HELP - Cellar Flooding / Sump pump not suitable?

[Ashley0297]

Hello,

I am in desperate need of some advice regarding my cellar on my 200 year old cottage.

Every bad storm or heavy rainfall we get I am getting water coming into the cellar (from beneath the steps / in the middle of the floor it is rising)

Although it never gets high enough to cause a lot of damage I am having to use a wet vaccum to suck the water up and deposit it outside - this can go on for several hours hoovering after a particularly bad storm.

I’ve had a few people round to look at it and as far as I know there is no sump pump installed for any of the cottages (I am in a row of 5 and practically in the middle) I will provide the quotations I have been given.

The issue I am finding is that the nearest drain to me is further up the road and several companies have refused to add a drainage channel / sump pump as they wouldn’t be able to dig up half the pavement to hook it up to the drain (I will include pics)

One company suggested installing the sump pump and having it come out the front of the house but I would need to contact the council to see if a drainage channel could be put into the pavement to make the water drain to the road as they said they have had incidents before where the water will spill out the front of the property and with icy conditions end up freezing and people have slipped over and broken there leg ..

The cottage is around 200 years old and hasn’t fallen down in all this time - my neighbour next door has her cellar tanked (only pea gravel drainage channel and some membrane against the walls) no water is coming into her cellar at all (despite her gutters being clogged and overflowing) - she has no sump pump installed.

I have since paid for my neighbours guttering to be emptied and although maybe slightly less water is coming in .. it’s still coming in from under the steps from her side - is having hers tanked pushing more water into mine?

What am I to do? I love the look of the natural stone and that it hasn’t been altered in all this time - is it theoretically even possible to tank this with a pump being so far away from the drain? I’m getting sick to death of having to hoover up water!

I’m getting a lot of efflorescence in the stone I’m guessing from the water being constantly soaked into it?

Should I run a dehumidifier down there or a fan?

Any help or suggestions is much appreciated!

Thank you !

 

[Robola]

That drainage system looks less than ideal, does it all reach the road when it rains or puddle up in front of the buildings? Are any of the old coal shoots or air bricks letting water in? If you can see it entering any openings in a downpour could you add a tracer dye?

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm probably missing something here but why does the water need to be pumped to an outside drain?

Presumably the cottage has internal drainage, eg a kitchen sink, so why can't the pump outlet be piped to that?

 

[Lacan07]

There's no point them moaning about the potential for an icey winter accident if they run the water to the drains when there's clearly already rainwater guttering feeding into pavement gullies lol (see photo)

 

[Cubist]

There's no point them moaning about the potential for an icey winter accident if they run the water to the drains when there's clearly already rainwater guttering feeding into pavement gullies lol (see photo)

And, given that air-brick immediately above the pavement it would be fairly easy to route the exit pipe through the wall and then on to that gulley. Clearly those boys didn't even look outside the house.

 

[fernicarry]

potential for an icey winter accident

maybe the discarded butter knife near the bottom of the picture is to help with de-icing...