Should the council maintain the alleyway between our terrace houses?

minibbb

Good morning all

I live in a Victorian end terraced house. There is an alleyway between our houses which leads to another alley along the back of the houses which provides access to several back gardens. The council tend to clear the weeds from other alleys in the road however we tend to keep our alleyway looking tidy ourselves.

We have damp along the ground floor wall adjacent to the alleyway. We had a survey which blames the paving in the alley as it is higher than the DPC. Is it likely I would have any joy in pursuing the council to have this sorted? It needs a French drain digging.

Many thanks

Davesnave

Does the council own the alleyway, and if not, who does?

Furts

Your analysis sounds suspect. A Victorian house may have a DPC, but have you checked that you really have a DPC?

The path being higher - this may always have been the case, so why expect it changed after 100+ years.

The French Drain will not cure your problem - the stones will not be dry, they will tend to get rising damp in themself and they will get clogged up with dirt and debris. I strongly suggest this analysis is wrong.

Without seeing photos one cannot say but in principle you require a tanking detail and/or separation of the wall from the path.

I foresee little likelihood of the council having any interest in your problem. But if they were you would need to put forward a more technical approach than in your post. Basically you would need professional help here.

minibbb

Thank you both for your replies. We had an independent damp surveyor who did our survey for about £230 IIRC. I didn't want to get the usual damp companies in who do a free survey but they suggest Injectable DPC etc. I'll check the report but the surveyor was confident it had a slate DPC. (1895)

The path does not look ancient- it's large concrete paving slabs up the middle and about a foot each side of cement. The neighbour had the same problem and did a French drain their side which has apparently improved things.

Wouldn't a French drain separate the wall from the path anyway?

fewgroats

From the description on Wikipedia I can't see much difference between a French drain and a normal drain, especially as it says "the first French drains were merely ditches".

ljonski

le drain, der drain, down the drain!
one is french, one is German and the other is Post Brexit!

Furts

minibbb wrote: »

.

Wouldn't a French drain separate the wall from the path anyway?

It will help but provisos apply. It must be deep enough and it must drain somewhere. But it will still be stone in contact with the ground and it will get damp. You will still have a cold spot on your wall, and you are likely to still have issues - say with condensation.

It does sound like a suspect opinion given in the report. A better result would be a tanking detail combined with the French Drain. This might only be a couple of coats of RIW painted on.

Kiran

A tanking detail is the way to go here and probably the most you would likely get from the council. If you wanted a belt and braces solution an empty channel with a grate on top which is connected to a drainage system is needed. As has already been mentioned a French drain filled with stone is a maintenance issue as debris/silt will get in and you will still have damp up against the wall.

sam2015_2

First, find out who own the alleyway.
Who is responsible for alleyway fence?

cyclonebri1

fewgroats wrote: »

From the description on Wikipedia I can't see much difference between a French drain and a normal drain, especially as it says "the first French drains were merely ditches".

and here lies a serious issue with this forum and many
others;

Some genuine poster reacts, googles the qiestion and posts from the postion of zero experience, it becomes hearsay shortly thereafter.

phil24_7

If French drains are done correctly, they are VERY effective.