patio marked water outside of the backdoor

[t3rm3y]

We have a utility room that has been built onto the back of the house, and is accessed from the back door.
the previous tenants has a number of mats down, as the floor is just small slabs, which are very cold during the colder seasons.
on one slab has been written "water" and under this is just mud and sand. i dont know whats beneath the san, but its doesn't seem deep.
But its always damp which is a concern as i dont want that spreading into the house....

Any clue as to what this is? and why its in my utility room?

and more importantly can it be moved outside?

 

[Belboz]

Is there an outside tap at the back?

Just wondering if there is some sort of water pipe under there.

I would guess it is highly unlikely to be a stop cock or your mains (I assume your mains water comes in from the front of the house?)

 

[t3rm3y]

regarding the mains i have no idea to be honest. is the stop cock what turns off the water completely, like if a leak or something?

There is an outside tap which isnt too far from where this slap is...
shall i stop mucking around and just remove the sand and see whats there?

 

[Belboz]

Usually your mains water will enter from the street at the front of the house. There will normally be a mains shut off just outside your front garden.

Inside the house will be another stopcock - looks like an outside brass tap - This is to isolate your incoming mains water for doing plumbing inside the house.

I am guessing that the previous occupier may well have run a water pipe from the water mains supply under the floor to an outside tap and has marked where it is situated.

Just a guess though!!

B

 

[r896neo]

You use of 'room' is perhaps generous.

Does it have a floor?

A few photo's would help

 

[t3rm3y]

i will get some pics up.
It is not really a room, more like a cross between a shed and a bad conservatory.
The outside tap looks to be connected directly through the wall to the sink plumbing. (it looks like it just comes off the sink water pipe)
I dont know of any taps or ways to turn water off outside. there is a brass tap at the back of one of the cupboards in the kitchen, which is at the back of the house.

 

[Belboz]

i will get some pics up.
It is not really a room, more like a cross between a shed and a bad conservatory.
The outside tap looks to be connected directly through the wall to the sink plumbing. (it looks like it just comes off the sink water pipe)
I dont know of any taps or ways to turn water off outside. there is a brass tap at the back of one of the cupboards in the kitchen, which is at the back of the house.

Ah well that does help explain.

The brass tap will be your internal stop cock and it looks like your outside tap has been tee'd off the incoming supply under the sink. That puts paid to my idea that there could be a pipe running under that slab marked WATER to feed the outside tap.

The outside stopcock is normally only used by the water company. It will be out there under a small manhole cover normally marked up as such (i.e. water) BUT....fyi...if the internal stopcock was to fail/seize, it would be very useful if you know where the outside one is as this could then be the only way of turning off the water supply to your house in the event of a leak.

Still curious about the slab though..........

 

[t3rm3y]

This image is from inside the room, showing the backdoor which leads into the kitchen.
You can see the slabs and how damp they get.
the pipe running against the wall is from washing machine, and goes along floor to outside and connects to guttering pipes..
http://imageshack.com/a/img673/1838/NZmVrN.jpg


The next one is from outside, shows the height of the floor inside
http://imageshack.com/a/img673/8569/krqvxH.jpg

 

[t3rm3y]

This one shows the outside pipes (gutter etc) and drainage and the outside tap

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/4039/SMgZQa.jpg

And the final image shows the slabs lifted up (these are only two that are loose and moveable) and underneath the mud andsand. and again they are very damp..

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/4866/eZgnGX.jpg

 

[wrathkeg]

Is it wet underneath the slabs you can remove? Any chance a drain passes under that area, maybe going from or to that gully just outside your door? If there is and if the area is damp it's possible a connection under there is come undone (or was never done in the first place) or the pipework is broken.

 

[t3rm3y]

Right I have finally got the guts to just clear the and and mud and see what's there
it is the stop cock.
is there a way to move it? A plumber or someone to get it outside?
Or place a plastic sheet or something over the drain cover before replacing the sand and dirt. And then the slabs.? I just want to prevent the damp as much as possible.

On further inspection-I lifted the drain cover and the brass tap is down a lot further then I expected.couldn't get arm down there,would need some sort of tool to turn the tap. It looks dry at the bottom but I can see the underside of the drain is damp Around around the edge/lip. Not sure where this is coming from Or if it's just condensation?

 

[Belboz]

Right I have finally got the guts to just clear the and and mud and see what's there
it is the stop cock.
is there a way to move it? A plumber or someone to get it outside?
Or place a plastic sheet or something over the drain cover before replacing the sand and dirt. And then the slabs.? I just want to prevent the damp as much as possible.

On further inspection-I lifted the drain cover and the brass tap is down a lot further then I expected.couldn't get arm down there,would need some sort of tool to turn the tap. It looks dry at the bottom but I can see the underside of the drain is damp Around around the edge/lip. Not sure where this is coming from Or if it's just condensation?

Sounds like this could be your mains stopcock which requires a turnkey to operate. They are normally under a cover and set at a fair depth. Never seen one inside the boundary of a property but then I am no expert.

If this IS the mains entry main stopcock and there is a leak in the are then it needs to be sorted (are you on a water meter?)

I am guessing that if this is the mains stopcock (as opposed to the one inside the house) then you would need to contact the water company to assess and fix the leak.

However, as I said, I am no expert but I can say a few new pics would help.

B

 

[t3rm3y]

Thanks for reply. The reason it is inside is because the previous home owners have built a structure (I have no idea what to call it. it's like a cross between a shed and a sh!t conservatory).
I wouldn't say their is a leak. It all looks dry at the bottom but it seems like moisture must be getting in from under the concrete floor maybe (this would have been the concrete you would be stepping onto straight from existing the back door). But as it's all concrete and stone I just can't see where moisture is coming from.

Right I have finally got the guts to just clear the and and mud and see what's there
it is the stop cock.
is there a way to move it? A plumber or someone to get it outside?
Or place a plastic sheet or something over the drain cover before replacing the sand and dirt. And then the slabs.? I just want to prevent the damp as much as possible.

On further inspection-I lifted the drain cover and the brass tap is down a lot further then I expected.couldn't get arm down there,would need some sort of tool to turn the tap. It looks dry at the bottom but I can see the underside of the drain is damp Around around the edge/lip. Not sure where this is coming from Or if it's just condensation?

Sounds like this could be your mains stopcock which requires a turnkey to operate. They are normally under a cover and set at a fair depth. Never seen one inside the boundary of a property but then I am no expert.

If this IS the mains entry main stopcock and there is a leak in the are then it needs to be sorted (are you on a water meter?)

I am guessing that if this is the mains stopcock (as opposed to the one inside the house) then you would need to contact the water company to assess and fix the leak.

However, as I said, I am no expert but I can say a few new pics would help.

B

 

[Belboz]

It could just be condensation. The incoming cold water mains at this time of year will be pretty cold and I would guess that this 'lean-to' is warmer than the outside hence the condensation. As long as there are no leaks then fine.

Sill unusual in my experience as the usual setup is a water pipe from the road/street mains into the property with a mains stopcock from the road/street mains so that water can be shut off entirely. The incoming water mains will then have a stopcock inside the property so water can be isolated inside.

I've never seen a main stopcock in the actual property (front or rear garden) even if that is now covered over with the 'lean-to'.

However, it may well be different in your area.

Glad to see you got to the bottom of it (no pun intended!)

 

[t3rm3y]

Yeah thanks for the guidance. And for naming the building (someone had told me the name previously but I forgot what it was)
Would It make sense to remove the sand and dirt as it seems to retain the moisture/condensation and sometimes smells funky. I could just put something else down to keep the slabs level...