Eliminating garden floor moisture in a brownstone?

Our Bed-Stuy brownstone has had a moisture/mildew/mold issue since we moved in 6 years ago, both in the cellar and the garden/ground floor. It’s been a bit better with a dehumidifier running 24/7 in the cellar (draining to the main drain line), and a series of window, ceiling and standalone fans running essentially all summer while we keep the doors open. But even with all that, there is a whiff of sour mildew many days, for days at a time after it rains. I don’t encounter this in other brownstones. Any idea what I can do about it? There’s a drain in the backyard, but none in the front. The coal chutes are not very well sealed. We put in a backyard deck that puts the back of the house in shade and makes it a bit damp back there. But with all this, it’s hard to tell where the smell is coming from.

brw12

in Foundation 10 years and 7 months ago

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handyrenny | 10 years and 7 months ago

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Arkady | 10 years and 7 months ago

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I’d agree that at least one French drain would go a long way to mitigating the problem.

catboot | 10 years and 7 months ago

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We had a similar problem with the mildewy “old house” smell. We did two things: got a bigger dehumidifier (with a second one that gets turned on when we go through a particularly rainy/humid period). We also installed drains in the back yard to keep the water away from the house. Does your backyard drain properly? Ours didn’t so we dug 4 drains (more or less like French drains) and that helped a lot, too.