Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Anybody else experienced water leaking into their coal cellar?
Evening all,
I'm a newbie at posting but have been lurking around the forum for a while. I'm at the end of my tether with a leak in our basement and wondered if anybody had any advice or recommendations.
We've had extensive work done relining our internal piping but water is still surfacing through the floor of the the coal cellar of our Victorian conversion. It tends to happen when we run water through our bathroom or kitchen taps.
This hasn't been a constant problem for us - the water only started appearing a few months ago. Since then, we've had various cctv surveys done and £2000 of work relining internal pipes and replacing the gully that the kitchen and bathroom taps lead into. We've also had Thames Water to eliminate the possibility of it being a fault further down the line. The drainage company we've been using are completely flummoxed.
Has anybody experienced anything like this?
Any advice or recommendations of what to do next would be gratefully received!
Tags for Forum Posts: misconnected drains
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Protheroe O'Shea on
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Yes its the high water levels.
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Permalink Reply by Claire Bower on
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Thanks for the speedy response.
Do you know where the water is leaking from and why it is connected to us using water in the house? Is there a reservoir of water somewhere that is already full and consequently overfills? Do you know if there's anything that can be done to stop the basement flooding periodically?
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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It might be useful to know they type of water that is causing the problem.
Is it clean water, ie from the incoming mains, " grey" water with soap and detergent residue, or foul water ( I hope not ) from the toilet ?
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Permalink Reply by Geoff Amabilino on
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Thames Water ought to be able to tell you whether the water is ground water or mains/'grey' water - they have simple test kits, I believe.
Our cellar occasionally floods, but that is definitely the water table rising after heavy rain - our neighbour had it tested when he had the same problem.
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Apologies if I am wrong. But I think the houses on the ladder all have similar problem with water leaching up through the foundations, resulting in puddles forming on the floor. This is due to the houses being built directly onto the London Clay. London clay is virtually impermeable so when it rains the water does not sink into the clay thus resulting in it seeping up through the concrete and into our cellars. You might need to speak to a damp proofing expert and get the cellar tanked.
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Permalink Reply by Salsa on
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I agree with John D, thats an important point. Also, have you got a downpipe draining into what looks like a drain but is not actually connected to the drain system? ( I assume the drainage company checked this, sorry if they already have). I heard of this happening to someone else and they had their down pipe leaking into a grate that looked like a drain but it just directed water under their house and there was no drain in sight!
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I've added a tag to the post which links to the various other discussions about misconnected pipes/drains.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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A useful tip from friends of ours who had flooding in their cellar several years ago.
They called a plumber who said it was a leak from Thames Water pipes. He advised them that when they phoned Thames Water they must write down the times and key points for each call, including action promised. Also to ask for and record the name of the person they spoke to; and ask for a reference number for the call.
It soon became obvious why their plumber had said this. When promises weren't kept and they phoned again, information had not been passed on. The fact that they kept a record meant they could be patiently but firmly insistent.
It may be that things have vastly improved since then.
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Permalink Reply by Justin Guest on
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I had a problem like this up north in a house that had with a coal cellar. When it would rain heavily in the winter there could often be an inch of water in the cellar...
I think you would pretty quickly know if it were sewage- and there is a real risk it could be as the main drain from the back of the house runs very close to the floor in these cellars as it makes its way to the front of the house and the local sewer. I suspect you can pretty quickly rule that out.
I have a hunch the use of water in the bathroom and kitchen might be a red herring (but having not seen it of course it is hard to tell), my gut thought is that as mentioned below, the soil locally (including the clay these houses sit on, is at 'capacity', that is its ability to soak up much more is maxed out. Beyond this point the water table (the point at which you see free water accumulating) starts to rise, and you might be one of the unfortunate ones who have a cellar that is very close to, and now below where the water table actually sits.... The clay Mr Wells of Tunbridge mentions may be a factor in retarding drainage.
A something on the web I found when I looked to make sure I was not talking tosh:http://www.tracebasementsystems.co.uk/article-water-table/
I guess one way to find out is to carefully dig down to see what is below where the water is accumulating, you never know you might find a leaky old drain you do not know about? Or you might find a standing puddle of water that just sits there.
One other thing to think about- what state are your neighbours (up hill) drains in? I had a neighbour recently with issues and it turned out to be the neighbour's drains... Worth checking, though their issue was more sewage related.
Good luck.
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Thanks all for your responses.
I'll try and answer each question in turn:
- Thames Water described the water as 'foul' as it had come through the house and was not from the incoming mains (so disqualified any responsibility on their part). It's not horribly smelly though?
- Thankfully, it doesn't look like we have a downpipe draining into a non-existent drain
- With the London Clay issue, why would the puddles form directly after running the bathroom/kitchen taps? Surely this must be the sign of a leak rather than general high water levels?
- As far as I know, our neighbours haven't been affected. I believe both of their basements have been tanked though.
I suppose the next step might be to employ a building surveyor to conduct an official drainage survey? Or start digging down and investigating? Or potentially install a sump pump to remove the moisture and send it elsewhere?
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Hi there. I guess you can rule out the clay. Good luck.
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Thanks Pete - that's really useful. I'm going to get onto Thames Water about getting the water mater installed.
Do you know if sump pumps have to be professionally fitted? Would that be a job for a plumber/damp proofer/drains expert?
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