I've just purchased an old (1800ish) cottage with a known damp problem, the old dear who lived there only used part of the house, and in the unused downstairs room (an extension) I noticed the floor was uneven & then my foot went through it...
Having removed the carpet, we found that a large amount of the floorboards gave way as soon as any load was placed on them, some appeared to have been affected by damp (some even had what appeared to be mould patches on the underside) and some had woodworm.
Here are the "facts":
i) The floorboards ran east to west, and all had failed at the southern (exterior wall end) due to being eaten or damp(?)
ii) The joists underneath were every bit as bad, a few had actually given way completely.
iii) The joists rested directly onto small 'walls' under the joists running east-west, there was no evidence of a damp proof layer of any kind.
iv) I can't see any air bricks, although the dwarf walls have irregular gaps in them.
v) None of the joists penetrated the interior or exterior walls, they just 'rested' on the dwarf walls.....
vi) There dwarf walls are sat on what appears to be a concrete base.
vii) There is what looks like a black 'patch' along the eastern wall (in fact on most of the walls in the house, particularly those facing east and especially bad around the radiators (which havent been operational since the back boiler broke & was removed some time ago).
viii) Apparently the house had a DPC fitted at some point in the past, but as the floor level is close to ground level (posssibly even below it to the east) it wasn't successful..
We've ripped up the lot, joists & floorboards (by hand it was so bad) & burnt it (no point keeping woodworm around...), the only question now is what to do with the room...
As the house may be demolished & replaced in a couple of years the current 'plan' is to:
Rebuild the dwarf walls with airbricks, adding a simple DPC on top wrapping it over the ends of the new joists where they meet the interior & exterior walls.
My dads wondering about adding a DPM to the concrete base before we rebuild the dwarf walls.
Comments/suggestions..... (Don't have to be too gentle, apparently I'm all grown up now...)
Having removed the carpet, we found that a large amount of the floorboards gave way as soon as any load was placed on them, some appeared to have been affected by damp (some even had what appeared to be mould patches on the underside) and some had woodworm.
Here are the "facts":
i) The floorboards ran east to west, and all had failed at the southern (exterior wall end) due to being eaten or damp(?)
ii) The joists underneath were every bit as bad, a few had actually given way completely.
iii) The joists rested directly onto small 'walls' under the joists running east-west, there was no evidence of a damp proof layer of any kind.
iv) I can't see any air bricks, although the dwarf walls have irregular gaps in them.
v) None of the joists penetrated the interior or exterior walls, they just 'rested' on the dwarf walls.....
vi) There dwarf walls are sat on what appears to be a concrete base.
vii) There is what looks like a black 'patch' along the eastern wall (in fact on most of the walls in the house, particularly those facing east and especially bad around the radiators (which havent been operational since the back boiler broke & was removed some time ago).
viii) Apparently the house had a DPC fitted at some point in the past, but as the floor level is close to ground level (posssibly even below it to the east) it wasn't successful..
We've ripped up the lot, joists & floorboards (by hand it was so bad) & burnt it (no point keeping woodworm around...), the only question now is what to do with the room...
As the house may be demolished & replaced in a couple of years the current 'plan' is to:
Rebuild the dwarf walls with airbricks, adding a simple DPC on top wrapping it over the ends of the new joists where they meet the interior & exterior walls.
My dads wondering about adding a DPM to the concrete base before we rebuild the dwarf walls.
Comments/suggestions..... (Don't have to be too gentle, apparently I'm all grown up now...)
