My downpipe just runs onto the ground at the back of the house does that seem right?

[Gary1111]

Hi, I have a stone cottage built around 1880, the downpipe from the cast iron gutter for all 4 houses in the row runs out onto the ground behind my house.

I am.getting mould behind my kitchen units on the back wall, and am wondering if this is the cause?

There's a drain nearby but I think it goes to the septic tank, so not sure if I should run the rainwater into it?

 

[aockenden]

Definitely not ideal. You want to keep all water as far away from the house as possible.

Downspouts should empty into gulleys which bring water to a soak away far from the house. Definitely don’t run it into your septic line, it’s not designed to handle that volume of water (especially during downpours) and could overwhelm the septic soak away and start backing up effluent higher up in the system.

 

[paulc]

Downspouts should empty into gulleys which bring water to a soak away far from the house.

I do like the Floplast debris gullies. They trap all the rubbish that might cause a blockage downstream in a little basket. Lift the lid once in a while, clear out the debris. Also a useful spot to watch water flow when it rains real hard. Fitting one in the space available my no be easy. Much depends on how deep the footings are.
Another thing that will be contributing to damp internally is the level of the concrete. Whilst you may not have a DPC, it looks to be too high in relation to the door threshold and will allow rain to bounce up soaking the wall. A Zebcolm Trench would be the answer there, but the gully for the kitchen waste would be in the way.

 

[Gary1111]

Definitely not ideal. You want to keep all water as far away from the house as possible.

Downspouts should empty into gulleys which bring water to a soak away far from the house. Definitely don’t run it into your septic line, it’s not designed to handle that volume of water (especially during downpours) and could overwhelm the septic soak away and start backing up effluent higher up in the system.

Thanks for your help, originally in 1880 is it likely to have a soak away somewhere?