Drainage against house wall

[lg_diy]

Hello all,

Just looking for some help/advice with installing some drainage round the edge of our house in the garden. We have had slate chippings there since moving in but have noticed a bit of damp on an internal wall that this would back up against.

I've removed the layer of slate (about 5cm) thick, next to this will and noticed there is a concrete bed/floor beneath it, so potentially no where for the water to run off as the floor seems pretty level. I've since dug out a little trench about 150mm wide and 200mm deep with the idea to install some sloped gravel going away from the house, not so much a french drain.

I received some advice to potentially install a grated drain around the edge of the house which is more than doable, apart from a soil pipe that would be blocking it's path to where the water would run off too. Obviously we could redirect the drain around the pipe (away from the house and then back towards) , but defeats the point of getting soil and concrete away from the house.

Installing a gravel drain would allow us to remove all concrete and soil around the pipe and then put in gravel around it to act as drainage. Please tell me if my thought process is wrong or off or if anyone has any other advice. Thank you!

 

[jj4091]

When you dug out your trench was there any sign of a DPC ? Have you got cavity or solid walls ?

 

[lg_diy]

Couldn't see the dpc, wall is rendered so potentially under that?

And I believe they're solid walls!

 

[denso13]

A simple gravel drain would work, are you running it somewhere to take the water away or just letting it drain through the bottom of the trench?

 

[lg_diy]

I was hoping just a gravel drain would be okay, there is soil at the bottom of that trench so assume the water would soak away in to there, but would also angle it back into the garden (away from the house), and it would go under the concrete supporting the rest of the slate

 

[denso13]

I was hoping just a gravel drain would be okay, there is soil at the bottom of that trench so assume the water would soak away in to there, but would also angle it back into the garden (away from the house), and it would go under the concrete supporting the rest of the slate

Put water in the trench to make sure it drains away, if it does then all good.

 

[lg_diy]

Put water in the trench to make sure it drains away, if it does then all good.

Maybe a ridiculous question, but is it disappearing enough to assume it's drained away?

Just thinking however much it may disappear into the soil below, as long as that's not holding onto it and making the foundations of the house wet!

 

[denso13]

Maybe a ridiculous question, but is it disappearing enough to assume it's drained away?

Yes, no problem.