Problem driveway and wet house :-( :-(

[cupra]

Hi all, looking for some advice, bit of an amature so bear with me please. Please help, all advice and critisism wanted please.

Got a big problem with our house, and no-one wishes to help or suggest anything sensible.

Firstly were trying to rectify a problem of damp and wet puddels/patches of soil under the floorboards mainly in one corner and wall. The room is very very damp and the walls are damp and black mold, hasnt got to the point of rotting joists etc yet.

Now how it looks outside:
Basically the ground level is the same as the damp course, the driveway slopes down to the offending corner and is basically just gravel on very hard soil and rubble about 3 inches deep. The side of the house where there is alot of damp around the chimeny breast is also level with the damp course level, this is slabbed and concreate. The external height is higher than the internal wooden floor.

Around 6 months ago a channel was dug out around the house about 10 inches deep and cement was thrown at the bottom ( i dont know if this was his purpous or he just wanted to get rid of his waste from another job??? its not put down in any fashion) and filled with gravel back to the dpc level. The channel is 6 inches wide and 10 inches deep. Since this the problem has got worse, the gravel is always wet and the walls look totally sodden when you move the gravel away. Inside the house the damp is far far worse and a de-humidifier is filled daily.

What we have thought of doing is digging the driveway up tottally, all the rubble old soil, bricks etc etc and renewing the gravel basically on the natural ground with that sheeting that prevents the gravel and soil mixing. I thought maybe 6 inches of gravel and take it up to the house wall but keep it three rows of bricks under the dpc.

And the same with the side of the house, dig it out very very deep and fill with gravel, i thought if the water can pass through the pathway and into the soil below maybe this would help?

All the drains have been replaced, so no leaks there. Water board pressure checks etc and the guttering, waste pipes are all new.

So do my crazy ideas sound viable???

Is it sensible to have gravel so deep?? And what drainage would help take the water away out the gravel?

I have checked the ground and at the side of the house the electric gas and water supply pipes arent very deep so i dont know how this would affect putting anything other than gravel? I think if gravel was acceptable then it could easily be two-three courses under the dpc.

Any suggestions???? I think ill take some pics if that helps???

P.S would my gravel idea be basically a french drain??? They seem to attract critism?

[Tony McC]

The basic idea of a French Drain-like structure is probably the germ of a good idea, but the construction detail would need to be a bit more technologically advanced than that of a French drain, which is little more than a trench filled with rubble.

I'd suggest some form of collector drain, but the excat spec can only be determined by an onsite investigation. As much as I'd like to, I can't give you a spec here. You need that investigation doing.

And you need an outfall. If a collector drain is installed, to where will it send its collected water? Is there a likely spot somewhere on your site?