Heavy rainfall last night = wet cellar floor

[Dan Gravell]

Hi all. My partner has just phoned me with the news that the carpeted floor of our cellar is wet through. Last night in London we had very heavy rain which makes me think that this must be connected, rather than having some leaking plumbing or similar.

We are in the process of removing all "stuff" from the floor of the cellar to allow it to dry, and opening the door to get what ventilation we can down there.

The walls of the cellar are lined with painted plywood looking material. The floor is carpeted as said, above a (fairly imperfect, i.e. not level and possibly cracked) concrete floor. I've noticed some damp and mould growing before but I've treated it with simple cleaning before. I don't know the details of how the floor was treated.

Clearly I would like to avoid this happening again. As a DIY newbie I don't really know the first place to look. Any advice?

Thanks, Dan

[Bob Mannix]

There is a likelihood/possibility is that the water table has risen thanks to the heavy rain. You will not be able to stop water ingress under these conditions without significant work (and probably not then as a risen water table is pretty much unstoppable). When the water table drops it will dry out. I would suggest carpet is less than ideal for such a floor! It would be worth checking with any close neighbours who have cellars. If theirs are identical you almost certainly have the problem described. If not then it is possible that broken drainage systems etc, may have caused a localised problem.

[Rick Dipper]

I would look at tanking and sump pump. There are many products if you search the web, buts its a big job.

Basicly you clean back as far as you dare, apply the tanking membrane, and plaster, apply floor. The membrane maks a gap between the old and new, so the water runs down the gap, to the sump & pump.

Rick