Slurry or Membrane for Waterproofing Small Cellar Area? Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[BrightonRestoration]

Hi all,

I am a novice to this so please excuse if I am using the wrong terms!
We have a small cellar (used to be a coal store) attached to our living room basement separated only by a plywood piece of wood! Water drips down through the ground into the cellar and drains away through the floor. There is also a water board drain cover inside it (which we will need to leave access to).
We are looking to waterproof this and have spoken to a few different damp companies who are divided on their opinion. Some say tanking slurry should do the job as long as we put a good few coats on but others say a membrane is needed.
My understanding is that tanking slurry is cheaper but can crack under the pressure of water seeping onto it from above. Not sure how much of a risk this actually is? I also believe that if we use a membrane we must install some sort of pump to pump away the water draining behind it. Floor wise I believe we can use slurry on that or put a membrane down to seal the lot. Am I correct with this?

What would everyone recommend? Has anyone got any experience of this?

Thanks all.

Ps. I don’t have any photos but I can take some if this would help.

[thedoctor]

Slurry is only as good as the integrity of the walls behind it and it's most certainly not cheaper if it doesn't work. Membranes work whatever the condition of the walls and yes this will need to be done by a pro with a water management pump fitted to get rid of the water ingress. If even your specialists are not sure whether a slurry would work ("Should work" is not good enough for me, I want to know that it "WILL work") then a membrane is the only way to go.