Carpet in cellar - could this be an issue?

[CatAndHisKit]

Considering to buy a house with a sort of converted cellar - with an emphasis on 'sort of'.
It doesn't seem tanked properly because the back room feels/smells of damp and is quite cold - thoigh less so than in untoched cellars.
There are painted walls and carpet and in the front section ther is also a CH radiator - that section does feel drier.

I just wonder if this is a correct thing to do with cellars or would the carpets be bad for ventilation and may cause issues/damp? There ae no windows, I don't know if there aer vents as didn'tlook closely but no obvious vent to outside where light would be visible.

I don;t know whether this is still seen as tanked cellar but I assume not as still quite cold in one section. I wonder if a surveyor would class it as an issue also.

if it's an older house and has a cellar, the cellar is pretty certain to be damp.

You can often balance damp in a cellar by lots of ventilation, so the water evaporates and blows away at the same rate that it enters through the floor and walls. Covering up the floor and walls, for example with carpets or cupboards; even a dartboard or calendar, will reduce the ability of the water to evaporate off so you will get damp patches where covered.

if you leave metal paint tins on a cellar floor, they will go rusty on the bottom and eventually leak. metal tools will rust and wood will rot..

incidentally, the same principle can be used when trying to diagnose damp walls in a house. if you tape a piece of clear plastic to a wall, water will form behind the plastic if the wall is damp, and on top of it if the source is condensation.

Tanking is not a very sound method. A drained cavity works.

PJ, yes it's a Victorian terrace. Thanks for all the info - I wish I could readily see a vent but didnt.
Would you say the radiator there would compensate for lack of ventilation - though there might be still a vent.

As I say, it's not my house, I'm looking to buy it possibly, so I'm not sure as a buyer whether there are issues wth this, don't want to buy a money pit. Would I even need to get rid of carpets - but I do like the large extra storage space as it is now - a normal cellar (those I ve seen wen viewing houses) is too damp for storage.

A radiator doesn't take water away from a damp room.

used in conjunction with ventilation, it can make the room more comfortable.

i would not have carpets, though they will make the floor more comfortable, they will collect damp and will smell, rot, and perhaps harbour slugs, and toads to eat them.

if you want to make it useful, you'll most likely need to dig out the floor, and lay a new one with DPM and insulation, and by digging out, increase the headroom. Walls can be clad in waterproof lathing and plasterboarded; water will collect in the cavity behind the lathing and trickle down to a drain that is laid running round the room. You will add good ventilation with a through-draught. It will cost a bit.

Applying waterproofing treatments to the old walls and floor is unlikely to be satisfactory. Lathing, and drainage floor tiles, are a modern approach that accepts damp will always get in.

Thanks, PJ. It a very useful detailed info, but I think to expensive for me to redo it - I don't mind if the cellar is not useable as a room but good to have it dry enough to store plastc boxes.

But if I couldn't re-do it all, what would you do with existing cellar - would you actually rid of the carpet even though itlooks fine, no ovious damp stains on it, walls are painted. I just wonder also whether surveyors would approve it as 'correcty done'. I@m competing with others offering so I wonder if this would reflect on mortgages in any way (I don't ned one).

Anyone on here actually has something similar, and did you haev issues?

take up the carpet and anything else touch the floor. Plastic crates with tight lids can be used but ought to be spaced off the floor if possible. Or get self-assembly plastic shelving units from DIY sheds or Aldi.

Try not to let the wooden legs or feet or furniture touch the floor. Do not leave clothes or shoes down there as they will get mouldy.

You can put a fridge or freezer down there.

There may not be drainage for a sink or washer.

Increase ventilation. There are probably air bricks and a coal hole, possibly some kind of window, maybe even a fireplace or chimney that can be opened up. It doesn't matter if the cellar is cold and draughty, it is more important to be dry. If you want, you can use loft mineral quilt to insulate the floor above, it will also block draughts. Unlike the plastic foam boards it is not flammable and does not generate toxic fumes in a fire.

Upgrading it to habitable standards can wait.

p.s.

My neighbour's cellar floods at exceptional high tides. He had a new concrete floor laid but... no DPM so it is still damp if you put anything on the floor.

He also had a french drain laid round the house which can help keep the cellar walls less wet.

thanks, PJ! great advice.