Mud backed unto bricked shed

[KumiSInghs]

Hi there i'm new to the forum, Been on this form for quite a while but only just got a problem so i registered =)

Erm basically I built a shed out of Breeze block and bricks, which has cavity walls and is backed up to a mud bank about 7ft high and 5 ft wide.

The back wall doesnt get damp becuase it is bricked up, however the side walls get damp due to them just being concrete blocks (i think thats the reason) - also the floor gets damp too.

I was wondering if i dig the mud all the way down about 2ft wide so that the mud isn't touching the wall would that stop the dampness. To stop the floor dampness would i have to dig below the shed pour concrete up to the bottom of the shed?

If i were to dig all the way down, how would i stop the mud from caving in and falling back down and possibly even trapping me while i dig?

Not enough room for a mini digger so it looks like its just a shovel and a pickaxe

Thanks in advance

 

[Deluks]

This doesn't sound like a simple task, you definitely do not want to be digging down 7ft without some serious support in place.
I'm just wondering how you managed to build the shed against a 7ft mud bank?

 

[TheVictorian]

I'd be stopping the damp from the inside rather than the outside I think. DPM on the floor overlapping up the walls slightly and then pour more concrete in.

You could then tank the walls and hey presto. I wouldn't do this in my lounge but shoudl be fine for a shed?

 

[KumiSInghs]

Hi I built the back wall first, when the mud wasn't that high let's say about 4ft then I did the rest of the walls, and then I had loads of Mudd left soi packed it behind the shed. The problem is I cannot remove all the mud because there is a field behind the garden at the height of the mud at the moment.

I know I need support but what shall I do to support the but cus I'm thinking only to dig 2 ft wide all the way down to the bottom, I guess every Meyer or so I should support the existing mud somehow.

My plan after I've dug the mud is to apply some rubber membrane to the whole back wall. And to dig alittle below the bottom of the shed and pour some concrete.

However, i am not sure this is the best way to go about this? Are theyre any ideas... I will take some pictures and post them however i am at work atm.

 

[KumiSInghs]

I'd be stopping the damp from the inside rather than the outside I think. DPM on the floor overlapping up the walls slightly and then pour more concrete in.

You could then tank the walls and hey presto. I wouldn't do this in my lounge but shoudl be fine for a shed?

The shed would serve the purpose of a cinema room... Howeever i was thinking about the floor idea.. that might work, will it not?

 

[Deluks]

Then you need to treat it like a basement conversion, with tanking membrane against the wall, and maybe a drainage sump and pump.
Use the search function to look for 'basement conversion' related posts, for some pointers.

If you wish to proceed with digging then you will need somewhere to place the excess mud while you are digging, and possibly a skip. You'd have to dig back into the bank, not as simple as digging a 7ft deep trench.

 

[TheVictorian]

Agree with the above

 

[KumiSInghs]

Then you need to treat it like a basement conversion, with tanking membrane against the wall, and maybe a drainage sump and pump.
Use the search function to look for 'basement conversion' related posts, for some pointers.

If you wish to proceed with digging then you will need somewhere to place the excess mud while you are digging, and possibly a skip. You'd have to dig back into the bank, not as simple as digging a 7ft deep trench.

So are you saying I should dig into the bank? Like from the bottom instead of dogging from the top down? Even so, how should I go about pinning the rest of the mud up (the mud that I am not going to touch). I shall buy a skip and chuck it all in there.

Also with the tanking membrane it will be applied from the outside, will it not? Whart would u recommend a sheet membrane or the liquid stuff
?

 

[Deluks]

No, in a basement conversion you don't dig around the entire outside of a house! Instead you allow the damp and water to come in, but fix a special water proof membrane against the wall internally, and fit drainage under the floor with a pump to take the water outside.
But specialist membrane, specialist fixings, specialist job! Not really one for DIY.

http://newton-membranes.co.uk/basement-waterproofing/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOlPeE_ab_g

 

[KumiSInghs]

No, in a basement conversion you don't dig around the entire outside of a house! Instead you allow the damp and water to come in, but fix a special water proof membrane against the wall internally, and fit drainage under the floor with a pump to take the water outside.
But specialist membrane, specialist fixings, specialist job! Not really one for DIY.

http://newton-membranes.co.uk/basement-waterproofing/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOlPeE_ab_g[/QUOTE]

I have seen the links, the specialist membrane suggest that i have to remove the plaster, plaster board, and the wall(to get inside the cavity), is there any way i can do it without removing the plaster??