Question re damp proofing and tanking

[MrsP]

We have a basement room which has had a damp proof course installed and has been tanked. The company that did the work advised me that any drilling into the wall would disrupt the damp proof course system and invalidate my guarantee. I understand this and am keen for the house to remain damp free. However, I do want to have some shelving and cupboards fitted into the alcoves - without having free standing furniture how can I go about this? Has anyone had the same problem and found a way to get round it? Would be grateful for any suggestions.

[trizza]

Not had this precise experience, but "no more nails" or a similar product may well do - especially for shelves (as long as nothing heavy is going on them) - support them with thin slats of wood glued to the wall on which the shelves rest. The slats can then be painted. Try decorating direct.com or similar for a trade product, which may well be stronger than the products you pick up from B&Q.

Would not have thought that in built cupboards would have lots of fixings into the wall either, particulary if there are filler panels to the left and right of them that may them look built in - in which case they are basically free standing anyway. In such circumstances, a product like the one described above may be ok as well.

[Jeremy]

I think that "no more nails" stuff is fine for things like hooks, light pictures/mirrors, towl rails, etc, but not for shelves. I think you'll just end up ripping off chunks of plaster/plasterboard.

Sometimes there is a stud wall between the membrane and the plaster, in which case you can screw into the stud walls. Otherwise, you can get watertight plugs which are designed for screwing into waterproof membrane - perhaps the original builders could do that for you?

[a bloke]

I'd be suprised if you could not drill into any part of the walls in your basement. As far as I know the DPC (Damp proof course) is usually a thin membrane that is applied horizontally to to the foundation of the building. Like a strip of rubber or lead. I may be wrong but I'd have thought you could drill into anything above it without causing damp problems. Are the walls you wish to drill into solida brickwork or stud partition walls?

[Huguenot]

Brickwork itself isn't water proof, if water enters at a low level capillary action will draw it up from the basement and into the house. Even concrete isn't actually waterproof.

The damp proof course is only a thin horizontal membrane where it's above the surface.

Your basement is likely to be entirely clad in a waterproof membrane, and unless the water table is unusually low anything pentrating this will allow water in, and over time will soak into the fabric of the house.

There are 'waterproof' fittings, but I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

Jeremy is right that glue will only strip away the plaster, and won't carry any weight.

Is it really that important not to have free standing units when the potential damage to your house is so significant? A good handyman could probably run some up for you that wouldn't be noticeably different from wall fitting ones.

[Jeremy]

Huguenot Wrote:

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> There are 'waterproof' fittings, but I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

I think they're fine, but they're supposed to be fitted at the same time as the membrane. To retro-fit them, you'd need to strip the wall back to the membrane, and I'm not even sure if this is possible without damaging it.

[peterstorm1985]

There are some tanking membranes that can be repaired after installation, thereby allowing retro fitting of waterproof fixings but otherwise it's not a route to go down, and if you've got a guarantee I'd stay well clear of that idea. If the shelves/cupboard are to be in an alcove then the best bet would be simply to get someone to install friction fitted cupboards (too tight to simply lift in and out) ie custom built into the alcove but without any fixings back into the wall.

[MrsP]

Wow, there are some really good ideas here, thankyou everyone. It is such a headache. I have a lot of wasted space and feel the only way round is built to fit shelves/cupboards. Free standing won't work as there is a wide concrete step with a bit of a slant running around the inside of the room on three sides, sp nothing will stand flush against the wall, but maybe something could be done......will give it some more thought - far to scared to start drilling yet!