Hi, I'm new here so be gentle, I own one of two ground floor flats in a block of eight built in the 1960's. We have just dug up the back garden to lay a patio, the flowerbed next to the flat was 0-3" below the D.P.C.
When I first dug the hole the other day, the buildings brick work was very wet in certain area's (I'll come back to that). However, the earth itself was fairly dry and within a couple of hours of finishing
the hole was bone dry, not suprising given the weather. The next day the earth in the bottom of the hole was damp in some area's especially next to the wall where the damp brick work is, the following day the damp area had spread.
Going back a stage, whilst digging the hole I uncovered what looks like an old soil pipe which is cemented in and appears to be running back to the open drain, fed by the blocks guttering. The inside of this remains dry so no water has come up through there.
Inside the property I took off the skirting board and the plaster behind was damp and crumbled away in places roughly equivalent to where the damp brickwork was externally. We have also suffered black mold continuously since moving in several years ago which I have tried various treatments, stripped back to concrete etc.
So, I have several queries;
1.What could be causing the moisture in the hole?
2.Who would be responsible for rectifying it? (Thames Water, my flat alone, all the flats in the block or our blocks building insurers)
3.Could this be the cause of the mold?
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated and apologies if I have left out any pertinent information.
Thanks
Sean
When I first dug the hole the other day, the buildings brick work was very wet in certain area's (I'll come back to that). However, the earth itself was fairly dry and within a couple of hours of finishing
the hole was bone dry, not suprising given the weather. The next day the earth in the bottom of the hole was damp in some area's especially next to the wall where the damp brick work is, the following day the damp area had spread.
Going back a stage, whilst digging the hole I uncovered what looks like an old soil pipe which is cemented in and appears to be running back to the open drain, fed by the blocks guttering. The inside of this remains dry so no water has come up through there.
Inside the property I took off the skirting board and the plaster behind was damp and crumbled away in places roughly equivalent to where the damp brickwork was externally. We have also suffered black mold continuously since moving in several years ago which I have tried various treatments, stripped back to concrete etc.
So, I have several queries;
1.What could be causing the moisture in the hole?
2.Who would be responsible for rectifying it? (Thames Water, my flat alone, all the flats in the block or our blocks building insurers)
3.Could this be the cause of the mold?
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated and apologies if I have left out any pertinent information.
Thanks
Sean
