Project Details
Overnight, the ground floor of a house in a Welsh valleys village filled with water – without explanation. Despite a series of investigations, visiting construction and drainage professionals could not conclusively identify the source of the water. The problem would ease during dry spells and reappear during periods of wet weather, suggesting it was rising groundwater, potentially due to ground movement.
A temporary solution was provided by removing concrete in one corner of the living room, creating a sump from which water could be pumped out. In the meantime, the family was retricted to living upstairs during rainy periods.
AR Drainage was called in by an insurance claims advisor, keen to deliver a satisfactory long term solution for the homeowner. The company came up with an innovative solution – if the source of the water could not conclusively be found, then it would be possible to at least create a way of ensuring it could quickly drain away, rather than invade the home.
Due to its unique design, no public official would sign off the solution. They were, however, prepared to allow the project to continue, while the homeowner’s insurance company agreed to underwrite the project cost.
The concrete ground floor of the house was completely cut out and removed, and the earth beneath dug out by at least one metre more in depth – in places this was beneath the level of the existing footings of the home’s perimeter walls.
The AR team then installed a fanned arrangement of drainage channels, which fed into an existing storm and foul drain in the street outside. This was bedded in layers of porous material, then covered in less porous material, before a concrete capping was applied. A replacement insulated concrete ground floor with damp membrane was then reconstructed on top of this.
The relieved homeowner was able to return to normal life, once works were completed. In the years since the project was completed, the home has proved to be completely free from any flooding or damp issues.
