MattN

I've got a flat in a convert manor house.

Turns out the cellar gets a bit wet and has been up to 2 feet of water in there.

Now then, the management company have stated that this is normal as there are gullys to take the water away. My point was they can't be working then if it's that deep.

Has anyone heard of this. I wasn't aware houses were supposed to fill with water. I think they are trying to get out of fixing it but I can't see why, if it gets worse the repair bill will be more ...

David Lock

I've never lived an a manor house but I think it is safe to say this is not "normal"!

Next thing they will be saying is that the rat infestation is to be expected.

Do you know where the water is coming from? Assume this happens after heavy rain and sounds like a groundwater problem. Is it a low lying place?

It will be down to money as usual. What the management company should do is to pay for a surveyor's report and recommendations. It might just be a case of clearing some gulleys, whatever they are (and where do they drain to?), or a BIG job trying to prevent the ingress of groundwater. Obviously the surveyor would check other possibilities like a leaking mains water pipe or roof run-off drains going into a blocked sump. There's always fish farming I suppose dl

Snazy

Not common, but as far as im aware IS normal for some buildings. Will do some digging about, but know older properties, country properties did experience this.

MattN

they do try and get out of everything, which is surprising really as it doesn't really cost them anything (except for the social housing element) as we pay maintenance for it.

If it helps property was built late 1800's - I expect some water in there but not as much as 2 ft!

warrenm2

depends on the local water table. If its a real problem the cellar can be "tanked" ie sealed, but thats not cheap. Happens in the US a lot, they just fit pumps to pump out the water as it enters the cellar

speedking

If the cellar is tanked then it would become buoyant which may not have been a design criteria, leading to structural failure Presumably the space is useless.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

i want to be able to challenge our factors and/or sack them. unfortunately we need to set up a residents association to even make them think about bucking their ideas up but everyone else is too idle or the places are rented.

anyone got any ideas on what we could do? its a license to print money really.

5t.

David Lock

It might be feasible to dig out a small sump and chuck in a small submersible pump that kicked in when water level rose to a certain level. It could pump out to main drainage system if there is one. Cellar would remain dampish but you shouldn't get 2 ft of water any more. dl

Puppetmaster

Almost bought a house in Wales where the cellar flooded - however there were gulleys and it drained relatively quickly...
In our current house we have two small rooms underneath the pavement which do leak occasionally under heavy rainfall... we did consider tanking the rooms but were coming up with estimates around £9 - £ 14 000 - which we couldnt justify...

speedking

Define small If its a groundwater issue then depending on the rate of inflow you might need a large pump turned on for quite a period of time Also pumps turning on and off through the night could be more trouble than its worth.

jjones

paint the walls blue and use it as an indoor pool

David Lock

How on earth would I know having no idea of the scale of the problem?

Guess. Sump 4 ft deep being a perforated pipe aligned vertically 9 inch in dia. Pump like the one in a fish pond being 10,000 litres an hour. I assume water seeps, rather than floods, in. Quiet as a mouse. Need a pump with suitable head characteristics if cellar is deep. If it doesn't work blame it on the resident ghost