Tanking Question

[Facebook Guest]

Hi i was recently caught up in the Boxing day floods I live in a flat that is about 3 ft below ground both houses either side are just cellar's, i live in a row of 5 houses behind the houses and high above are fields and the houses sit in front of hills, because there was so much rain there was a lot of ground water and the sewers couldn't cope so the water rose up through the ground into the first house it then went through to the next and ended up in my flat and settled at a level of about 8 inches with nowhere to go i've read that tanking may cure this.

My question is do i need to do the whole floor area of the flat or just the bottom of the walls all round, because as i wasn't home when it happened Ive got no idea whether it all came through from next door or through my front walls and up through the ground of my flat as well, many thanks

 

[wessex101]

Normal tanking such as cavity drain membrane or waterproof renders are really only intended to cope with normal ground water levels.

To combat extreme groundwater flooding you would have to effectively build an inside out swimming pool which would probably be prohibitively expensive.

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Yes during the period of high water level, your tank would try to float in the ground water. The edges of the tank are held down by the weight of the house via the walls, but the centre of the floor would crack upwards. this is what happens when you drain a swimming pool - happened to a friend of mine. All so the height of the tanking must exceed the highest water level and is complex around power points.
Frank