Garage bedroom conversion and dampness problem
- Thread starter powlesY
- Start date
This is not a DPM. If you can lift it up, its doing absolutely nothing.
Are your walls wet ? Like I said, its condensing on the un-insulated concrete floor
Listen to LOAM, he makes sense. I'm sure that walls of habitable areas have to be more than your one brick of thickness, your wall insulation is next to useless and all that rubble along the outside walls of the garage(because that's what it is despite you putting furniture in it) is doing you no favours at all
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1333688.stm
read that, then go get some proper DPM fitted unless you think your health is not as important as living in a mouldy, damp death trap garage. Up to you mate.
read that, then go get some proper DPM fitted unless you think your health is not as important as living in a mouldy, damp death trap garage. Up to you mate.
Sorry to say but this is going to be major work.
Even if you were to construct a new concrete slab along with the integration of DPM you would ideally have the DPM so that it integrates along with the exterior blocks damp proof course unless you external wall sits on top of your concrete slab.
In your case I would imagine you have the internal wall that sits on the concrete slab, not needing damp proofing. Obviously you don’t want to take down your internal wall to create access to the external wall.
Prep your concrete floor so that it is stripped down to the concrete then lay DPM.
You then need to insert the DPM from your soon to be laid floor under the internal blocks. This would create an internal damp proof course.
I recommend channelling out the grout on your internal walls . Cut out about 150mm up from your finished floor level, or to the 1st of 2nd coarse of block work. You need to channel out horizontally for say, 1m in length. missing out 1m each time so the wall doesn't collapse!
Insert the DPM then re-grout then move onto channelling out the sections that you left alone at first but only after a period of time that the grout has dried!!
After you have done this you can throw down some steel mesh, held off the DPM as to not penetrate it... then go ahead and pour your concrete. An 80mm screen would be fine. 50Mm even.
Once done just repair the render to your internal wall and throw down a new carpet!
Also make sure you have some ventilation.... But this should sort your problem.
Its not a big job as such, just a time consuming job!
Also, only do this if your sure your internal wall isn’t holding up the roof or another floor! Although if you make sure the grout dries before moving onto the second lot of cutting it should be fine.... Ish.
So when you moving out dude??
Even if you were to construct a new concrete slab along with the integration of DPM you would ideally have the DPM so that it integrates along with the exterior blocks damp proof course unless you external wall sits on top of your concrete slab.
In your case I would imagine you have the internal wall that sits on the concrete slab, not needing damp proofing. Obviously you don’t want to take down your internal wall to create access to the external wall.
Prep your concrete floor so that it is stripped down to the concrete then lay DPM.
You then need to insert the DPM from your soon to be laid floor under the internal blocks. This would create an internal damp proof course.
I recommend channelling out the grout on your internal walls . Cut out about 150mm up from your finished floor level, or to the 1st of 2nd coarse of block work. You need to channel out horizontally for say, 1m in length. missing out 1m each time so the wall doesn't collapse!
Insert the DPM then re-grout then move onto channelling out the sections that you left alone at first but only after a period of time that the grout has dried!!
After you have done this you can throw down some steel mesh, held off the DPM as to not penetrate it... then go ahead and pour your concrete. An 80mm screen would be fine. 50Mm even.
Once done just repair the render to your internal wall and throw down a new carpet!
Also make sure you have some ventilation.... But this should sort your problem.
Its not a big job as such, just a time consuming job!
Also, only do this if your sure your internal wall isn’t holding up the roof or another floor! Although if you make sure the grout dries before moving onto the second lot of cutting it should be fine.... Ish.
So when you moving out dude??
now?
Does the membrane have a product code on it, if so what is it. Also who put it down ?
As previous, a membrane laid loose over the top of a slab wont do anything, they need to either be under the slab or under the screed but you should not be able to lift it, other solutions such as an asphalt floor would potentially resolve any rising damp through the slab but I still feel that your problem is due to condensation and the only way you can resolve that satisfactorily* is via insulation I’m afraid.
* You can resolve it with ventilation but ultimately your next thread in October will be “My room is Freezing, what can I do”
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 33,188
I'm by no means an expert, I'm more theory than reality at the moment, just learning.
