water underfloorboards who to seek advice off?

[johnsnow]

Ive just bought a new house (1970s detached bungalow) and found that under the floorboards is around 4" of clear water under the whole house - the space between the floorboards and the concrete foundation is around 3 feet.

So ive rented a puddle pump and pumped out all the water but as I got to the last few cm's I noticed water pouring back in.

The water appears to be coming through erroded mortar at the sides of certain bricks. From what I could tell it was happening portion of the house and in about 8 different places. The rate of flow in each instance was like a running tap which was pretty suprising! and refilled the void under the floorboards in no time.

Im guessing its probably the water table? the front of the house is stoned and when it rains you can see water puddling in it rather than draining/soaking away. The back and drive of the house is flagged and the drive tarmaced

One other thing to note is when it rains in my street and few surrounding streets water comes up out of the grids in the steet. Could it be a united utilities problem in the sense the main drains are blocked and consequently raising the water table?

Im really looking for advice on my next step and who too call? Should I call united utilities? any suggestions on my next move?

 

[OwainDIYer]

You can get the water tested by an analytical chemist who will tell you if it's ground water or mains water.

If it's mains water you've got a burst water main somewhere near.

If it's groundwater then dig french drains all round the house leading to a soakaway. Or move.

 

[stuart45]

Could well be a high water table. Nowadays the oversite concrete has to be higher than the highest point of the external ground levels, unless laid to fall into a drainage system.

 

[Nige F]

Ive just bought a new house (1970s detached bungalow) One other thing to note is when it rains in my street and few surrounding streets water comes up out of the grids in the steet. Could it be a united utilities problem ?

Im really looking for advice on my next step and who too call? Should I call united utilities? any suggestions on my next move?

Yes ring U U and kick ass They now are obliged to adopt your foul water drains round your house too If you don`t get anywhere on your own , round up some neighbours who have witnessed the water coming out the grids - good luck

 

[peterperfection]

Ive just bought a new house (1970s detached bungalow) One other thing to note is when it rains in my street and few surrounding streets water comes up out of the grids in the steet. Could it be a united utilities problem ?

Im really looking for advice on my next step and who too call? Should I call united utilities? any suggestions on my next move?

Yes ring U U and kick ass They now are obliged to adopt your foul water drains round your house too If you don`t get anywhere on your own , round up some neighbours who have witnessed the water coming out the grids - good luck

Thats good advice Nige- especially if it is in their ball-court and were so eager to snatch what they thought was another easy buck from consumers by adopting lots and lots of trouble free drains .

 

[johnsnow]

One thing I did do that I forgot to mention was I put fairy liquid down the outside drain and in one of the mortar gaps under the floorboards (one nearest the outside drain) bubbles came through - that would suggest a pipe from the drain outside was leaking? - the other 7 gaps further away just gushed normal water with no bubbles

Are United Utilities responsible for this part of my drainage? Im just wondering how to play it with them to get the best response?

 

[JohnD]

They now are obliged to adopt your foul water drains round your house too

No, they are only obliged to adopt drains which carry waste water from more than one house.

So if you live in a terrace of houses, where a common sewer runs under the back gardens, collecting waste from all the houses, then at the end of the terrace it goes out into the road, they have adopted the common sewer except for that part which serves only the one house at the far end.

The OP appears to have a detached bungalow, so most likely his drains are not shared, and go straight from his home to the street.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Under the new system the Water Authority are now responsible for all shared pipework, if you are the sole user of a section of pipe then it remains your responsibility.

If the gulley in question only takes wastewater from your property then it may well be down to you to fix, it depends where it is leaking, and if there are any other properties using the sewer at the point of leakage....

If there is a constant flow coming in under the floor, then for it to be coming from a leaking sewer would require a constant flow in that sewer. Does the gulley in question you have tested take rainwater, and indeed, is it raining where you are at present?

 

[johnsnow]

Under the new system the Water Authority are now responsible for all shared pipework, if you are the sole user of a section of pipe then it remains your responsibility.

If the gulley in question only takes wastewater from your property then it may well be down to you to fix, it depends where it is leaking, and if there are any other properties using the sewer at the point of leakage....

If there is a constant flow coming in under the floor, then for it to be coming from a leaking sewer would require a constant flow in that sewer. Does the gulley in question you have tested take rainwater, and indeed, is it raining where you are at present?

Yes it takes rainwater and it has been raining recently, the drain i tested seems to be around a foot from the top full of water (im unsure if this is normal) something else to note maybee the roadside drains on the street are all similar ie. you can see water in them and are about a foot to half a foot from the top of the drain.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Hmmmm, not so sure about the roadside drains, some have a 'rodding' eye at the outlet level, older types may not have this feature. If the rodding eyes are visible then the water is at the correct level in the pot, above this level indicates a blockage in the outlet pipe or main sewer.

Your gulley would depend on the level of the outlet, provided the water drains away then there is no problem with the gulley itself, however any broken drains need investigating and repairing ASAP. The fact you got the bubbles coming through under the floor from your test indicates a possible broken pipe nearby, as it appears to be a rainwater drain then this could account for some if not all of the problem.

Only positive seems to be its not a foul or combined sewer. Sewage under the house is not pleasant...

 

[johnsnow]

Hmmmm, not so sure about the roadside drains, some have a 'rodding' eye at the outlet level, older types may not have this feature. If the rodding eyes are visible then the water is at the correct level in the pot, above this level indicates a blockage in the outlet pipe or main sewer.

Your gulley would depend on the level of the outlet, provided the water drains away then there is no problem with the gulley itself, however any broken drains need investigating and repairing ASAP. The fact you got the bubbles coming through under the floor from your test indicates a possible broken pipe nearby, as it appears to be a rainwater drain then this could account for some if not all of the problem.

Only positive seems to be its not a foul or combined sewer. Sewage under the house is not pleasant...

Thanks for the advice. Should I get a drain specialist to send a camera down the drain? Whose would be the best sort of tradesman to diagnose the broken drain?