air bricks below patio level & drain - where does it go?

[virgilns]

So my new house has a large number of 'features' that we're putting right over the next few years!

One I found today is a damp wall in the kitchen where the wall joins the lounge...on the outside of the wall is a rainwater drain and next to that an air brick that goes under the under the lounge...

The drain was blocked and full of what looked like it could have been poo backed up from somewhere (or very very well rotted vegetation, but looked like poo). This cleared with a good rodding, but didn't flow to the nearest man hole or (as i checked out after) the man hole at the front of the property...it drains away somewhere, but I've no idea where. It's got a level of water in it like it has a 'U' bend trap but I can't even see what direction it goes in....

Second query is with the air bricks...the previous owner laid a concrete patio that's much higher than I guess ever intended and is 2" above the bottom of the air bricks with a 6' gap left in front of the brick. This means that whenever it rains, the water falling into this little 'cut-out' has nowhere to go but into the air brick...

How bad is it that water is getting in to my air bricks? and how bad is it that I can't find where one of my drains goes??

will try and get plans for the house to see of the drains are marked, but any other ideas??

 

[HERTS P&D]

Put your hand down the gully and see where the outlet is, also yo can buy some drain dye and put this in the gully and check all manholes.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/monument-...p=Search-_-SearchRec-_-Area1&_requestid=10904

Andy

 

[virgilns]

Put your hand down the gully and see where the outlet is, also yo can buy some drain dye and put this in the gully and check all manholes.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/monument-...p=Search-_-SearchRec-_-Area1&_requestid=10904

Andy

Thanks,

I did put a hose down the gully but not a drop came out of either man hole......theres also two inlets to the manhole near the back of the property with a toilet about 2m at right angles to this...the toilet uses one of the manhole inlets...nothig seems to be using the other....my worry is that the drain at the rear of the property should be running into the manhole at the rear of the propery but isnt and dnow just empyting underground....maybe hense my damp...

The gully is about a foot below the surface and the water 12-18" deep, so too deep for an arm...will have another poke around tonight...

The other option is to pop next door and test theirs...see if that drain obviously runs into the equivalent manhole....

 

[TheVictorian]

I would say you want a drain man with a camera to have a poke around, it's that or dig it up!

Even if your neighbours drains worked in a certain way, it doesn't mean that yours will...

 

[virgilns]

Now that's going to be a camera I'd never want to clean!!

It's typical...we're looking to extend the back in a couple of years, but might have to do remedial work on something that;s going to be ripped out...

Starting to dislike old houses!!

 

[HERTS P&D]

Drain surveys normally start from £199.

Andy

 

[virgilns]

Drain surveys normally start from £199.

Andy

Thanks and Ouch!

I that case I think I might be buying an IP camera and a rubber glove...

 

[AdamCH]

Your drain arrangement sound similar to mine. Rainwater and sewage are separate. The sewage system has manhole covers but the rainwater system that runs parallel has no manhole covers, rodding points or access covers. Piper runs are fairly obvious in that they connect the gullies with the main runs running parallel to the foul but only found out for certain where the pipe runs are by digging.

 

[virgilns]

Thanks Adam...

kind of what U wanted to hear...I'm still surprised though that there's standing water in this drain...like it's agot a 'U' bend in it...I was expecting the drain to run clear once I unblocked it, but it has a static level of water in it...it THIS the same as yoursl??

 

[AdamCH]

Yes all our rainwater gullies have traps in them.

 

[virgilns]

Thanks...helped a lot...seems to be ok and adoes seem to just be a separate drain....