Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 15, 2014 11:04 am Hello Guys,
We have Self standing brick garage with concrete roof where significant penetrating damp into garage is observed (since last few years). From the building inspection report (done by inspector) : >>> Subsidence observed to eastern side of garage in front yard, this often indicates that the stormwater dispersal system is blocked.The paths to eastern side of the garage exterior have significant subsidence and future repairs are considered necessary, this is a contributing factor to significant penetrating damp observed within the garage. >>> Garage walls are retaining soils to surrounds." >>> Drip line needs to be added to to edge of concrete to eliminate water tracking to underside of concrete within the garage. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Can you please help us and tell me exactly how to fix penetrating damp within the garage ? This is our first home and have not done any fixing like this before ourself so looking forward for your detail comments. esp what material we need, what to do etc. Thanks Anna and Glen Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 3Sep 15, 2014 1:39 pm Thanks for offering your help Stewie. Here are few pics from front of the garage (eastern side of driveway) where the masonry and/or brick retaining walls have evidence of significant slippage and/or rotational movement. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 4Sep 15, 2014 2:11 pm It looks to me like the whole side of the garage and retaining wall in front of it is defective probably as a result of both the wall and/or the footings being undersized or badly built and the possibility that there is either no drainage line behind the wall or that it is blocked. It is probably the hydrostatic ( or is it hydraulic ) pressure of this water behind the wall causing it to topple. I'm afraid there is no easy fix for this. Is that your neighbours downpipe I can see in one of the photos ? Does that discharge to the street or simply disperse into the ground next to the wall ? If so that could be the cause of your problems. Stewie Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 5Sep 15, 2014 3:11 pm Stewie D It looks to me like the whole side of the garage and retaining wall in front of it is defective probably as a result of both the wall and/or the footings being undersized or badly built and the possibility that there is either no drainage line behind the wall or that it is blocked. It is probably the hydrostatic ( or is it hydraulic ) pressure of this water behind the wall causing it to topple. I'm afraid there is no easy fix for this. Is that your neighbours downpipe I can see in one of the photos ? Does that discharge to the street or simply disperse into the ground next to the wall ? If so that could be the cause of your problems. Stewie Thanks again Stewie. 1> Is that your neighbours downpipe I can see in one of the photos ? -- I'm not 100% sure about it as we recently moved in but any idea how can I check it? The neighbour also moved in an year ago so not sure if they knows it too. Lemme know how to confirm it. 2> Does that discharge to the street or simply disperse into the ground next to the wall ? --- Ahh....this is interesting ... I have reported water leak issue in my other thread few months before. Here : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70428&p=1235726 3> The inspection report says : - Subsidence observed to eastern side of garage in front yard, this often indicates that the stormwater dispersal system is blocked. - Some cracks on east retaining wall the concern is hydroponic pressure or water built up behind the wall - Not a bad idea to drilling some holes to the base of wall to allow little bit of water to away from the wall Does this mean that these two issues are related? i.e the water running through the kerb outlet and significant penetrating damp? I am now more confused Please share your further thoughts. Thanks Anna Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 6Sep 15, 2014 3:42 pm Quote: 1> Is that your neighbours downpipe I can see in one of the photos ? -- I'm not 100% sure about it as we recently moved in but any idea how can I check it? The neighbour also moved in an year ago so not sure if they knows it too. Lemme know how to confirm it. In this photo, whose roof does the downpipe come from next to the wheely bin ? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Quote: -- Ahh....this is interesting ... I have reported water leak issue in my other thread few months before. Here : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70428&p=1235726 Quote: Council has been investigated the water running through the kerb outlet and identified that the water runs also at dry day or sunny day condition without any rain. Council also contacted with Sydney Water to investigate the cause of continuous water runs along kerb outlet. The Sydney Water have been investigated and identified that the leakage is domestic water connection in between water meter and connection with house within the property. The result (of water sample test by Sydney Water) shows that the continuous flowing water through kerb outlet is tap water from your property. So Council is unable to fix any underground pipe leakage inside your property. Please try to engage your private plumber and fix the leakage by your own cost. Well from your last post in your other thread you have the answer. You could have two issues - tap water leakage on your side of the meter and possible rain water being dispersed from the downpipe. Depending on how much your water pipe is leaking your problems could all be coming from just that or they both could be contributing factors Quote: Does this mean that these two issues are related? i.e the water running through the kerb outlet and significant penetrating damp? If there is no pipe that the downpipe is connected to where do you think all the rain water is going to ? Disconnect the downpipe and pour some red or blue coloured water down the outlet in the ground. If it comes out at the kerb in a few minutes then it is connected to the street and your problems are on your side of the property only. Have you had a plumber in yet as per the councils recommendation ? Stewie Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 7Sep 15, 2014 4:17 pm 1> In this photo, whose roof does the downpipe come from next to the wheely bin ? >>> That's my neighbor's roof. 2> Disconnect the downpipe and pour some red or blue coloured water down the outlet in the ground. >>> Sorry but im not sure what do you mean by disconnect, how do I do it? which pipe you referring here? OR should I simply pour the bucket full of colored water in this pipe? and see if that comes out from the leaking pipe on kerb side? