The Brew Cabin

what to do?is it a problem?
were having our floorboards and joists replaced in the hall due to them being rotten ive just took a peak under the floorboards via a trap and discovered theres a lake under my house. the water is about 10 inches deep but is about 13 inches away from the wooden joinsts etc. weve just had a week of very heavy rain and the area ive just moved into has problems with high water tables and underground springs.someone emntioned that the water could go as quick as it came.
also a bit of history about the property we moved in 5 months ago and realised there was a bit of movement in the downstairs flooring so investigated and found several timbers were rotten. since found out that air bricks had only just been fitted before we moved in and that the house had been more or less empty for 8 years before we moved in the house was also built in 1924.should i be concerned and if so what options are there to sorting this out?
a few ive allready been given are to have pumps fitted underfloor to pump the water away to having drains underfloor running to a huge soakaway at the bottom of my garden.

Standing water in a sub-floor (which is what you have) is a health hazard. You should definitely consider having some form of sub-floor pumping system installed, but, without seeing the job and surveying the site, I really can't say what would be the best option.

The problems with pumps are that they will eventually go wrong, and the noise can be irritating. Much better to drain the void to a lower area of your property if possible.

Don't worry about rot, once the moisture is removed and the ventialtion is improved that will soon go away.

We have springs under our house, so I know the problem. Take care that you do not drain below the foundation level, especially if your house is on clay soil.

I've actually installed a small radiator in my sub-floor void, to speed the drying out process, but you have to duct the airbricks to ensure the cold air coming in goes down to the ground, and the warm air from the radiator doesn't go straight out of the airbricks. Luckily the prevailing wind is pretty constant on our site, so I can predict fairly accurately where the air will come in and leave.

I purchased a house 3 yeaars ago and found water under the floor in the lounge near the bay window. At first I believed this to be coming from leaking mains lead water pipe. However, my neighbour aand myself have replaced them last summer with MDPE pipe. The water is still coming in under the floor in the same area. Further investigation found that my property is on the edge of an old pond that was filled in.
The water that comes in is clean, ie not sewage. The water only comes when it rains, due to higher water table. Looking at the surrounding roads, it would seem my property is at the lowest point. I have tried twice, unsuccessfully to reseal the concrete foundations, where the water pipe and ducting go out the house.
Anybody got any suggestions to my next course of action.

All I can suggest is getting a site survey caried out, but these are typically done by companies who are looking to flog you their particular 'cure', rather than giving impartial advice. However, you could bring in an independent Building Surveyor and get their opinion.

Not much of an answer, I know, but water under t'floor really isn't my field of expertise.

Thanks Tony for the advice. I dont want to use pumps,as stated before they eventually fail. I'm not sure whether this is possible, but my idea would be to put a permanent drain in. Near the bottom of the drive is a grid, which connects to the main drain for the house. It is quite deep, over six feet. If a underground drain was fitted where the water is coming into house, ie just below the foundation level near the outer wall of the house. Then to run a a pipe connection to connect in to aforementioned drain at the end of the drive. Does anyone know a reason why it would not be possible to do this, any repiles would be welcome - thanks

As long as there is fall between the base of the sub-floor and the invert of the drainage system, I can see no problem with installing a trapped gully and connecting pipework.

Given the age of your house (1924), it may be that the existing drainage is a combined system, so, any connection you make to it will need to be 'trapped' to prevent nasty smells and worse venting into the sub-floor space.

i bought a place a few years back and the first night we were in bed we could hear water beneath us, on further exploration the following day i found water all around the property, i contacted my local surveyor and asked if he could write me a detailed report on why the water was there and how i could over come it, his reply was as follows.
water is surrounding your property due the canal which is located very near by. to overcome this water problem you will have to sell the canal boat you are living in.
I now am a firm believer in consulting experts when i come across problems to my properties.
have a nice day