Drain/dampness problem

In our cellar, the outside wall is the corner is always damper than the rest of the walls.
I know the main drain for the house runs dwon the entry along where the dampness is.
The problem that I have is that the drain is shared with next doors outside toilet along with all of ours. I plan to dig down to locate the pipe and if I find it to be cracked, who's responsibility is it to pay for the repair(s)?
I heard somewhere that we only have to pay for the pipe from the house to where the shared part starts - the rest is council's / water boards responsibility - is this true?

I think you might be better on UK Legal Moderated with this one Mark but, AIUI, if the pipe is on your land, then it's your responsibility, if it's on your neighbours' land it's theirs and if it's in the street, don't bother phoning the council, they'll just have privatised the street that day <IMG SRC="http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussing/smileys/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

I might be wrong and your particular situation may be different.

In the meantime, is the water running in or is the wall just damp. If it's running, you could try a dye test. Failing that, and maybe a long shot, can you run water in the pipe for some considerable time and observe the patch to see if it gets wetter? Depending on the invert level, you could be digging for quite a while!

It's worthwhile considering that condensation forms readily in corners and can play a lot of tricks on you!

HTH

Patrick



http://www.pdoyle.net

Mark - check your deeds, as you may find that there is some lawful agreement re responsibilty there.

Up to your property boundary, it is the responsibility of the utility provider.

I believe if it were condensation it would manifest itself in the corners of the wall to wall and wall to ceiling first so I would discount that idea from the description you give.
I would dig first, its the simplest solution and will not take long even if it is fairly deep, after all its ground which has been dug before.
There is every chance it is a clay pipe which is either cracked or suffering from the mortar joints in the collars dropping out. Either way it should not be a difficult repair.
For a cracked pipe which is fractured but not dislodged get some "Denso Tape" from the builders merchants. Clear around the pipe and wrap it thoroughly around the affected area. If it is a shattered one replace a bit trickier you may need to enlist the help of a local builder.
For mortar dropped out of the collars clear out the loose all the way around the collar. Buy a bag of "rapid cement" and mix about 4 to 1 sand cement in small batches doing a collar at a time.
Only excavate underneath the collars and not the centre of the pipes if they are not cracked to avoid the pipe moving. Fill in the excavation with some tightly packed clean stone chippings.
It should not take to long to excavate and inspect, I would say its a dig it up and uncover the pipe run some water through it ad see what happens.
You may find the energy and time you use just getting on with it far less than chasing other people.
Good luck.



http://www.merchants-house.co.uk

Just a word of warning before you try Patrick's link - there are ads displayed on his homepage from which he earns commission before you even use his services.

I also found that following a visit to Patrick's homepage my PC became infected with spyware cookies - I guess his sponsors leave these lovely calling cards on your hard drive (without asking your permission, of course). And, yes, Windows allows this behaviour.

If you have visited Patrick's site I urge you to delete the cookies from your PC, or use a (free) program like Adaware to check if you have been infected.

Personally I now block spyware with a modified Windows hosts file - check out
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt.

Why do you think Patrick is so keen to respond first to a query on PPUK - from his love of Period buildings? No - to get you to visit his website and earn himself some cash. Oh and BTW - he can be rude and offensive - take care! Many of his more libellous posts on PPUK have been removed.

Please don't forget to tell Patrick that his old pal Nobby says hello!

Nobby me old bobby. That was an excellent post and I’m sure that PPUK and the entire Internet are much the wiser for it. I know I certainly am! I had no idea that Google put cookies onto your PC. At least I’m assuming it’s Google that’s doing it because I can’t see a true PP aficionado such a yourself actually clicking on an Adsense ad. You wouldn’t – would you? If you did, thanks for the dollars, but please, don’t do it again. I’d hate it if you caught something nasty.

Second thing is: well, shucks, you sussed it out (as usual) - I’m in this for the money. But, what I can’t quite figure out is whether an answer that’s given for purely ulterior purposes is worth any less than an answer that’s given for purely altruistic purposes. If both answers are helpful and informative (not that I’m saying they are), why should it be of any concern to the inquisitor? Isn’t he or she just there for advice?

Finally, there isn’t much point in warning someone of something that isn’t there any longer. Telling people that my ‘libellous’ posts have been removed is a cruel and unusual punishment. However, it does make them visit the site to see what you’re dripping on about. Even though you are but a shadow of your former self - I love you Nobby!

Patrick xxx



- Visit the site they don't want you to see -

'Helpful and informative' Jon - and that's such a great house! A really worthwhile site - your conservation ethos is commendable. I hope reading about it will inspire others.

