Airless basement problems

[Scarlett]

I have a large room in my house which is partly underground. It has no windows or ventillation and is basically a cellar, but on the same floor as my downstairs. I have all my boxed up stuff stored in there for when I go away and rent the house out. The problem is, I left a pair of DMs on a shelf in there, and when I went in yesterday (the door has been open the whole time) there were round patches of white mould on the leather. I also examined some old photos in their packets and they were crackly and stuck together.
Is this damp? Is there anything I do about this?

[The Builder]

.the usual answer is to heat and ventilate, but, in your case Scarlett, the room would probably have to be "tanked" first, to prevent damp from penetrating the walls..........................quite costly............certainly four figures rather then three :o(

[Scarlett]

Gosh that sounds scary. No chance of being able to have that done, then!! What does "tanking" actually involve?

[The Builder]

Hi Scarlett.......just picked up your reply............
"Tanking" is really what it says..........the walls and floor are treated to create a sort of tank.....but in this case - to keep water out...
There are several methods............painting on waterproof bitumen products, or cement based products........there are several on the market................then plastering over to finish, ready for painting.
An alternative to this would be to build a room within a room.............with a cavity between. This could be out of timber or masonry.
Either way, it's time consuming, but would add value to the house.

[terambulan]

If its partly underground couldn't you put air bricks into the above ground portion. Or run air ventilator?

[The Builder]

.......air bricks definitely Teram............if she can't afford the remedial work :o)