Honestly a lot of the time you can't really know exactly what the cause is, till you start fixing it by, pretty much, starting to rip things out till you find the problem. I mean without looking it could be anything from a completely incorrectly done base, to a blocked drain meaning when it rains rather than actually draining, its just gradually soaking everything.
The thing to do is call a few builders, have them take a look and give you a quote, which shouldn't cost you anything. Now, a crap builder will tell you its almost nothing but say maybe put a new dpm down, another level of concrete, then whatever.
A good builder would hopefully make some educated guesses as to whats wrong, hopefully giving you an idea of whats wrong, how to fix it and how much it would cost but give you an idea how expensive it could get if something else was wrong. You shouldn't be under any obligation though and in the long run the money might be worth it.
At the end of the day its up to you to work out if you can afford to fix it but, damp tends to lead to mould, slowly or very quickly so its worth fixing.
A fixed, fully working garage conversion(with permits, can't remember if this is a "proper" job or not or just a guy living in a garage) will add value to a house rather than a leaky, mouldy garage making people question if there are problems elsewhere, so you can view it as an investment?
Honestly a lot of the time you can't really know exactly what the cause is, till you start fixing it by, pretty much, starting to rip things out till you find the problem. I mean without looking it could be anything from a completely incorrectly done base, to a blocked drain meaning when it rains rather than actually draining, its just gradually soaking everything.
The thing to do is call a few builders, have them take a look and give you a quote, which shouldn't cost you anything. Now, a crap builder will tell you its almost nothing but say maybe put a new dpm down, another level of concrete, then whatever.
A good builder would hopefully make some educated guesses as to whats wrong, hopefully giving you an idea of whats wrong, how to fix it and how much it would cost but give you an idea how expensive it could get if something else was wrong. You shouldn't be under any obligation though and in the long run the money might be worth it.
At the end of the day its up to you to work out if you can afford to fix it but, damp tends to lead to mould, slowly or very quickly so its worth fixing.
A fixed, fully working garage conversion(with permits, can't remember if this is a "proper" job or not or just a guy living in a garage) will add value to a house rather than a leaky, mouldy garage making people question if there are problems elsewhere, so you can view it as an investment?
Alright, thanks again. My Dads a master builder but has a lot of work on so i'm trying to learn as much as i can to sort the problem. He was on about simply buying some paint to put down on the floor but obviously there's more that needs doing. Putting some more concrete down, is that an absolute and utter requirement or is insulating the floor and then putting another DPM down enough?
Caporegime
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 33,188
Honestly if your dads a builder then thats where to go. With some things you can learn as you go, with problematic things most people will just end up paying through the teeth to fix a problem caused by fixing another problem incorrectly, over and over again.
Do it right once will cost a lot less than doing it wrong several times than doing it right, and it will take more work to remove the incorrect jobs aswell.
I'm sure he could give up a weekend, or even a few hours to work out exactly where the problem is, and with a couple of his mates on cheaper "friend of the family" rates I doubt it would take long or cost much at all.
AS I said, you can guess at the problem but often till your rip something up and have a look you won't know for sure. If the drains are blocked/broken and water is leaking around the base then redoing the floor could be a complete waste of money, or vice versa.
I can't remember if you said how old the job was, if its fairly new then the water problem could be much worse than it appears, IE very newly done and you could have a DPC problem and water could be moving up the brickwork and starting to damage the plaster from behind and only time will show the damage. if its 5-10 years old and the floor had water problems the whole time but there were no visible signs the problem would unlikely have hit the walls.
With condensation being the problem and you thinking the DPM is keeping water below and keeping the carpet dry, then I wouldn't be surprised if water was coming up the walls, then evapourating and leaving a very damp/humid room.
Problem could be, poor foundation that needs fixing, or a DPC in the walls needing fixing/installing, or drains being blocked causing water problems, you really need someone who knows what they are doing to look around, see it first hand, diagnose the problem and then fix it. Fixing what you hope it might be is just likely to get very costly when it doesn't work.
Do it right once will cost a lot less than doing it wrong several times than doing it right, and it will take more work to remove the incorrect jobs aswell.
I'm sure he could give up a weekend, or even a few hours to work out exactly where the problem is, and with a couple of his mates on cheaper "friend of the family" rates I doubt it would take long or cost much at all.
