Identifying Drains

MattDen · Post by **MattDen** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 10:25 am

Morning, helpling my elderly neighbour with a problem with her kitchen floor. The boards running through the middle of the floor have become saturated over a period of several weeks. The dampest board seems to line up with a drain outside into which flows the grey water from her kitchen sink and washing machine. She says these were plumbed into the drain by a professional about 10 years ago. Having checked the drain to see if it was being overwhelmed I can't see anywhere for the water to flow away. It looks externally like a drain but seems to be nothing more than a Victorian airbrick. Picture enclosed. Anyone encountered this before? I feel like I am missing something given my neighbour says it was done by a reputable tradesman - surely he wouldn't have plumbed grey water into an airbrick.. would he ?

MattDen · Post by **MattDen** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 10:26 am

: 20200628_112434.jpg (415.09 KiB) Viewed 1549 times

wes56 · Post by **wes56** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:25 pm

Most people will do anything to anyone's property just so long as they can get away with it and take the money & run.
I've seen similar and much worse.

The air brick was originally set just above ground level - since then the ground has been raised quite high.
The DPC would have been bridged - a sand and cement plinth has been installed to prevent whatever damp is now penetrating the walls.
Best practice would be for the plinth to be removed and the ground lowered below the original DPC.

Any water entering through the air brick, and the bridged DPC will possibly be rotting the floor timbers.

Could the soil/debris in the floor of the air brick recess be lowered?
Nothing should discharge or drain into the air brick recess.
Water should only discharge into drainage or soakaways.

Can you post photos showing the outside kitchen wall, and inside the kitchen showing below the sink and the damp floor?

Bob225 · Post by **Bob225** » Sun Jun 28, 2020 1:29 pm

where does the pipe work in the kitchen run too, have you cleaned the debris out of that vent ?

Its a cast vent we had a fair bit of rain lately too

an alternative repair would be to rebuild the plinth and make a z vent with vent at the new level and cap the top