Driveway Drain or Soakaway ?

jehangir

Looking for some advice on the next course of action on a couple of quotes concerning rising damp in my mothers house.

The house is a 50s ex council house with wooden flooring in the front room which was suffering quiet badly from what looked like rising damp .

Both Surveyors identified the cause as being the driveway which they said had been built over the damp course / air brick
and as it is on a 20 degree slope all the rain water was running under the house .


The first an local independant who said to install an a;6co drain in the driveway and hopefully the internal walls would dry out naturally ( qouted £800) .

The second was Rentokill who said that there was no chance of the walls drying out naturally and said to remove all the lower part of the plaster upto 2 feet in the room , treat the walls then replaster . They quoted £2500 for a room which only measures around 15ft x 12 and i would need to remove the skirting boards and replace .

I asked about the drain but they only do internal work but suggested if I was to lift the first row of slabs dig down around 6 inches to expose the damp course and air brick and the fill slightly with limestone it should be enough to solve the problem .

I did most of the donkey work , and spent the best part of yesterday removing the slabs and digging down to expose the original height of the driveway and air bricks .

I have attached some pictures as I am at a loss to what my next move should be . Any advice will be much appreciated.
be grateful .

http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/rustom121/media/20141105_092251_zpsb7941602.jpg.html
http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/rustom121/media/20141105_092257_zps2ba4fc2a.jpg.html
http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/rustom121/media/20141105_092312_zpsfad0c866.jpg.html
http://s1370.photobucket.com/user/rustom121/media/20141105_092306_zps800a061e.jpg.html

cyclonebri1

You need to remove enough material for the finished height to be 6" below the bottom of the damp course.

I don't think a soakaway is going to help if by that you mean the simple "frwench drain" you mention. The atco drain running water away from the problem wall is the best route.

You'd also do well to relay the slabs so there is a natural slope across the drive to run water away from the house wall. I'm assuming the slope you mention is either down to the road or away from it, not across the drive?

jehangir

thanks for the advice .

The driveway runs towards the house at around a 15 degree angle .

We have just had a down pour of rain and the amount of raind collected in the ditch which i have dug is quite staggering . It is very slow to drain away due the clay like substance on the ground.

My itention was to dig around the front to the original ground level remove one row of slabs the install a peforated Drainage pipe which i could do myself and " curve it " around the house and run it towards the drain then cover in limestone .

To install a aco drain i think would be out my skill range and paying someone out of my budget at the moment .

cyclonebri1

If you use perforated drainage pipe you have to remember it must still run to a suitable drain or run of point. Yes it allows water in but it also allows water straight back out if it can.
The plastic atco or similar drains catch water that runs off, towards the house in your case, and diverts it all to a suitable low point.


Given your info I don't think you will totally sort it without going that route.
Price it up either way, they really aren't that expensive if you DIY.

jehangir

Thanks again for taking the timeout to answer my questions .

I will go with the channel drain system , is there much difference in the brands ?

Wilkes seems to be the cheapest or should i go for a brand like Aco etc.

cyclonebri1

jehangir wrote: »

Thanks again for taking the timeout to answer my questions .

I will go with the channel drain system , is there much difference in the brands ?

Wilkes seems to be the cheapest or should i go for a brand like Aco etc.

Check your local non national builder merchants, they always seem cheaper near me

YAS

Hi there
I am digging a soak away at the bottom of my garden. The top soil is clay and I need to dig deep to reach permeable soil. Once this is done can I place an old pvc water tank with drilled holes in the space to act as the soak away ? Any ideas/comments please