Water round Gulley (Ed.)

[katadamick]

Hello all new to this site, hopefully someone may have the answer. The concrete around my drain as broken away, before I can repair it there is a small question of the stagnant water that's come to the side of the drain and made a small pool. Question is if I poured gravel down the hole next to the drain will that soak the stagnant water out. Need to get the water out before repairing. There is nothing wrong with the actual drain it is the outside that's the problem

 

[JohnD]

you are mistaken. You have an old clay gulley. As is normal, it is cracked and leaking in the ground. The water has turned the ground to mud and washed it away, leaving a cavity into which the surrounding concrete, paving or ground collapse. The gulley itself often sinks into the cavity.

This is not a complicated job, and it is very common. It needs to be dug out, the broken gulley removed, and possibly the clay pipe attached to it if broken, and replaced with new plastic parts. The broken drain is unhygenic and unhealthy, and the escaping water will damage the house.

When digging these out, it is usual to find multiple futile attempts have previously been made, to patch up, fill in, or cover up the problem without replacing the broken part. These never work.

you will have other drains and gullies around the house of the same age and materials, and it is wise to examine or replace these at the same time.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

The gulley itself looks fine. It may be just the downpipe that's spraying water into the gap. If so just wait for a week of dry weather, the water will vanish. Then break out the cracked render and refill it with a strong render mortar mix, tooling off the surface.

Don't fill it with gravel, that wouldn't do anything. Check it works OK first, by firing the hose down it, or (better) by looking next time it's been raining heavily for a while. If it's backing up then you've got a bigger issue, soakaways don't last for ever and need replacing every few decades.

Before doing any work, take out the grate, put it in a small plastic bag folded neatly over it then refit it, you now have a lid to stop old or new mortar getting into it. Take the bag off when you've completely done.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Can we have a photo from further back please, showing the pipework going into the gully?

You may well be better off redirecting the pipework to discharge into the hopper, below the grating, allowing you to then make good around the hopper, and avoiding any further water ingress into the surrounding soil.