Flooding cellar

[Tracyo]

We have a large detached Victorian house with 2 cellar rooms. we have lived here 18 yrs and it has flooded coming up through the drains with clear water. Previous owners said it happened a couple of times and was caused by a waterlogged field opposite the house and it is resolved by the council clearing drains. We had done this a couple of times but they say we have to fit a non return valve which we did in 1 room but the other they couldn't fit it due to the angle of the pipe so they capped it off and concreted over it.
Next heavy rainy day both rooms were flooded again! They gave us our money back and said you'll never be able to resolve it! We are distraught as we are hoping to sell the house but want to resolve this first. CCTV is not an option due to the angles of the pipes ( 3 companies tried).
We think the only option is to dig up the cellar to investigate all pipework but who do you get for that? Most drainage companies only do straightforward repairs or jet washing!
Any help gratefully appreciated.

 

[LadyArowana]

Did water come up through both sides or only through the non-capped off side and flow across to the other room? Is the field you mention supposed to function as some sort of soak away?
Not sure if it’s common where you are but in London the whole “iceberg basement” type works are not unusual and those involve a lot of digging out, perhaps it would be a two stage process for you, one lot to do some digging and then a drainage specialist.

 

[Cubist]

There is always more than one way to skin a cat. Have your previous contractors only tried to install the Non Return Valve from 'inside' the cellar? Could the pipes be excavated / exposed somewhere outdoors and the NR valves installed there? It may be a trifle costly but it should be possible to dig an Inspection Pit outdoors to expose the pipes to allow installation.

 

[Tracyo]

Did water come up through both sides or only through the non-capped off side and flow across to the other room? Is the field you mention supposed to function as some sort of soak away?
Not sure if it’s common where you are but in London the whole “iceberg basement” type works are not unusual and those involve a lot of digging out, perhaps it would be a two stage process for you, one lot to do some digging and then a drainage specialist.

Thank you for answering. Yes the water is coming up the drain that the rains and the other side which has been capped off and concreted over. We can't pinpoint exactly where.
The field opposite is council owned with a small playground in one part of it for the village. I don't think it is a soak away.
We have never had any work done on the cellar prior to this. It is in its original condition.

 

[Tracyo]

There is always more than one way to skin a cat. Have your previous contractors only tried to install the Non Return Valve from 'inside' the cellar? Could the pipes be excavated / exposed somewhere outdoors and the NR valves installed there? It may be a trifle costly but it should be possible to dig an Inspection Pit outdoors to expose the pipes to allow installation.

No they have not tried to put them in outside . As they couldn't use cctv they said it was like a needle in a haystack!

 

[Cubist]

I may be making a big assumption here but... if drainage pipes from your cellars are of the solid walled variety, i.e. the pipes walls are not perforated by design to allow water to enter them below ground, then the only way water can 'back up' to emerge in your cellars is when the overall water level rises to a level higher than the tops of the indoor drains. That would suggest that the exit point for those pipes must be open to water entry somewhere on a direct and downhill line from your property. Are there any ditches around the field you mention? If so the pipes may exit there and would explain why it's only during periods of prolonged and heavy rain that you are having problems.

 

[a twig]

No they have not tried to put them in outside . As they couldn't use cctv they said it was like a needle in a haystack!

Sounds like they couldn’t be arsed - you literally dig a trench down the other side of the cellar wall to locate the pipes externally and then follow the pipes out from there to the point where you want to do your works.

Funnily enough I saw a drain survey company the other day advertising a mapping service where they flush a small transmitter down (looks like a car fob) and then track that above ground. Typically I can’t find it again but other options that don’t involve the usual SONDE line and camera being shoved down do exist.

 

[a twig]

This video form the other side of the pond shows what I was banging on about:

WARNING: I’d recommend not watching this while eating your tea as it shows contents of a septic tank

As long as you can get enough access internally to get it in there and then a bucket of water to whoosh it along you’ll find the external pipe

 

[Tracyo]

I may be making a big assumption here but... if drainage pipes from your cellars are of the solid walled variety, i.e. the pipes walls are not perforated by design to allow water to enter them below ground, then the only way water can 'back up' to emerge in your cellars is when the overall water level rises to a level higher than the tops of the indoor drains. That would suggest that the exit point for those pipes must be open to water entry somewhere on a direct and downhill line from your property. Are there any ditches around the field you mention? If so the pipes may exit there and would explain why it's only during periods of prolonged and heavy rain that you are having problems.

Yes there are some ditches, so it may be a possibility.

 

[Tracyo]

This video form the other side of the pond shows what I was banging on about:

WARNING: I’d recommend not watching this while eating your tea as it shows contents of a septic tank

As long as you can get enough access internally to get it in there and then a bucket of water to whoosh it along you’ll find the external pipe

That sounds good and would save a lot of unnecessary digging . Will try and find it! Thank you.

 

[Tracyo]

 

[Stevers]

Yes there are some ditches, so it may be a possibility.

If it's supposed to drain to a ditch and the ditches aren't being cleared (pretty much the norm now), then that could be why it backing up in wet weather.

 

[Tracyo]

Yes I think so but we thought the non return valve was the answer. Assuming there is another pipe feeding into the one we have fitted with valve . No other explanatory it is still leaking!

 

[Cubist]

If there is an outfall into a ditch it may be possible to install a Non Return Valve there to prevent future ingress when the ditch floods.

 

[Tracyo]

Thank you. I think we will have to try and investigate exactly where the pipe goes.