DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

I’ve been in my Victorian end terrace a couple of years and had a lot of work done when moving from the survey. One issue being the cellar joists were sat on brick and starting to rot, so I had these cut back and sat on some DPM.

I noticed an issue upstairs by the front door (which I now think is unrelated) but went into the cellar to investigate and noticed water on the DPM and droplets on the beam in the corner, wedge of wood mouldy so it’s obviously been damp for a little while.

This is the end gable wall and outside there’s a verge with some plants growing etc, to the front in the corner there is a wall coming off the house.

Just looking for any advice as I’ve had this done to prevent any rotting issues which I feel like it’s going to lead to if left.

Thanks!

Hi bunnyarmy.
Have you checked for any form of ventilation eg air bricks in the front and rear walls?
Regards S

Hey! Thanks for your reply.
Yes this was also mentioned on the survey and I had extra air bricks installed. It definitely feels more airy and doesn’t smell fusty the same down there, this was done about 2 years ago

Hi bunnyarmy.
In that case the condensation is probably due to the DPM and joist being tight to the wall so the cold is transferred by direct contact. Most important is to stop water entering the end grain so perhaps cut it back by 10mm to give a ventilation gap.
Regards S

I’ll take a look at this, thank you