Wet floor in cellar comes and goes

dutchcloggie

The cellar in my house keeps getting damp and then dries out again. The damp creeps along the floor and the bricks become damp. Then after a while, it retreats again and the cellar dries out again, with only a small damp patch remaining in a corner. I am at a loss as to understand what is causing this. Sometimes the damp is also visible on the brick steps into the cellar. It appears to originate mainly from the bottom of the neighbour's wall as that area is always dark/moist.

Could it be a leak of some sort or is it simply rise and fall of the water level in the ground? I don't think the damp increases or decreases with rain or sunshine...
Suggestions welcome as to cause and remedy.

robrod

Could be groundwater, could be run off, could be a leak. Very hard to say.

You can tank the basement with a waterproof render (sica etc) or bitumen paint.

These will form a barrier and keep the water at bay for a time, and possibly enough for you as it doesn't sound too wet, but with these systems the water will eventually come back or find a way through. Think peeling paint on a damp wall.

It would be better to find the cause - difficult and treat that rather than the symptom.

Otherwise you could install a membrane which allows the water to pass behind it. Newton/Delta etc.
Then you can build a dry wall/floor inside. Expensive but the best solution. However you would then need to either run or pump the water somewhere else.

I hope that is some help.

dutchcloggie

Thanks for that advice. Who would be the person to tell me what the cause is/could be? A damp expert or a surveyor?

Chanes

Buy some Chlorine test sticks and test it if the stick reacts then it is utilities water supply and if it doesn't it is likely to be groundwater.

That's what we were advised and we found out it was a groundwater problem emptying across a path in the garden.

Chanes

If it is ground water do not engage 'normal' drain experts to fix it, it is far trickier than that. And if is is groundwater and has caused no harm over the years, I would leave it alone anyway.

dutchcloggie

Chanes wrote: »

If it is ground water do not engage 'normal' drain experts to fix it, it is far trickier than that. And if is is groundwater and has caused no harm over the years, I would leave it alone anyway.

Thanks for that tip. I'd like to turn the cellar into a usable room at some point but if it is ground water, I guess it will never be properly dry...

[Deleted User]

Hi,

have you asked neighbour what things are like on his side?

He maybe thinks it is coming from your side and doesn't want to mention it, or as mentioned above, it has caused no harm over the years, and he's not too bothered.

dutchcloggie

My neighbours, unfortunately, as an unlicensed HMO full of rude, loud-music playing Lithuanians who do not speak English but did manage to tell me to F-off when I asked them about the state of their bathroom, run by a woman from Lithuania who is not responding to my calls and messages. I know this because their bathroom is leaking and causing damp on the other side of my house and wrecking a rear wall of the extension. I have informed the council and the house is 'on the list to be investigated'. So I am not holding out any hope for a solution there.

chrisw

dutchcloggie wrote: »

Thanks for that tip. I'd like to turn the cellar into a usable room at some point but if it is ground water, I guess it will never be properly dry...

There are still options for making into a usable room using wall liners, sump pumps, etc.

phil24_7

Does the ground slope towards the house on that side?