cellar flooding

[marsaday]

I have a terrace i rent out and it has a kitchen in the cellar. all has been well for many years - nice and dry. however the neighbours cellar is holding water (not converted) and the water is passing through the dividing wall into my house. they have had water in their cellar and if you look down the cellar light well it is just a pool of water (a bloody well in fact)

their drain is blocked it seems.

Does anyone know where i go from here legally. i know the cost of excavation will be very high to get down to the damaged pipe.

i am happy to work with the owner (he rents his out as well) but i havent spoken to him yet. i dont know if he will be willing to cooperate. if not what legal powers do i have to make him do the work. are there any.

i have spoken to environmental health and they will come out next week.

 

[big-all]

a self priming sump pump with a sensor !!

basicly a sump/ low point on his side with an automaticaly operated pump

 

[alittlerespect]

Your only real option would be to 'tank out' the basement. A lot of work involved, but at least you would not be affected by the neighbours property. Take a look at the SIKA website for more information - www.sika.co.uk regretfully it will mean shutting down the basement for around 3 months to allow everything to dry out thoroughly. You will not be able to drill any fixings into the walls or floor, but Sika have remedies to get over these problems.

Regards

 

[JohnD]

surely the neighbour is responsible?

I would start with your Household Insurers:
1) tell then you may need to make a claim for the damage. See if they can do the work to recover the cost from your neighbour
2) read the policy to see if it has legal excpenses cover in case you need to pursue the neighbour
3) look at your policy to see what it says about escape of water, your neighbour's policy probably says much the same thing.

I hope it is fresh water from a main, not sewage?

p.s. beware of pumping out. Depending on the ground and the foundations, it is not unusual for the water to turn the ground under the house to mud, and the pump to suck the mud out, with the result that the house is standing on a cavity, and falls into the hole.

 

[marsaday]

i spoke to him today and he has had builders fit a pump last week. it is not working yet.

his step daughter and boyfriend were living there and they were operating a pump to get rid of the water. the house has been empty for a good few months and so this is why the water has accumulated again in his cellar.

this problem started last yr and i tanked the basement myself. however, where the party wall is i have stone steps going up here. i could not tank the steps as it would have meant removing them to membrane behind them. this is where the weak spot is.

i have spent £1000 on materials (new concrete floor and membrane, wood, and plasterboard. i wonder if i should go after this money. i dont have his address as he lives in manchester and this is in Yorkshire. i was happy to let it go as i thought i had solved the problem. i am now reliant on a crappy pump to protect my house in the future.

John d - how serious is this problem of pumping away the mud etc. do you have any reference on the web to this.

 

[JohnD]

no, it was included in a book or lecture on Building Technology (may have bben a section on pumping out trenches) a long time ago

 

[davebelushi]

i could not tank the steps as it would have meant removing them to membrane behind them. this is where the weak spot is.

i am now reliant on a crappy pump to protect my house in the future.

you can membrane over the steps.

do you not have a pump built into yours system behind the membrane?
if not. providing you are confident you have fitted the membrane correctly, you should fit you own submersible pump and perimeter channels.

 

[marsaday]

i have dug a channel with gravel around the perimeter of the room and it exits into the drain where the sink waste goes into. a new concrete floor is on top of this old floor with visquene sheet.

i have no pump. i have done 4 cellars like this and all are dry.

i cannot now tank the steps, too difficult.

 

[Nige F]

their drain is blocked it seems.

.

Maybe from your sink waste

 

[marsaday]

what ?

i have my own outlet. they have theres.

no problem with my waste