damp cellar - what next? *Bats eyelashes at Pigletjohn*

[eyestightshut]

We moved into our house 3 years ago.Initially had issues with damp in the bay and cellar. (previous owners had laid slabs right up to the bay,over the drain the downpipe from the guttering should flow into, and above the DPC). Following the Pigletjohn way we have resolved this by digging below the DPC and putting in a French drain.
We also added in some air bricks to allow better ventilation of the cellar. I have gone into the cellar today and found a little family of mushrooms growing out of the wall. At present it isn't suitable to store things in as they go mouldy after a time. I have checked the airbricks - they are free of debris and air is flowing through them. What else could we do to make this a more useable space. We are thinking of tanking it, so DH can have a place to store his records, but this will not be for a long time, as the bathroom and kitchen are more of a priority. I would be quite happy to stick an extractor fan in if I thought it would work.
Any ideas gratefully received!

How long ago did you dig the drain and clear the air bricks?

How many airbricks are there, and how big is the cellar? Is there airflow from one side and out the other?

Is there a source of heat? A ventilated cellar should be cold from evaporation.

The drain was dug about a year ago.
The house is a Victorian terrace, with hallway and two reception rooms downstairs. The cellar is at the front, under the living room. There are 3 airbricks in place (previously 1) at the front, and one at the back of the cellar. I am unsure as to how much ventilation it provides as it not in an external wall and there is no airbrick in the rear wall of the dining room (long and boring story of incompetent halfwit previous owners). Cellar is 14' x12', there is no heating down there and it is cold but damp.
Thank you!

Similar cellar damp issue and house size/layout here.
We're looking at putting in an electronic ventilation system in the ground and first floor, but I wondered if we could extend it to the cellar too. Would this work for Eyes' house too?

as it is a terrace, it is possible that the adjacent cellars are still wet, and water will pass through the walls. You could try digging some experimental holes in the garden to see how high the water table is. If there are leaking water pipes or cracked drains (there probably are) or rainwater gullies, you may never get it dry. Tanking is expensive. The modern approach is to build a new floor and walls inside the wet cellar, allowing penetrating moisture to collect in the gap between them, and pump or drain it away. Attempts to make walls really waterproof have proved unreliable. If you take this route (building systems are available) you would usually want to dig out the floor, and lay a deeper, insulated concrete floor with DPM and screed. Sometimes this means the walls have to be underpinned, because Victorian foundations are notoriously skimpy and shallow. It becomes a serious building job. It would be a good idea to start by having the drains inspected, because they are very likely to be broken and leaking. Unfortunately in a terrace you are dependent on your neighbour. I once renewed broken drains in a terraced house; while I was working the next door neighbour pulled their bathplug and my pit filled with warm water.

Plenty of unrestricted airbricks, on all sides of the house so that air can flow through, taking water vapour with it, is likely to be more effective than fans, in reducing cellar humidity.

Thanks PigletJohn. :)

We are end of terrace but with another house built right up to our boundary -couldn't get a blade of grass between the two of them! Our adjoining neighbour in the terrace has no problems with damp.
Thanks for your advice = always appreciated!