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Hi guys,
I was hoping some for advice on how we can rectify this issue or who we should contact to help us sort this issue out. Renovating an old house and we’ve inherited quite a bit of rubbish like old sheds and building materials outside. We were about to put a PAX wardrobe in today and found the floor was leaking some water underneath from the rain. On the other side it looks like this (picture attached). The gutters don’t seem to be leaking (from what we can tell) but I’m assuming the issue is that we have this weird cutout in the concrete right up against the house that is catching all the water.
A few questions:
1. Would filling it in with more concrete and redoing the drain higher up work?
2. if so, should we slope the concrete away from the house?
3. In the meantime (while we remove the shed and things against the wall to get access) is there anything we can do seal it the wall so it stops letting in water?
4. Can we do this project ourselves or should we call in a professional and is so who?
Hi @marthaishka,
It's a bit of a complicated issue to deal with because the concrete slabs supporting the shed and rainwater tank are in a way funnelling water towards the house. This is not ideal, and I would be inclined to remove these concrete slabs if at all possible.
Is it possible to get some wider shots of the area to get a broader perspective?
Ultimately, we need to limit the amount of water that can get near the walls and more specifically, where the brick meets the concrete foundation.
Is this section I've highlighted below the foundation of the house?
If not, is there a location that shows where the bricks meet the concrete that they sit on?
I would suggest having a drainage channel installed against the wall that sits below the level of the foundation. This would mean cutting a channel into the concrete so the top of the drain can sit below the level of the foundation. This drainage channel should then be plumbed to your stormwater outlet by a licenced plumber.
While this drain is being installed, you'll want to apply Bastion 4L Exterior Waterproof Membrane over the join between the bottom course of bricks and the foundation. This will create a barrier to prevent water seeping through this crack which is the likely location of ingress.
Unfortunately, this job is best left to the professionals. I would suggest contacting a plumber who has the capacity to cut concrete. You will want to have the channel cut, and then apply the membrane to the length of the wall before installing the drainage channel.
This is the best plan I can see from the information provided, but a plumber may be able to assess things better in person and offer a solution. I'd suggest contacting a plumber and mentioning what I've suggested above. They will be able to assess this plan and offer their recommendations.
Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Also, allow me to tag @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their thoughts.
Jacob
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