AS I said, you can guess at the problem but often till your rip something up and have a look you won't know for sure. If the drains are blocked/broken and water is leaking around the base then redoing the floor could be a complete waste of money, or vice versa.
I can't remember if you said how old the job was, if its fairly new then the water problem could be much worse than it appears, IE very newly done and you could have a DPC problem and water could be moving up the brickwork and starting to damage the plaster from behind and only time will show the damage. if its 5-10 years old and the floor had water problems the whole time but there were no visible signs the problem would unlikely have hit the walls.
With condensation being the problem and you thinking the DPM is keeping water below and keeping the carpet dry, then I wouldn't be surprised if water was coming up the walls, then evapourating and leaving a very damp/humid room.
Problem could be, poor foundation that needs fixing, or a DPC in the walls needing fixing/installing, or drains being blocked causing water problems, you really need someone who knows what they are doing to look around, see it first hand, diagnose the problem and then fix it. Fixing what you hope it might be is just likely to get very costly when it doesn't work.
a prefab(ricated) garage is a
concrete base with prefabricated concrete sections usually bolted together on top of the base.
its a cheap way to build a garage.
from your previous thread
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18286091&page=2
as you can see, the prefad sections, ^^^^ not insulated
and putting a sheet of plastic on the floor and thinking it will stop damp is laughable.
Fair dos.
And he is but time and money restraints left it to be a bit rushed. Talking to him today he's on about him knowing what the problem is and that he needs to dig around the back of the garage and a little bit in the next door neighbours garden (like i said earlier, their connecting garage is slightly higher) and then putting something down on the floor in the garage.
I don't think he's on about adding insulation, screed and all that but he's adamant he knows what the problem is. **** knows. For now i'm gonna have to make sure i've got the de-humidifier on a fair bit and organise a short holiday for when he wants to get in there and sort it out. Probably a fortnight or something.
And he is but time and money restraints left it to be a bit rushed. Talking to him today he's on about him knowing what the problem is and that he needs to dig around the back of the garage and a little bit in the next door neighbours garden (like i said earlier, their connecting garage is slightly higher) and then putting something down on the floor in the garage.
I don't think he's on about adding insulation, screed and all that but he's adamant he knows what the problem is. **** knows. For now i'm gonna have to make sure i've got the de-humidifier on a fair bit and organise a short holiday for when he wants to get in there and sort it out. Probably a fortnight or something.
Sorry I should have read your post in more detail!
Seeing as the structure is concrete you could in-fact paint both the floor and walls with a waterproofing compound such as http://www.xypex.com/. On contact with water it will grow to form of crystals that penetrate the concrete, effectively forming a waterproof barrier....
Not ideal but hey, should do the trick. Could even throw a 30mm screed of concrete on top and chuck some render on the walls to finish it off.
No idea why your Dad would want to dig... unless he plans to dig under the garage and paint the underside with bitchumen lol
Seeing as the structure is concrete you could in-fact paint both the floor and walls with a waterproofing compound such as http://www.xypex.com/. On contact with water it will grow to form of crystals that penetrate the concrete, effectively forming a waterproof barrier....
Not ideal but hey, should do the trick. Could even throw a 30mm screed of concrete on top and chuck some render on the walls to finish it off.
No idea why your Dad would want to dig... unless he plans to dig under the garage and paint the underside with bitchumen lol
I have absolutely no idea what bitumen is. He's been building for like 45 years so i assume it's some sort of old-fashioned thing.
The reason he's digging around the back is to sort some form of minor rising damp on the one wall and to also sort out whatever the problem next doors garage is causing.
Can't remember if i said this but he isn't on about putting insulation and screed down on the floor, only one thing but i don't know what he's on about. Gonna be borrowing money to get it sorted anyway but i've had a right moan and said i don't care how much it costs and that i'll pay for all of it with in 6months.
The reason he's digging around the back is to sort some form of minor rising damp on the one wall and to also sort out whatever the problem next doors garage is causing.
Can't remember if i said this but he isn't on about putting insulation and screed down on the floor, only one thing but i don't know what he's on about. Gonna be borrowing money to get it sorted anyway but i've had a right moan and said i don't care how much it costs and that i'll pay for all of it with in 6months.