Footpath and drainage problem

I wonder if anyone on here has any ideas that will help us out in an unusual situation.

We recently purchased a 1756 cottage that stands right next to the local road. A few years back it appears that a footpath was put in, running along the end wall of our house. When this was done a gap was left of about 140mm between the side of the path and the house wall (which, at that point, is about 4200mm long). Annoyingly it appears that the previous owner has merrily signed off that he was happy with the work done and the council still have the document on file. The problem is that the footpath is a good 3 feet above our internal floor level and there's a fair bit of damp coming through the wall there where the "free draining" gravel used to fill the gap is now full of plants.

The council were very helpful to the point of understanding our dilemma and have given us free reign to dig out the area, so long as we don't do any significant damage to the pavement and leave the area safe to walk along. They will, of course, no be paying for this.

I was thinking of putting in some kind of gully at the base of the hole I'm planning on digging out but am somewhat at a loss as to what to put over the top of the hole that'll be safe to walk over and not trap water in the same way. All I've managed to come up with so far is the idea of using industrial metal stair grates as they appear to come in the correct sort of sizes, but I'm still working on how to attach them and how to acquire them.

Anyone have any ideas?

Why can't you just use a channel drain right the way down the side of the path?

Better still, get a copy of that document from the council and consult a solicitor. I'd be very surprised if there isn't any possibility for redress - after all, neither yourself or the previous occupier could be expected to foresee this problem. I would have thought that the document would have been to state that no damage has been made to the property during the works, and doesn't affect your right to compensation due to problems at a later date that can be directly attributed to the installation of the new pavement.

If you are not sure what the above poster means by channel drain, do a search on "Aco Raindrain" to see one example.

I agree with what electonicsuk is saying. It would also help if you can find any photos of what was there before the pavememt went in.

electronicsuk said:

Why can't you just use a channel drain right the way down the side of the path?

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Main problem is that, after digging down to the floor level of my house, there would be a 3 foot deep, 15cm wide hole, and supporting the channel drain worries me.

electronicsuk said:

Better still, get a copy of that document from the council and consult a solicitor. I'd be very surprised if there isn't any possibility for redress - after all, neither yourself or the previous occupier could be expected to foresee this problem. I would have thought that the document would have been to state that no damage has been made to the property during the works, and doesn't affect your right to compensation due to problems at a later date that can be directly attributed to the installation of the new pavement.

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I've been considering that too, but suspect that it would probably take long enough to sort out that I'd save myself a lot of trouble, and damp, by just sorting it out.

DrRob said:

Main problem is that, after digging down to the floor level of my house, there would be a 3 foot deep, 15cm wide hole, and supporting the channel drain worries me.

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On further consideration, is your house acting as a retaining wall to the footpath? If so digging down by the path to your floor level would probably cause the path to collapse into the hole.

I think what electronicsuk was getting at, by using a channel any pavement water runoff gets removed straight away rather than soaking the ground adjacent to your house. Thats what I thought when I posted anyway. You would then only be going down the side enough to get the channel installed.

If there already is a retaining wall about 150mm away from your house with the gap between just filled with gravel then I think there is a better solution. Can you advise if you know?

Edit: Do you know who owns the 150mm strip, you or the local authority?

From what I can gather, and see by digging, they've built a retaining wall and then backfilled with gravel, which has since started growing things. My ideal would be to leave it open to let the house breathe naturally but there'd be a risk of people losing an ankle down the side of the pavement.

Ownership is probably debateable, probably them, but the land registry drawings, as usual, have a nice thick line down the edge of the house that could mean virtually anything.

I like the idea of a channel but am still concerned that it leaves a pile of earth against the side of a 1799 brick wall that will simply let the damp straight through.

I think I need a channel on stilts that can take someone walking on it.

DrRob said:

From what I can gather, and see by digging, they've built a retaining wall and then backfilled with gravel, which has since started growing things. My ideal would be to leave it open to let the house breathe naturally but there'd be a risk of people losing an ankle down the side of the pavement.

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You already have in mind what I would do if there is a retaining wall to the path.

The other thought I had, was if there is a retaining wall to the path it was negligent to fill the gap with gravel. They should have put up a handrail or the metalwork you are thinking of.

I think it would be worth your while to spend a little time pulling as much gravel out as you can to see exactly what is there down to your floor level. Don't leave it open, put it back as soon as you have found out what is there.
Not so nice job for a day at the weekend!

Getting a grating made up to fit would not be a problem for a small metalwork company. They could also do supports for it so that it could be dropped in.

The tricky bit is if anyone hurt themselves on the solution, who would be liable? You have to weigh up the risks if you go ahead on your own.