Damp in floor ???

M

marsaday

Any ideas what this damp patch is about in the floor of a kitchen. I have pulled back the lino and it is all black under there.

The floor is concrete and this March i screwed down 5mm ply to give a better surface for the lino to sit on.

The pic showing the cupboard trys to show that there is no damp on that side of the wall and they are in the same area of the room.

You can also see that the wall is damp and has new paint flaking off. This wall was replastered in March and I may not have let it dry out enough before painting.

Could my screws into the concrete be letting in water in this place ?

On the outside of this wall is a path around the house.

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Any ideas what this damp patch is about in the floor of a kitchen.

Leaking water pipe, usually.

Have you got a water meter?

How old is
- the house
- the floor
- the water pipe?

Is there a downpipe or gulley on the outside of the wall? Does the gutter leak? Does the path hold rainwater?
 
The house is 1930's i think and the concrete floor may well be origional.

To the left of the damp is the lead water pipe coming into the house. This is on the corner of the house in the photo (right side).

Just to the right of the green bin is where the leak seems to be worst.

Would the lead pipe come into my drive and go to the corner of the house and then turn left and head down the path ( running parallel to the house) to then return into the other 4 houses in my row ? This may be the problem. Or will all the houses have their own feed and stop cock via the road ?

I dont think the downpipe in the left corner is a problem. I will clear it out just to be sure however.

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If it is the water pipe, do i dig in the house first or outside the house on the path ?
 
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I am not sure. I dont think so. I suppose this would tell if i had a leak. This house is rented out you see.

I will need to take up the lino nearer where the water pipe comes into the house to see if that is damp as well.

For investigation needed i think.

Would the water company help out with this one ?
 
they may have a subsdidy to replace a leaking supply pipe. They may also have a subsidy to replace old lead pipes. Ask them to test the drinking water and measure the lead content in it to see if you qualify.

a new pipe does not have to take the same route as the old one, it can take an easier route if there is one.

If you lay it in 25mm or better 32mm then it will give much better flow than the old lead pipe, which can be useful in future for a combi or megaflo. the material cost is not much greater and the labour will be the same. most of the work is in digging the trench.

It will be very useful to know for sure if there is a meter.
 
Hello John D again

I have a bit more info for you and i also have a theory about the water problem.

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In the photo you can see the gutter downpipe to the left of the house (near alarm). Then to the right side of the house you can see the soil stack and the gutter downpipe. Moving past the soil stack a bit further on is the manhole cover and you have the drains down there.

I have just spoken to the water people and they will come and have a look. They say i have a combined system running down the side of the house where the soil stack is and the gutter at the front joins up with this as it goes on out through the drive and into the road. I thought this pipe may well run under the path, but apparently it goes into the garden a bit and then turns towards the out going pipe.

Behind the plastic bag in the photo is the gas main feed. The path has been dug up here in the past to accomodate some gas work it seems. I am pretty sure this gas work is something to do with my problem. Because my internal damp wall and damp floor is about 200mm to the right of this main feed.

I was thinking the gas people had knackered up the water sewer but i am not sure sure now. Any ideas ?
 
have you determined for sure if there is a water meter?

is there a stop-cock either in the pavement or in your garden close to the pavement?
 
there is a stop cock in the pavement - no meter.

Water people coming tomorrow to have a look.
 
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The drains people came yesterday and all ok. I am getting a water test done on monday.

However, i have taken some more photos and done some measuring and i think what is happening is that the damp course is being breached.

In the photo where my tape measure is, this is the point of the worst damp problem on the wall and subsequently on the floor. It corresponds to the high point of the path.

The air brick to the left of the tape measure seems to be for ventilation for the gas meter next to it. In the other pic you can see an air brick much lower down. I dont know why there is an air brick there because the entrance hall and kitchen is concrete. Only the lounge at the back of the house has a void.

If i bar up the tarmac to stop it touching the brick and reduce down the height a bit, will this help the problem. Any tips on what to do with the path ?

ps, here is another pic showing work done previously on the gas i think. I wonder if this has caused any problems ?

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the wall looks wet around the downpipe. Does water run onto the tarmac? When you run a hose into the gulley, does it drain away well? It is very common for clay gullies to crack at the bend, and leak. If so, the path may sound hollow when knocked.

I can't see the DPC in your photos. Where is it in relation to ground level?

Do the gutters overflow in heavy rain? Lets see the full height of that wall. The soffits above look like they are hanging off due to water.

The path does look as if it has been taken up. I wonder what's underneath it?

The grass in the front looks like it has subsided. This happens when water leaks.
 
I havent id'ed the damp proof course yet.

If the gully is broken wouldn't the damp problem be over where that is, rather than about 2m to the right ?

The gully has been full of earth for a long time, but i cleared it out this spring. This house was a complete wreck and i have renovated it all.

I have repainted the soffits, and the gutters are all ok. I haven't seen the house in heavy rain though. Something to watch for i suppose.

The grass area was up and down and i have relevelled it and seeded it again.

I will see what the water people say on Monday.

I think i will be digging up the tarmac at some point though.
 

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