After the snow and rain our basement area which houses the central heating boiler got flooded. Not the first time and maybe not the last.

We have had several suggestions on what to do from installing a pump which has been done. Although only a lash up. Also bought a 2 stroke as well.

Also been advised to re - concret the area with a membrane but this sounds like a lot of work as the boiler would need to be re-sited and lifted, it weighs a ton.

The last one given was a French Drain which I understand is a soak away. But am I right?

Can Mikehev advise maybe. Whats involved and what are the possible costs.

hi Toby
I am not a builder, just someone who has had building work done to cure exactly the same problem that you have.
My basement is partially underground, and floods to a couple of inches deep after prolonged heavy rain. There is evidence at the top of the plot that work has been done in the past to divert water away from the top of the sloping plot.
We had the basement tanked last summer, and a new reinforced concrete slab poured, which has been tiled. Unfortunately as the ground under the house dried out the slab settled, shrunk, and pulled away from the walls at a couple of places, so the tanking has failed.
The source of my problem is water running downhill from a 600 yard long downhill plot, collecting on the surface of the garden which has been levelled by decades of cultivation. This forms a lake which soaks down into the clay soil, under the house, and into the basement.
To cure it we need to dig drains round the house, to lead the water away from the house and further downhill to a storm drain just outside the end of the plot.
For this we need:
A friendly digger driver (you know who you are )
Perforated drainage pipe BGN 2.20 per metre on a 50 metre roll from ABC
Small stones to back fill the trenches BGN 15.0 per tonne from the quarry (plus transport)

Dig a trench deeper than the basement no closer than a couple of metres away from the footings, lay the pipe on a bed of the small stones in the bottom of the trench, then backfill the trench with the stones.

I'm ready to be corrected but I understand the difference between a soakaway and a french drain is the soakaway collects the water where it is and just lets it soak into the ground, where a french drain has a pipe at the bottom to take the water away from the problem area to a spot where it's no longer a problem.

Hope this helps

Keith

Spot on Keith as soon as the weather is better i will be there



Mike

Thanks Keith. I am arranging for the very same man to come and look at mine.

Forgive me for asking but what is a French drain ?

Mike is the expert

But it is a place where excessive water will gather rather than collect in your basement Simple explanation but maybe all that is required. Read Keiths post that is more technical.

Definition of Expert no reflection on anybody:-

Ex....................... Un known quantity

Spert.................. Drip under pressure

Good question nu2bg I don't know what a French drain is either

So basically it's a soak away ?

Thank you all I think I understand now

Massive soak away I think. But I'm not an expert in fact until yesterday I'd never heard of one

All I do know is that about 2 - 3 weeks ago I had enough water in my basement to re-float the QE2.

If one of these will stop that happening then thats great news for me. I only have little legs and the water was coming in over the top of me Irish wedding boots. We could have cried but there was no point in adding to the amount of water.

tonyb60 wrote:

water was coming in over the top of me Irish wedding boots. We could have cried but there was no point in adding to the amount of water.

Sorry but I couldn't resist that but as you say no point in crying

sarah

Thanks Sarah. Takes less facial muscles to laugh than to frown. Be happy we are a long time gone

Would much rather make someone laugh than cry. Had to be serious when I was working. But even then there was always the lighter side.

I think we are becoming more Bulgarian by the day, nothing gets to us now. Just to think in less than 2 months we will be saying I wish it would rain as its too hot

I know what your saying we never see to be happy with the weather no matter what it's like

sarah

Please take a look at this site it will explain all about a soakaway,and a french drain,hope it helps
[url=http:
//www.
diydoctor.
org.
uk/projects/frenchdrains.
htm:2p1ecz6p][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Mike

Thanks Mike read and understood. Makes perfect sense as well.

Tony