Our customer lived with flooding in their basement for a number of years. A brick constructed cellar, with a brick floor and a drainage channel but no sump pump meant that there was frequent flooding. Since the space had never been used by the current owner, it had never been of any concern.
Until they needed a dry storage space…
Our surveyor was impressed by the lovely space below one of the reception rooms, but noted that as well as persistent damp in the basement, there were also signs of common furniture beetle infestation. However, we needed to address the damp before we could address the timber infestation.
British Standards for the ‘Protection of Below Ground Structures against Water Ingress’
British Standards aren’t law but do provide guidance on the methods to deal with and prevent the entry of water from the ground into below ground dwellings. If you have a damp basement or flooded cellar BS8102:2022 states that you should consider:
- The adoption of a design team
- Water table classification is undertaken
- Risk assessments to determine external environmental conditions
- Assessment of defects and remedial measures.
To achieve a dry storage space that conformed to the BS8102 standards for this job they took our recommendations and we set to work.
Basement membrane works for dry storage space
Interestingly, access to the damp basement was through a small floor hatch in the reception room and via a ladder, however our customer had not expressed a need for any permanent stairs to be added. In that case the basement was to be used in the way you’d normally use a loft for storage.
To begin with, we removed all the rotting and decayed floor joists and created a sump unit pit in the floor. This would mean any ground water beneath the structure would be automatically redirected and removed before hitting the membrane.
Then we clad the floor and walls with waterproofing membrane and plasterboard/chipboard before finishing up with waterproof sealant or plaster.
There is also an alarm system and control panel, which we taught the homeowners to use, that would detect any failure or risk concerning the sump pump.
And rest assured, we sprayed all remaining timbers for the woodworm infestation too.
Your local basement waterproofing design team
Our happy customer now has a fully dry basement which conforms to British Standards!
If you have a damp basement or cellar, or have noticed damp problems below a suspended floor, please get in touch with us, your local basement waterproofing design team. We cover every step of the work, from your free damp survey to the fitting of skirting boards!
We look forward to hearing from you, but in the meantime, please browse more photos of this job in our case study.