Hi,
We have a mid-terrace Victorian/Edwardian house and have a damp problem we think relates to a downpipe. Would be hugely grateful for any advice to help us solve this. The damp affects the kitchen wall where we have kitchen units on the inside and whenever we open the doors or drawers of the cabinets on the affected wall there is a really bad damp smell.
The downpipe which collects the water from the roof gutters comes down outside our back door which runs along the kitchen wall which is damp. We think this wall is damp because the rainwater may be going straight into the ground and not into a proper soakaway or drain, so it is not soaking away well enough and is being soaked up the walls.
There is a narrow side passageway where the back door and downpipe is, this is block paved. In the past we lowered all the block paving as we had been advised that it had been built up too high and that was what was causing the damp. But now almost 2 years on the damp has returned in spite of this.
When we were lowering the block paving we dug around at the base of the downpipe but could not see any pipes leading off from it underground or where it is running to. I'll try and upload a picture if I'm allowed, but at ground level it's a cast iron pipe and it goes into a sort of spherical base at the bottom where it meets the block paving so you can't actually see where/how the downpipe itself ends.
I put a drain rod down it and the rod goes down only about a foot underground but then hits presumably solid earth.
There is a manhole for toilet/sink waste almost adjacent to the downpipe. We think this was added by the last owners and wonder if it has somehow blocked wherever the rainwater was previously draining to, but not sure about this.
Anyway, are we allowed to try and join the downpipe so to empties into the manhole? If so, how do we do this please? The manhole has a metal cover (the usual sort) and then a sort of rectangular chamber with which look to be cement or similar not sure if/how we could get a pipe into this.
Also the manhole itself and drain run seems very shallow and not sure if that would cause a problem.
Very grateful for any advice. From reading on line we've heard talk about digging a pit for a soakaway but this would be very difficult as firstly it's a narrow passage unless we were to make the downpipe extend several metres underground into the garden itself and this would mean a lot of taking up of block paving, patio and digging which would be a nightmare. We can manage some DIY but are not experts at all.
We really need to solve the damp problem as it's affecting the kitchen cabinets and the kitchen itself and we're worried about what it's doing go the brickwork so would be very grateful for any help and advice.
We have a mid-terrace Victorian/Edwardian house and have a damp problem we think relates to a downpipe. Would be hugely grateful for any advice to help us solve this. The damp affects the kitchen wall where we have kitchen units on the inside and whenever we open the doors or drawers of the cabinets on the affected wall there is a really bad damp smell.
The downpipe which collects the water from the roof gutters comes down outside our back door which runs along the kitchen wall which is damp. We think this wall is damp because the rainwater may be going straight into the ground and not into a proper soakaway or drain, so it is not soaking away well enough and is being soaked up the walls.
There is a narrow side passageway where the back door and downpipe is, this is block paved. In the past we lowered all the block paving as we had been advised that it had been built up too high and that was what was causing the damp. But now almost 2 years on the damp has returned in spite of this.
When we were lowering the block paving we dug around at the base of the downpipe but could not see any pipes leading off from it underground or where it is running to. I'll try and upload a picture if I'm allowed, but at ground level it's a cast iron pipe and it goes into a sort of spherical base at the bottom where it meets the block paving so you can't actually see where/how the downpipe itself ends.
I put a drain rod down it and the rod goes down only about a foot underground but then hits presumably solid earth.
There is a manhole for toilet/sink waste almost adjacent to the downpipe. We think this was added by the last owners and wonder if it has somehow blocked wherever the rainwater was previously draining to, but not sure about this.
Anyway, are we allowed to try and join the downpipe so to empties into the manhole? If so, how do we do this please? The manhole has a metal cover (the usual sort) and then a sort of rectangular chamber with which look to be cement or similar not sure if/how we could get a pipe into this.
Also the manhole itself and drain run seems very shallow and not sure if that would cause a problem.
Very grateful for any advice. From reading on line we've heard talk about digging a pit for a soakaway but this would be very difficult as firstly it's a narrow passage unless we were to make the downpipe extend several metres underground into the garden itself and this would mean a lot of taking up of block paving, patio and digging which would be a nightmare. We can manage some DIY but are not experts at all.
We really need to solve the damp problem as it's affecting the kitchen cabinets and the kitchen itself and we're worried about what it's doing go the brickwork so would be very grateful for any help and advice.
