Hi - firstly what a great informative site! Secondly I apologise for all the info I'm about to give! I have an old Victorian terrace in Carlisle which has a concrete yard that runs down to the house. In the yard there's a square manhole type cover and a normal outside drain. There's also a utility room and some old attached outhouses. The back of the house has always felt slightly cold but never damp. The yard is slightly higher than the lounge where it meets the outside wall and as I say it slopes down from the top of the yard. Bad design!. I've rented the house out for two years and twice at least now the utility room has flooded where water has gathered by the back door when the drain has not coped and this I now know has seeped into the lounge (which is 2 inches lower). I've pulled the laminate up in both rooms to the concrete below. The laminate underlay and skirting boards were wet. The outside house wall now has flaking santex and also green slime at the bottom. The new damp inside the house runs in one particular line three feet up from the ground on the outside wall along a channel where new electrics were installed 5 years ago. The plaster in there is a strange white sticky substance that feels damp. The rest of the wall is fine.
So - what is my plan? I'm sure I need some kind of drainage channel where the sloping yard meets the house. The whole yard slopes into the corner by the back door whic can't be good for the door or house wall. My question is if so - what kind of drain? Channel? Right next to the house wall or further up yard? where do I connect it to - the manhole? How do I do that? And roughly how much would it cost to have done? And can I somehow waterproof the outside wall that currently has flaking spandex and feels damp?
Secondly the concrete floor inside the house is slightly lower than the yard outside. Should I treat this with a waterproof lining or paint before laying flooring? If so any recommendations?
And could water from the sloping yard have caused the strange damp sticky white plaster inside? Do I chip it out?Help!
Sorry for all the questions. I'm renting the house out while I'm away and I'm supposed to have new tenants move in in a month but I can't have a wet house! My builder says I just need a watertight back door whereas I think surely I need a drain?
And any recommendations for someone reliable that could do this in Carlisle very much welcome.Thanks very much!