Damp Proofing

damp smell in my house front room (Victorian end terrace)

Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.08 PM

After it rains in warm weather, my front room smells damp with a slight woody and sooty smell. It is an old Victorian end terrace with a walk through cellar beneath which is soil floored, neither wet nor dry soil. I tried a humidifier, it collects some water, there is no sign of damp on the walls, a section of parquet flooring about 2 metres by .5 rose of the wooden floor base last winter. It needs glued back down. One side of the internal cellar wall near an outside drain pipe from the gutters is showing a damp patch about metre square in size. Opening a window for 15 minutes provides a temporary solution until the next dollop of rain. I had a rug in that room but I threw it out after a few years as it smelled badly of damp. The only soft material items are curtains and book and a leather suite which itself is quite old. The cellar and the front room above are the same size roughly, about 7 by 4 metres by 4. If you have any suggestions, they would be appreciated.