Hi everyone, just bought a farm that has a root cellar with a guest cabin on top. The roof of the root cellar is essentially part of the house's floor. Moisture in the root cellar has allowed insects to eat away at the ceiling in the root cellar.
How do I fix this now? Putting up new wood will just result in the same situation as before; using pressure-treated wood might prevent the ceiling from being eaten, but instead, the creatures might just go a few cm further and start eating the floor joists.
I also can't see how a moisture barrier would be helpful, and making a drier root cellar is a possible improvement, but it will probably never be completely dry.
I gratefully welcome suggestions and opinions.
How do I fix this now? Putting up new wood will just result in the same situation as before; using pressure-treated wood might prevent the ceiling from being eaten, but instead, the creatures might just go a few cm further and start eating the floor joists.
I also can't see how a moisture barrier would be helpful, and making a drier root cellar is a possible improvement, but it will probably never be completely dry.
I gratefully welcome suggestions and opinions.
Member
· Norrbotten
· 3 390 posts
Is there ventilation in the pantry?
You should be able to fix up a pantry so that you can have a regular wooden ceiling.
x The best thing is to drain around the pantry. Whether this is possible/suitable, I don't know, as it can be quite a big job.
x Are the walls made of masonry stones so that the moisture almost only comes from the floors? Does the pantry flood during the spring thaw? If it's just moisture migrating from the floor, you might be able to dig out a substantial part and lay down plastic, then fine gravel/crushed stone, preferably washed material.
x You could install a ventilation fan that draws drier air from the living area to the pantry and then out to the open.
I myself have pantries both under the main building's kitchen and the bakery cottage's. In the latter, I now have a cast concrete slab that withstands the moisture that remains. That pantry is ventilated with two regular cat vents through the foundation walls, with 100 mm channels. Works well, but unfortunately has a bit of a problem during heavy snowmelt.
You should be able to fix up a pantry so that you can have a regular wooden ceiling.
x The best thing is to drain around the pantry. Whether this is possible/suitable, I don't know, as it can be quite a big job.
x Are the walls made of masonry stones so that the moisture almost only comes from the floors? Does the pantry flood during the spring thaw? If it's just moisture migrating from the floor, you might be able to dig out a substantial part and lay down plastic, then fine gravel/crushed stone, preferably washed material.
x You could install a ventilation fan that draws drier air from the living area to the pantry and then out to the open.
I myself have pantries both under the main building's kitchen and the bakery cottage's. In the latter, I now have a cast concrete slab that withstands the moisture that remains. That pantry is ventilated with two regular cat vents through the foundation walls, with 100 mm channels. Works well, but unfortunately has a bit of a problem during heavy snowmelt.
Hello and thanks for the feedback. Ventilation is probably lacking but as far as I know there is no water on the floor. The walls are stone walls.
Your idea of digging out and using plastic and gravel sounds sensible.
You didn't comment on pressure-treated wood, common in Japan and New Zealand where otherwise the house gets eaten in a few years by critters.
This surprised me a bit that we have wood-eating critters, I've heard about house beetles, etc. but here it's just due to moisture.
Thanks again
Your idea of digging out and using plastic and gravel sounds sensible.
You didn't comment on pressure-treated wood, common in Japan and New Zealand where otherwise the house gets eaten in a few years by critters.
This surprised me a bit that we have wood-eating critters, I've heard about house beetles, etc. but here it's just due to moisture.
Thanks again
Member
· Norrbotten
· 3 390 posts
In principle, no Swedish insects eat wood that is dry and healthy, so it's usually a matter of addressing moisture. Treated wood that becomes moist can withstand the moisture but should not be used indoors as it can start to emit a bad odor. There are houses built with treated wood in the sills that have had problems (back when slab-on-ground construction was done without today's capillary-breaking layers and cellular plastic). I would not choose the type of treated wood that we use on decks here in Sweden anyway.
In fact, that's what they use abroad, even the higher class with fully pressed wood. Of course, in a pantry, it might feel a bit wrong too.
I'll have to tear down the ceiling and see what it looks like underneath, then ventilation, and I'm seriously considering what you wrote about digging out. There were quite a few spiders, with small white cocoons they were guarding, does that say something about the condition? I have a feeling that spiders want it dry, could be wrong?
I'll have to tear down the ceiling and see what it looks like underneath, then ventilation, and I'm seriously considering what you wrote about digging out. There were quite a few spiders, with small white cocoons they were guarding, does that say something about the condition? I have a feeling that spiders want it dry, could be wrong?
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