I need to do something on the floor in the cellar.

It’s pretty dry as cellars in Victorian houses go, but is of course a bit damp. I put some vinyl roll down on the concrete floor about 3 years ago. This wasn’t an ideal solution since mold has grown underneath.

I’m not sure what to do next. I’ve thought about painting, perhaps with epoxy floor paint, but all the ones I’ve looked at say the floor needs to be dry before painting – and this floor’s always going to be a bit damp to the touch. Will this matter? If I do paint, any tips on preparation or choice of paint?

Have also considered rubber grid matting (like this) since that would let the floor breath – but that’s a bit expensive.

I’d like to hear any other ideas.

Do not just need to get the cellar tanked and be done with the damp issues. I guess that cost s serious cash though?

Tricky. If it’s concrete it’s probably newer than the house for what it’s worth. You either need to let it breathe with something like that rubber grid, or waterproof it. You could use a Sika system but that will be expensive. There are paint on membranes which can be painted on a damp surface then overlaid with vinyl on a compatible adhesive. Still a bit pricey and you need to be careful that you get the right compatible products.

Some suggestions in this thread last year. A little reading here.

(Disclaimer: I, too, have a damp Victorian cellar, but since my only issue is foxing of wine labels, I’ve not spent a bean on sorting it)

False floor? But then I guess you’d get issues under that as well?

Cavity tanking membrane with wbp ply decking on top.

If you want that basement dry there is no other way but tanking.

I’ve used TactTiles on an outside balcony and they’re brilliant. Made of plastic they just clip together and will not rot. They’ve been down for 6 years and still look like new.
Perfect for staying dry on a damp floor.

If those mats are too pricy try these Grass mats

Bought some for under the kids play area outside and seem pretty sturdy. May not last as long as the wet area mats but at 1/4 of the price who cares especially if it isn’t a high footfall area.

They cut to shape pretty easily too.

Could you put a fungicide down before the flooring?

Although if you own the place and plan to live there a while I would go for tanking. It will be a nice dray and very usable space afterwards.

Thanks all!

It doesn’t need to be dry, so I don’t want to spend money on tanking. It’s got the washing machine and tumble drier down there (as well as tools and a few bikes) so just needs to have a floor that can be kept clean.

I’m going to go for a combination of the two matting suggestions – @sharkbait’s tacttiles for the heavily used bit by the washing machine; and @bruk’s grass mats to cover the rest.

Is there no way of ventilating it if its not already? I presume with the tumbledryer in there it gets nice and warm and (ahem) moist so perfect for mould. Perhaps an extractor fan coupled with a dehumidifier for a bit might allow you to at least get your floor paint down.