Hello,
Regarding my problem or question: My mother owns a house that I want to renovate completely. At the moment, I am still unsure whether the basement has a proper foundation or not, or if the basement walls were just loosely placed on the ground. The house was built in the 1950s. I assume I will have to excavate to find out for sure.
The basement walls are quite damp—not wet, but definitely damp—so I assume the building has little to no drainage system.
My initial plan was to dry out the basement as much as possible and then install a central heating system in the basement.
However, a good friend of mine suggested that I should install the heating system first because the house would naturally become drier if it is heated continuously. Currently, I only have old wood-burning stoves that heat individual rooms, but the house is too large to be fully heated this way.
What do you think is more sensible? Ultimately, both things need to be done. However, it does not seem logical to me to install a new heating system in a damp basement.
Best regards,
David from Austria
Regarding my problem or question: My mother owns a house that I want to renovate completely. At the moment, I am still unsure whether the basement has a proper foundation or not, or if the basement walls were just loosely placed on the ground. The house was built in the 1950s. I assume I will have to excavate to find out for sure.
The basement walls are quite damp—not wet, but definitely damp—so I assume the building has little to no drainage system.
My initial plan was to dry out the basement as much as possible and then install a central heating system in the basement.
However, a good friend of mine suggested that I should install the heating system first because the house would naturally become drier if it is heated continuously. Currently, I only have old wood-burning stoves that heat individual rooms, but the house is too large to be fully heated this way.
What do you think is more sensible? Ultimately, both things need to be done. However, it does not seem logical to me to install a new heating system in a damp basement.
Best regards,
David from Austria
We had looked at a similar building for purchase. At that time, our surveyor mentioned that it’s important to first determine whether the issue is rising damp or penetrating damp. Since we had penetrating damp, she recommended either treating the interior walls with a product that soaks into the masonry and hardens there (unfortunately, I can’t recall the name) or gradually excavating around the house from the outside to reseal it. Both options are relatively expensive. In that house, the heating system was located in the basement...
What I mean is: remote diagnosis is difficult, the structural integrity can even be affected, and sometimes demolition is more worthwhile (which was the case with that house) rather than a complete renovation.
What I mean is: remote diagnosis is difficult, the structural integrity can even be affected, and sometimes demolition is more worthwhile (which was the case with that house) rather than a complete renovation.
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