proofing a cellar Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[jon.mithe]

Hello,

I have a damp cellar, i.e. its below ground and has like basic sandstone or some form of rock roughly cemented together I think. There are ventilation holes to the garden.

Ideally I'd like to make it non damp. Its currently a storage space, but when its damp like this I cant properly store things.

Is it possible to damp proof a room like this? If the room was damp proofed, would the damp build up behind it and push up into the house?

The house is English, 1900's, dual brick no cavity.

Thanks for any help!
Jon

[welsh brickie]

yes it is possible to do,The process is called tanking you need a product called "synthapruf", or similar, its a waterproof paint that you seal the floors and wall with.You will need a minimum of 3 coats and a plaster coating to protect the walls once applied.

[jon.mithe]

Thats great thanks, will look into that.

Cheers!

[xavi99]

Synthaprufe is really for dpm's and is not suitable as a tanking membrane. You really need a more heavy duty system which has some resistance to water pressure such as RIW or aquaseal.

There are also ribbed board systems such a Newtonite lathing board. This is a plasterboard with a ribbed sheet behind which is coated with a damp proofing product.

There is a company called Sika which makes all types of waterproof membranes. Look them up on google and I'm sure they will have a product. They are also usually guaranteed for 20 years plus. However, Sika is the parent company, not sure what their basement tanking division is called.

hth

xavi

[Refresh PSC]

Sika is the company name dedicated to its materials manufacturing. They do not have a service division but instead Sika recommended companies that use heir materials.

This is not to say Sika would be your best choice, Sika is a cementious based system and an alternative would be a membrane based system such as a CDM. (Cavity drain membrane)

Look for websites such as Delta membranes and safeguard Europe for more information.