Drying out a cellar

[Kayos]

My new house is a fairly typical Bradford terrace, with a half cellar under the kitchen.
Now the previous occupants helpfully blocked up all the vents with expanding foam, then put a layer of cardboard on the floor and covered this in a layer of plastic!
All this has now been removed and the vents opened up, this has made a big difference but it's still damp.
It's not 100% I'm going to buy this house so I want to limit spending for now, is it a simple matter of getting some heat and/or a dehumidifier in there?

I want it dry as my tools now live down there and I'm building a workbench so I'd like it a bit more pleasant

 

[wristpin]

Try to assess the cause, ground water table, drains , surface water from gutters etc. Or in my son's case a leaking water company pipe out in the road Direct Line insurance sent in various investigators who did more damage to the tanking etc than was ever done by the water from the leaking pipe and over a year later the claim has still not been settled.
But in the meanwhile hire a decent sized dehumidifier for a couple of weeks and see what effect it has.

 

[Kayos]

Knowing the area I'd say it's just the groundwater, never been in s dry cellar that hasn't been ranked around here and I've been in more than a few over the years

 

[addjunkie]

If you can look for a dessicant wheel type dehumdifier, rather than a fridge type that needs emptying. Fit the dessicant wheel type out let blowing out of one of your vents. If you want to dry it really quickly close the other vents...but rapid drying can cause plaster to crack. Slower drying can be gained by bringing air from the outside, through the dryer, so its at say 20% RH, then the air circulation around the room picks up moisture around it, that is exhausted externally.



Be aware dehumdidfiers are quite pricey to run...

 

[gaz1]

also note weve had loads of rainwater more than normal so cellers are feeling it at moment

i have been in loads where its been dry in a few areas and bradfords there is some dry ones some which ive tanked out and fitted alot of kitchens into them

you wont stop the damp much without spending money on it as goes for heat you will probably lose that through your air bricks that youve opened back up however you can do one better after tanking it as it will give air circulation around your battens when you put them on the wall

 

[Kayos]

I will stick a dehumidifier in there, can stick one on works tab from speedy hire.

I intend to tank it, but only once it's 100% I'm buying the place

 

[julianf]

If you have some sort of combustion down there with a ducted flue, it will not only heat, but also draw in air from outside.

 

[Kayos]

If you have some sort of combustion down there with a ducted flue, it will not only heat, but also draw in air from outside.

Sadly no, just a combi in the kitchen

Went down today and removing the soggy cardboard and generally removing damp stuff seems to have had a bigger effect than I thought, can see where the walls are drying out

 

[mike os]

Ventilation will be the key until you can tank it, dehumidifier will help but will cost to run....

Keep stuff off the floor as cellars have a nasty habit of flooding unexpectedly

 

[Kayos]

Only thing on the floor is my roll cab, everything else is on shelves and once it's dried a bit more I'm building a work bench out of scaffold boards, found a load just left outside the other night......

 

[Badger1bear]

what I also did to my cellar for the colder months is link in to my central heating system and fit a radiator in there. During the warmer months really good thru put of air will help no end with damp and musty smells