Drying damp floor.

cosmowillie53

While doing some work on an old house I discovered a burst water pipe ( which is now repaired) under a concrete floor which I would say may have been there for some time. There are some damp patches in the floor and along the bottom of two walls.
How long would it take for the concrete/walls to dry out naturally.
Thanks. .

dpofloinn

How long is piece of string? There is no set amount of time for something like this.It is very dependent on the amount of moisture that is trapped within the floor and under it and the drying techniques you are using like dehumidifiers,heaters natural air flow etc so it could take 1 2 or 3 weeks for it to dry out fully

cosmowillie53

Thanks for reply.
I am letting it dry out naturally so it looks like it could take awhile.
The ground outside the house is a little high in places (slightly above floor level).
As its not a big house and its old would it be a good idea to dig a trench around the house for drainage and then fill with stones.
Would this help any moisture build up now or later have a easy escape route and help keep the house dry.

dpofloinn

Im guessing the house has no DPC,Just digging a drain and filling with stones wont really help unless it has some where to drain to something like a french drain may be more appropriate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj0tw-Yyc20

cosmowillie53

I can see a dpc under the walls although its probably broken down by now. I'm not sure if anything under the concrete floor.
I was going to dig around the house and away to mini pits every few yards.

dpofloinn

Just digging soak pits around the house will probably cause more problems than they fix as you will just create place for water to collect and pool, ideally you would need to drain the water away from the house thats why I would suggest using piped french drains you could direct them down slope and away to a soakaway or drain.Just be care full that it doesnt drain into a neighbours property