Water entry through stone wall

[robp1969]

Hello All,

We've been renovating a house in France for the last 10 years, using a combination of French and English builders, and some DIY.

The back wall of the house used to have a soil pipe running down it, and once removed left a gaping hole in the wall. We visited for a long weekend (back in 2014) and there was torrential rain on our last night there. We woke at 2am to find the whole downstairs flooded, with the water entry point around the soil pipe hole.

We thought that the builder had filled it adequately, so ended up chucking a few stones and a bag of quick set cement in, as we were flying out that day and were unlikely to be back there for a while. We told the builder about the problem and he assured us that he would build the patio so that it would make water flow away from the house and into the well.

This hasn't worked, and the builder has left the area. I've uploaded a couple of photos, and would appreciate any advice on how to make the area more waterproof please.

I don't know if the well is overflowing, but intend to fit a pump and float valve to try to avoid this situation.

Thanks in advance of your advice,

Rob

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

That soil pipe that disapears into the ground, is it going to your septic tank? I think you must survey the locality and decide where the ground water runs to. The water level in your well will indicate your local water table. if your house is sitting inside a large bowl i.e. its surrounded by higher ground, then when there is a down pour the bowl will fill up quickly with water, which will slowly drain away. This is the problem with your pump idea, unless you have a spot that is lower then your patio, the water you pump out will after some time appear in the well or on the patio, it will give you a short breathing space. I would think that during the period of a downpour, the local soil becomes saturated, so it might take only minutes for the water to return to the well.
Frank

 

[robp1969]

Thanks for your answer Frank.
The back garden is a series of terraces, which as you note will eventually saturate and the water will end up at the patio. Unfortunately I think the French builders lowered the indoor floor level when they started the re-furb; this is something that we can little about now.
We don't have a septic tank; we are linked to mains sewerage (not so common in France) and I was hoping to use a pump to divert the water into their.
My main concern is how to block that leak through the stone wall, perhaps I'm better off concentrating on diverting the water first.

Cheers,

Rob

 

[Himaginn]

To divert the rain water, you can buy stuff like this to place in your terrasse floor, from Brico Depot, Leroy Merlin,etc.
You can attach 100mm pipe to take the water away to a lower point.

You can also buy pipe like this to allow the water to soak away. Obviously you'll need to surround the pipe with a suitable material and gravel, etc.

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

The patio needs cutting back and a drain put it next to the house wall, this should then be routed around the house or at least to the side so the excess water goes around the house to a lower point. it would be good if the lower end of the drain was open and at or above ground level, so the patio end can take a vast amount of water. if the lower end is just terminated in a soak a way then this could be overloaded in a downpour.
I had/have this problem in a cottage it has a 1/2mile long slope pointing at it which rises an extra 500 feet. The back of the cottage is cut 5 feet into this hill and at the back there is a sunken staircase leading to the back door. Twice in fourteen years the back room has flooded. I have a drain but it is a pierced gutter laying on top of a 4 inch land drain pipe wrapped in permeable material. So to cure this I have taken the gutter through a wall and down the lane to improve the water drainage capacity. Now we have to wait to see if it floods again. Though I don't have a plan C.
Frank

 

[robp1969]

Thanks All. You've given me food for thought and I'll have a think about how to best implement the options. The diverted soak-away in each terrace sounds like an easy first step. I'll have to work out how to route the pipes around the house without upsetting either neighbour!

The drain/gutter next to the wall is a bigger job, which I'll probably get a builder in for.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Himaginn]

We don't know the finish of your internal floor or the layout, but there's no reason why this pipe couldn't come straight through the house under, or embedded in the floor.
If you're thinking of this, put in two pipes. You never know if you're ever going to need another. It can be used for other reasons, besides water.

Another option is a sump and pump, although this might struggle to cope in a real downpour.