Home DIY

Thanks for the cellar replies all.

^ Replacing the pipe might also give you the opportunity to run it in a less conspicious place although looks like you also have a gas pipe running along the same wall?

Correct. Getting the gas meter moved at the same time as it's in a silly place.

On the proofing/breathability front it depends what you intend to use the space for. For storage etc I would be tempted to seal it up or else whatever you are storing will get moldy/mildewing over time. Not too familiar with brick sealants but imagine you can probably get a breathable one.

Yep storage primarily, workshop secondary (for which being insulated to 'garage standard', i.e. a little cold and drafty, but not too bad, is fine).

Fella, get rid of your lead pipe, for peace of mind if nothing else.

Yep, definitely happening now. It would have caused other problems with the work keeping it, so it was a no brainer in the end.

It was banned in the 70's becuase it is a serious health risk and that is coming from an era when smoking, drinking and fry ups were deemed as an "acceptable" lifestyle.

Drinking and fry ups aren't acceptable? :(

so 147 years later, the bricks need sealing?

re-point it and leave it alone.

as for the pipe, i'd replace it.

Well what my builder has told me is that over time the moisture gets into the wall and causes the pointing to crumble out, which is what's happened and is the problem I've got at the moment.

He reckons if he just repointed it should last about 15-20 years, or thereabouts, but then it would start doing the same thing, so he's proposing a Damp Proof Membrane (DPM) made of bitumen, which will then be covered with masonry paint (more because it's black and I don't want black walls than anything else). Apparently this keeps the moisture in/behind the wall, and add considerably to the life of the pointing, which is why he thinks its a better option, and it will keep the cellar dry too because it traps any moisture behind.

My only worry about this was what happens if the water builds up behind this layer, but as he has pointed out an underground wall is always going to have moisture in it, and it's actually very dry for a cellar anyway, so I think I'm happy to do it this way.

I'm getting him to pour a new concrete floor too, and he's going to put a DPM under that too in case water ever came up from below.