So good to see a seriously at risk building being brought back to life, all the more so because it's obviously a building of great local importance and must have blighted the town for years (as well as national importance of course - II* listed).

The SPAB publishes a Technical Pamphlet on damp

Technical Pamphlet TP8 £4.00 inc P and P
Very informative - written by highly qualified people.

The Control of Damp in Old Buildings

The SPAB website isn't full of ads, it's not about commercial interest, and SPAB also offers a free advice line.

It's one of our national amenity societies and a registered charity.



A site worth visiting

Evelyn, what concerns me is that Patrick seems to spend all of his time watching the PPUK site - and is always going to respond first (as Nobby says, if he gets in first he will earn some cash whatever).

Does this mean that our other 'non-sponsored' regulars will see that Patrick has already dived into the thread, and not bother?

Does this mean that (eventually) PPUK damp advice will only be contributed by Patrick? He stands to make some cash from this site if this is true.

This is a sad time for the site - more serious to me than other trolls. Admin (Simon) - you need to sort this out!

Yes - makes you wonder when he gets time to visit clients! And before anyone suggests I spend all my time on a computer - yes I spend a fair amount of time in concentrated bursts - I'm currently researching for certain information to help further the cause of saving historic buildings. Possibly thousands of 'em! So that's taking time and keeping in touch with PPUK is a break from exciting websites like the House of Commons and the Boundary Commission.

I'm with you on this one though - although your post from last week saying someone as offensive as this you wouldn't employ has been removed (along with other parts of the thread) I heartily agree and there are parts of the website other than the ads I have some concerns with.

I hope our other posters will keep posting - clearly it is Patrick's aim to try to change the nature of the site, but I doubt that will happen.

Many of our other 'damp' posters are higly skilled and qualified professionals who haven't time to spend all day monitoring this site just in case.

I suspect though that Patrick's posts will not be the only ones on a topic - see Jon's detailed and useful response above.

Much of 'damp' isn't really rocket science but common sense anyhow. Many of us have years of experience in dealing with a number of the issues, allied to knowledge of the ethos of conservation and gentle conservative repair.

So what starts out with three good and helpful answers to a question once again gets turned on it's head and starts to have a dig (no pun intented) again at Patrick.
Come on, grow up. Patricks' link is to a business. Shock horror. He will charge for his time if you decide to use his services. Blimey thats strange. If you click on an add link on his site you don't pay anything so whats wrong with that. Cookies mean you don't have to log on every time you visit this site. If you don't want cookies, disable them or don't go on the net, simple.

Charles - I suspect that you aren't as totally up to speed on this issue as some of us are!

Let's just say trolls are not pleasant people to have on a forum. It's clear Patrick's presence on this site has a fair bit more to do with trolling than with damp. That's why he's so keen to get people to contact him off site.

And some of the stuff removed last week wasn't about damp but was vile.

Not a person I'd have anywhere near my house.

Very up to speed thanks Evelyn.

I have a look on this site nearly every day and have done for the past couple of years.

Including all of the removed posts and threads - and off site stuff ? I think possibly not quite as informed as some posters now are!

I urge caution. Trolling isn't good for the health of a website. Which is of course its purpose.

If Patrick was wrong to put his weblink on his posts then the owner of this site should be the one to tell him. It is very simple.

What goes on off site is none of my business.

I believe that those who contribute regularly and from altruism to this forum should also be listened to.

It's clear that many do not want the site commercialised in this way.

I've heard that some of the people at SPAB actually earn money for the work they do. This is only a rumour, but if found to be true it would make me question their independence. Please tell me it isn't true - I thought they did it for love alone. Its such a shame that people are forced into these so-called "jobs" with commercial enterprises just to pay for food, clothing, and shelter.



http://www.rcpbml.org.uk/

SPAB, as with all the amenity societies, is not a commercial organisation but a charity.
In order to carry on its work day to day it has a core of paid employees - although as with all the amenity societies those employees could get paid rather more elsewhere so in some ways yes they do it for love. Some also are voluntary Trustees etc of other conservation organisations.

The SPAB free helpline is exactly that - free - and no-one at SPAB will be making money out of it. It's members subs and donations and legacies which keep that going. Some government funding also - for its statutory work in responding to listed building applications.

However. all the amenity societies and allied conservation organisations have many, many volunteers - Trustees, committees, and those who help in other ways. They don't gain anything financially from their work.

I have absolutely nothing to gain on a personal level by posting links to SPAB and suggesting that use is made of its services.

mmm... Government Funding.

So we have consensus?

You speak for everyone...

I think not...

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