Leaks in the cellar from old coal shute.

[SamSeed]

Hello people, newbie here!!

Recently I had my cellar damp proofed and walls covered in cement. My house is an old Victorian house, and in one section of the cellar there's a hole in the wall for what was the coal shute. Paving slabs cover the hole leading out. I should have got the builders to perhaps block this section off with bricks, but I didn't. Anyway, with all the recent heavy rain we've been having, droplets of rain are seeping through the gaps in the paving stone and leaking into the coal shute. I can see this, if I put my head in the shute and look up.

I've tried contacting the builder, but the git isn't answering his phone. Anyway, hypothetically speaking. If I were to sort this problem out by myself, would it be a matter removing the paving stone, laying some concrete down and the reseating the paving stone? Would I need some sort of waterproof sheet as barrier to stop the rain coming in?

Or should I brick the hole up from the cellar. Fill in the hole with rubble/pebbles etc, cover in concrete and then place the paving stone over?

path above. You can see where the slab has subsided.

Inside the hole. You can see where the two slabs meet. Water seems to be coming in from there. There also seems to be a bit of condensation under the slab.

Entrance.

Any help/advice/ridicule would be welcome

 

[sorethumb]

Intersting you have had no answers either, I posted a similar problem on here last week and nobody came forward with an answer.

I have a smiliar porblem and access to the bottom is also limited. All Suggestion more than welcome.

Is there anything that can be applied to the TOP to seal the joint and the Slabs?

 

[mnb]

Remove the S&C fillets around the flag and attempt to lift the flag up and out - push from below while, hopefully, someone deals with it from above. Then come back with pics of the top of the shute.

The moisture on the wall could be penetrating damp or condensation -what ventilation do you have in the cellar?

What purpose is the cellar rendering providing?

 

[JohnD]

you have got to seal it from above. Trying to fill or seal it from below will just cause an accumulation of water that will leak through.

I would go for lifting the flags above, putting down thick plastic sheet over and around the chute before relaying the flags. They should be set in mortar to prevent them moving or settling.

I am not impressed that the flags have been laid over a cavity, so you could fall through if they break e.g. from a sharp blow or a parked car. It is a pity the original iron cover and surround have gone, I expect they were sold as architectural antiques. I would have preferred to see the top few courses of bricks removed, the chute sealed and capped, then the new flags laid in mortar above that.

Some builders use Caller Display on their phones to avoid speaking to people who have a complaint. You might like to ask around friends and neighbour for a recommended person, it is a small job and many handymen or retired builders could do it.

 

[SamSeed]

Cheers for the responses guys.

The moisture on the wall could be penetrating damp or condensation -what ventilation do you have in the cellar?

There's an airbrick on the front of the property. However I think that's about it. I'm definitely going to need some more ventilation. I was thinking of having vents installed at the front of the house with ducts leading to vents on the cellar wall.

What purpose is the cellar rendering providing?

Cellar walls were painted with that rubber bitumen type stuff and then rendered over. Cellar floor had a damp proof sheet and then concrete poured over

you have got to seal it from above. Trying to fill or seal it from below will just cause an accumulation of water that will leak through.

I would go for lifting the flags above, putting down thick plastic sheet over and around the chute before relaying the flags. They should be set in mortar to prevent them moving or settling.

I am not impressed that the flags have been laid over a cavity, so you could fall through if they break e.g. from a sharp blow or a parked car. It is a pity the original iron cover and surround have gone, I expect they were sold as architectural antiques. I would have preferred to see the top few courses of bricks removed, the chute sealed and capped, then the new flags laid in mortar above that.

Some builders use Caller Display on their phones to avoid speaking to people who have a complaint. You might like to ask around friends and neighbour for a recommended person, it is a small job and many handymen or retired builders could do it.

The house was originally refurbished by builders working for the council who renovated it as part of a grant. Regardless to say, they were a bunch of $!$!ing cowboys.

Need to find another builder now to put in some vents and to fill up the hole. Problem is, the last recommendation I followed from friends ended up with me hiring the cowboys who did my cellar. I'm toying with the idea of putting vents in myself and bricking up the hole. Doesn't seem like a very big job. However, I'd probably spend more money on tools than it would take to hire an established builder.