Water Leak / sitting water underfloor - Help!!!

[tiars]

Hi all, I seriously need some help as i dont know where to go next!!!

In a very short version without all the ups and downs i will try to remember all.

In december we noticed a foul smell downstairs so in January our insurance company came out and after a week or two it transpired that we had waste water underneath our floorboards. After removing our kitchen, floorboards and furniture they then replaced our gully drain and pipework leading to the manhole. They then put 4 dryers and humidifier to start the drying process.

We then noticed more water, after a few more weeks they said it was coming from our neighbours gully. Few weeks later this was fixed, but there is still water sitting in the corner of our kitchem parallel with next doors kitchen.

Called environmental services and they have said that it cant be coming from our house - so what could this be??

5 months down the line and we still dont know where this is coming from.

Please - any help is soooo welcome.

 

[stardanny]

Hi tiars.

Have they checked for burst water main, broken drains? Have they done a CCTV to check drain for holes, crack?

Can you see any water mark, stain, on wall below floorboard, water weeping from wall? Any telltale mark?

Might be groundwater....

Dan.

 

[tim00]

If possible, post a scanned, ground plan diagram, showing areas of concern for you and your neighbour. Show all gullies and Soil pipes, and waste and soil drainage positions and runs.
Also show both water service runs and entry points.

1. Are you located on a hillside? Or at the bottom of a slope?

2. Has any building or road works taken place recently?

3. Is this location or district a flood area?

4. Any other neighbour's reported similar disturbance?

 

[tiars]

Thank you soo much for a response.

Tim - i will update with pictures when i get home. We are mid terraced and yes on a slight slope so the neighbours house is slightly higher. Sadly no to all other questions.

Stardanny - yes we have had cameras down both gullies but we cant get access to our neighbours toilet manhole as they built a conservatory over it!! Loads of water tests done, dye etc.
When our drying team check the bricks floor level they were fine but under the floor the brick are still damp and yes there is a slight weeping from the wall but not the wall adjacent to garden its the wall thats the same side as our neighbours but they wont lift up their floorboards for us to check...argggh!
What can i do to determine if its groundwater and our insurance wont reinstate until this is all dry.

 

[JohnD]

I expect the pipe is broken under their conservatory.

When pipes and gullies crack or break it is often bacase there has been settlement (or wartime bomb damage), the houses have moved and the pipes haven't, and the old clay pipes and gullies crack. I used to live in a 1930's terrace where my soil pipe had broken at the first elbow; so had my kitchen gully. I dug them up and replaced them. Next time my neighbour had a bath the hole filled up with hot water because his had done exactly the same.

If you were to drill a hole in the party wall I expect water would come out.

You may be moving towards enforcement if he can't be bothered to deal with his problem. Your council might help as it will be unsanitary for his drains to be leaking, especially as it is affecting your house.

It might also be a leaking water pipe.

The water company can test the water and can identify traces of soap or sewage or chlorine in it so they can tell a drain leak from a water main leak from ground water.

See if your home insurance policy covers legal disputes.

In my case I built an underground wall to keep my neighbours bathwater from crossing the boundary until he agreed to fix it.