willard one
22nd Nov 2011, 03:44 PM
Hi folks. Am feeling its about time this problem was solved!
My house is Federation, cavity brickwork, slate roof, built on top of a sandstone and clay ridge in Sydney. Its a semi,west facing, built across a slight slope, on the highest side of the slope.The floor of the subfloor space is generally lower than the surrounding ground level, by about .5m at the lowest point. During extended periods of heavy rain, water enters the subfloor space through or under the highest section of the wall facing the street, then runs down to collect in the lowest point of the subfloor space.I have dug drains to constrain its flow, and a bit of a pit for it to collect in,to limit its spread. At times there has been up to 30cm of water there, several cubic M. I pump the water out asap.Water doesnt enter during a sudden storm, or a couple of days of wet weather. Its only when the surrounding soil is saturated, which takes up to a week of constant rain. Thankfully these periods of extreme weather are infrequent, but the space is damp and toxic most of the time.The lower, attached house doesnt have this problem.
The house sits 1.5M from the front boundary with paving against the front wall and a garden bed on the boundary.The ground on the unattached,highest side is completely paved with falls to stormwater drains and isnt the source of the water.
I began by replacing the stormwater connections to the street and adding larger vents, then Solarfans, but this didnt deal with the water. I installed an ag pipe system outside the house perimeter draining to a pit with a pump-out. This last reduced the frequency of the problem to a couple of events a year, but the problem remains. Any thoughts? Can anyone recommend a business who specialises in this sort of problem?
Best wishes for the silly season to all. Will
My house is Federation, cavity brickwork, slate roof, built on top of a sandstone and clay ridge in Sydney. Its a semi,west facing, built across a slight slope, on the highest side of the slope.The floor of the subfloor space is generally lower than the surrounding ground level, by about .5m at the lowest point. During extended periods of heavy rain, water enters the subfloor space through or under the highest section of the wall facing the street, then runs down to collect in the lowest point of the subfloor space.I have dug drains to constrain its flow, and a bit of a pit for it to collect in,to limit its spread. At times there has been up to 30cm of water there, several cubic M. I pump the water out asap.Water doesnt enter during a sudden storm, or a couple of days of wet weather. Its only when the surrounding soil is saturated, which takes up to a week of constant rain. Thankfully these periods of extreme weather are infrequent, but the space is damp and toxic most of the time.The lower, attached house doesnt have this problem.
The house sits 1.5M from the front boundary with paving against the front wall and a garden bed on the boundary.The ground on the unattached,highest side is completely paved with falls to stormwater drains and isnt the source of the water.
I began by replacing the stormwater connections to the street and adding larger vents, then Solarfans, but this didnt deal with the water. I installed an ag pipe system outside the house perimeter draining to a pit with a pump-out. This last reduced the frequency of the problem to a couple of events a year, but the problem remains. Any thoughts? Can anyone recommend a business who specialises in this sort of problem?
Best wishes for the silly season to all. Will