Leak through steps into cellar?

[victorian225]

Hello all, new to the forum so hope I am not asking something that has already been asked before.

I have a Victorian mid terrace built 1898. On the path leading up to it, there is the old coal chute cover which opens into the cellar. Then there are three steps leading up to the house itself. The steps are over the cellar. When it rains, quite a bit of water is coming through into the area below the steps. A bit is coming through the coal chute, but only a bit. There is still a lot more coming in but I cannot tell where from. Looking at the steps from the outside, there is a crack in one of them. Additionally, the top step (which leads to a small tiled area) does not finish flush to the tiles, which could be allowing water in (?). When I feel the underside of the steps in the cellar, there is water on part but not all of them.

Has anyone seen this sort of thing before. It only happens when it rains so i know it is not a leak. If so, is there a solution. My current thought is to get the steps plastered with a weatherproof coating to seal them from the outside.

Many thanks for any advice offered

 

[Feltwell]

Welcome to the forum. Some pictures would help everyone visualise your problem, if you could post some up.

 

[livias]

I think that covering steps with waterproofing mortar is not going to work. They get heavy wear and it would look tatty in no time and the leak place is probably where they get most wear and so it would start leaking again.
I'd leave it until the spring, then use a mortar of sand with NHL 3.5 or maybe NHL5 and maybe some black cement pigment to tone down the colour. Open up the cracks to 10mm above and below if possible trying to make them wedge shaped so the mortar gets locked in then pack hard with a fairly dry and well compacted mix.

 

[MatthewC]

I agree with livias.

What are the steps made of? If there is a gap between the top step and the tiles then water WILL get in, especially in some of these heavy rainstorms that we seem to be getting more and more often. In such events it really is critical that every effort is made to get that water away from an old building quickly.

Matthew

 

[Zebra]

I'm wondering whether you could try experimenting to find out more, before doing anything irreversible.
To see whether the water really is coming from the steps, could you cover the areas concerned - the crack/the edge of the top step - with a rubber mat, or small tarpaulin, or piece of plywood, or perhaps squirt in some clear silicone (it can be pulled away again reasonably easily without too much staining). Then wait til it rains and see what occurs. You might be able to diagnose the problem a bit more accurately.
If you use waterproofer over cracks I fear they will only open up again, and possibly make things worse as it then prevents moisture from evaporating.
Also, could there be any faulty guttering, downpipes or similar in the area, which might mean copious amounts of rainwater being directed towards the area? It's sometimes a good idea to head outside in a downpour, with a raincoat or umbrella and a torch, and observe where all the rain is going.

 

[victorian225]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

Guttering is not an issue, the gutters head down on the opposite side of the house and have been recently cleaned out, have never had significant amounts of water in this area compared to others.

Interestingly, the inside remains wet even when it is not raining, which makes me things that they are actually holding water in some way (!?). I have a radiator in the cellar which helps keep it from getting damp. i also have a space heater that I use to try and speed the process up once it rains as well. Its partially effective.

I am trying to attach photos but they are too big, even when I scale them down to just 557kb. any advise as to how to upload them?

I have stuck them all in a google drive folder and shared that for viewing here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwUqD63k_-2aY2VQY0lzUmxodHM&usp=sharing

 

[MatthewC]

Thanks for the photos. Hmmm, there's a lot of cement on those steps isn't there? They look in pretty good condition, which is more than can be said for your neighbour's side!

I assume that the area shown is above the level of the pavement and road, and that the cellar is dry other than the water ingress near the steps. Can you be more precise about where the water is appearing under the steps? If it's towards the neighbour's side then I would say that their steps and path are the main issue; if it's on the other side towards your window then I would suspect that little corner to the right of the steps as a good place for water to gather. Another worry is that dip in the tiles at the top of the steps - is that an open porch with your front door out of shot? What are the tiles laid on? If it's wet under those tiles then your problem is from the house not the steps.

 

[malcolm]

The water on the underside of the steps in the photos looks like condensation to me. Presumably the steps are cooler than other surfaces in the basement so water condenses on them. Have you tried running a dehumidifier in the basement? If it gets worse when raining then there probably is some water ingress somewhere, but that would be easier to trace when the condensation is fixed.

 

[Zebra]

I wonder whether the cement coating on the steps is original, or whether it was added later. It is probably slowing down the rate of evaporation of the dampness in the stone after rain, but the dampness may always have been there. Dampness was tolerated in houses, particularly in the cellar, more than it is now.
I agree with malcolm though, that it may well be condensation. The edges of the steps are likely to be colder, which is perrhaps why it gathers more there. In which case further waterproofing will only make things worse.

 

[victorian225]

Thanks all. I will invest in a dehumidifier I think as I believe it is condensation on the underside of the steps. It may just be that the seal around the coal chute entrance that you can see is useless and that is the only place that water is coming in. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be used to seal this and make it watertight?

 

[Lewis Tiffany]

It looks like the dip in the tiles to me on the top step . water is soaking into the stone steps and working its way down under the cement coating .
Once it gets permanently wet it will keep condensating on the inside .
A waterproof coating on the outside will stop any water in the stones from evaporating
Try a temporary fix on top of the tiles until warmer weather then re level and refix the tiles.