Still leaking..:( help please

[Dougie212]

Hi guys...

So, i recently posted about water spilling out of my gulley... Ive built a surround for the gulley, fed waste pipes into it deeper and covered with a leaf cover... all sorted.. or so I thought.

I still have damp along the brick line of my house.. Both soil pipe and drain pass along this wall ( as you can see in the picture).. so i'm guessing that something is leaking underneath the ground... It would appear that the soil pipe is wetter......... but the whole stretch seems pretty damp.

Does anyone have any suggestion where to start looking for leaks? We recently had a link fitted in the soil pipe to negate an old joint and Im wondering if when the chap (CLOWN!!) was doing it he's disturbed something and its slowly leaking. Im happy to get digging and see, but just wondered if from the picture anyone had any suggestions where to start..

Many thanks as always,
Dougie

 

[Burnerman]

I had a similar issue.....when I dug at the base of the soil pipe, there was a chunk of material missing out of the salt glaze gully due to heavy handling of the soil pipe. I was able to encase the thing in cement as a temporary measure but 6 years later it's still dry.
John

 

[Dougie212]

hmmm... i think im not going to avoid digging the whole lot out and exposing it all... I did hope it would be where the soil pipe goes into the crock but I cant see anything obvious...... that said, I need to have a proper look. My theory was it was leaking slightly there and running along the brick course.... but it all seems so wet...

 

[KenGMac]

Dougie212, good evening.

Given we are in the middle of what for us is a DRY heat wave?? to have a damp line such as we see in your posted images appears to indicate an underground drainage issue,

Given the work you have undertaken to date, around the gully, building up, and leaf guard, one of the last ports of call as regards the gully in effect backing up could be a partly blocked underground drain or some sort of a blockage and an undergone leak.

you may be aware that your home Insurance could do several things, these being.
1/. Undertake a CCTV Survey of the underground pipework
2/. Excavate and repair any leaks found during the CCTV survey.

As an aside? do you have a form of Insurance provided by your Utility Provider? that covers white goods break down, Electrical problems and drains and water feed issues? if so ask them to undertake a CCTV survey of all the pipes in the immediate area.

Ken

 

[JohnD]

dig them out. Quite likely both have cracked and broken where the clay bend or gully turns from vertical to horizontal.

I'd say it is so common as to be universal.

Perhaps there is a district somewhere in the country where it doesn't happen, but it looks like you aren't in it.

You see where the mortar is missing between the bricks? That's typical of long-term leakage. While you're working, hose out the mud and grit, and re-point them fully. You can get a mortar pointing gun now that makes it easier than using a tiny trowel.

Have you found red worms in the mud yet?

 

[Dougie212]

Thanks ever so much guys!! I’ll get my shovel out later and set to digging later... depending on what I find, is the joint between the crock and the pvc waste pipe difficult to replace? It looks shoddy and pretty crappy as it is but in honesty doesn’t feel damp enough to be the cause of the leak... and sits really really close to the wall... so close it’s touching...

 

[JohnD]

The pot will join to the underground pipe, there is probably a clay socket that will be broken. There are various plastic joints to repair it, with "rubber" seals or sleeves. Let's see what you find.

 

[Dougie212]

Brilliant.. thanks John!! Stay by your computer for the next few days.... I'll be starting the great dig soon...

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Possible there is very little jointing those old salt glazed pipes, and once disturbed, they will simply fall apart. Depending on depth, you may be just as well to expose as much as you can to get away from the house, and replace with plastic.

 

[dilalio]

Dig yourself plenty of wiggle room... If you try just a small hole you'll only end up making a bigger one but with more work than you needed to do!

 

[Dougie212]

Thanks everyone... i was gutted when the damp continued after my efforts at sorting the waste pipes going into the grid didnt fully solve it, although, I do think they were a contributing factor, and disguising a clearly bigger issue with the underground drainage... Work is a bit manic at the minute so I think it'll be friday before I start digging... but I have got the idea into my head to expose as much as I can and replace.... I'll keep you all posted, so stay by your computers, all of you....... just incase I get stuck!!... your all ace..! thanks!!

 

[Dougie212]

So.. I just wanted to make a little update on my post, as so many people offered some fantastic advice when I initially posted it.... Finally, today, after finishing numerous other jobs, I had some time on my hands after work so thought I would start digging a bit just to start tracking the route of the pipework and......... came across the issue in the picture...!! Now... from the soil that Ive moved so far it would appear that water is coming out of that break, back towards the drain grid, and running along the house... (my theory).. As ive started, do people think Im best served to just expose everything I can within reason and check it? At the moment Im looking to replace the joint and maybe the grid?? What are your thoughts guys??

 

[Ian H]

If it wasn’t too hard to dig I would carry on to a point where the gully and soil pipe drains meet and replace the lot with plastic.

Use an AC4000 to connect plastic to clay and an DC115 to connect the plastic to cast.

 

[Dougie212]

Thanks for your reply Ian... I was thinking of changing the gulley as-well, as I cant be sure that even that isnt cracked at the back as its backed up to the wall.. I am wondering how there was ever a secure joint between the pipe and the gulley with it being at such an angle..

 

[Ian H]

I would say not.