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ 3> Have you had a plumber in yet as per the councils recommendation ? >>> Couple of months before when I called plumbers to check and offer a quote, they said they can do some hydrogen – leak detection test which will cost appro $450 for test and additional $ to fix it depending on where/how bad the leak is. $450 for a test Looking forward to hear from you further. Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 8Sep 15, 2014 4:34 pm Quote: 2> Disconnect the downpipe and pour some red or blue coloured water down the outlet in the ground. >>> Sorry but im not sure what do you mean by disconnect, how do I do it? which pipe you referring here? OR should I simply pour the bucket full of colored water in this pipe? and see if that comes out from the leaking pipe on kerb side? You will obviously have to ask your neighbour but chip away at the concrete at the bottom of the downpipe until you have a large enough hole to pour some coloured water down or bend the pipe out enough to remove it temporarily. If you use a concentrated colour for the water and it is part of the problem it will probably come out at the kerb but also maybe through your retaining wall. Having a distinct colour will enable you to see the difference between your other tap leak ( clear ) and the water you pour down the downpipe socket. Stewie Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 10Sep 15, 2014 5:02 pm Can the same effect be achieved by pouring the coloured water in from the top of the downpipe ie through the gutter and down the downpipe? Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 11Sep 15, 2014 5:14 pm thehuntbegins 2> Does that discharge to the street or simply disperse into the ground next to the wall ? --- Ahh....this is interesting ... I have reported water leak issue in my other thread few months before. Here : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70428&p=1235726 3> The inspection report says : - Subsidence observed to eastern side of garage in front yard, this often indicates that the stormwater dispersal system is blocked. - Some cracks on east retaining wall the concern is hydroponic pressure or water built up behind the wall Hydroponic pressure??? That's a good one. It always rings the alarm bells when I see reports with such basic mistakes in terminology. Is the gutter outlet the site's only method of stormwater disposal? The first step is to do as Stewie has suggested and tip some coloured water (use food dye) down the downpipe. If you can't easily move the downpipe upwards, then someone will need to (carefully) climb a ladder and tip water into the guttering. The report on the other thread states that the slow leak to the gutter has been identified as tap water. You also posted on the other thread: "The diagram shows that the mains supply is at the opposite end of the frontage, so a bit remote for any leak to be coming from there". The photos on this thread show the property as seen from the LHS when viewed from the street and the diagram (linked below) from the other thread also shows that this is where the gutter discharge outlet is but that diagram also shows that the mains water enters the property on the RHS. The land also appears to slope significantly to the RHS and unless I am mistaken, this means that the identified mains water that continually flows to the gutter is coming from a mains water pipe on your neighbour's property. This really complicates things! viewtopic.php?p=1156835#p1156835 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 12Sep 15, 2014 5:30 pm catjim Can the same effect be achieved by pouring the coloured water in from the top of the downpipe ie through the gutter and down the downpipe? ohh you mean climbing neighbor's property ? Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 13Sep 15, 2014 5:41 pm SaveH2O thehuntbegins 2> Does that discharge to the street or simply disperse into the ground next to the wall ? --- Ahh....this is interesting ... I have reported water leak issue in my other thread few months before. Here : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=70428&p=1235726 3> The inspection report says : - Subsidence observed to eastern side of garage in front yard, this often indicates that the stormwater dispersal system is blocked. - Some cracks on east retaining wall the concern is hydroponic pressure or water built up behind the wall Hydroponic pressure??? That's a good one. It always rings the alarm bells when I see reports with such basic mistakes in terminology. Is the gutter outlet the site's only method of stormwater disposal? The first step is to do as Stewie has suggested and tip some coloured water (use food dye) down the downpipe. If you can't easily move the downpipe upwards, then someone will need to (carefully) climb a ladder and tip water into the guttering. The report on the other thread states that the slow leak to the gutter has been identified as tap water. You also posted on the other thread: "The diagram shows that the mains supply is at the opposite end of the frontage, so a bit remote for any leak to be coming from there". The photos on this thread show the property as seen from the LHS when viewed from the street and the diagram (linked below) from the other thread also shows that this is where the gutter discharge outlet is but that diagram also shows that the mains water enters the property on the RHS. The land also appears to slope significantly to the RHS and unless I am mistaken, this means that the identified mains water that continually flows to the gutter is coming from a mains water pipe on your neighbour's property. This really complicates things! viewtopic.php?p=1156835#p1156835 Thanks SaveH2O. (1) Is the gutter outlet the site's only method of stormwater disposal? - Yes (2) Your observations about LHS / RHS and slopes within property is correct. (3) I am confused too as when I spoke with the previous owner of my property they said ...Unfortunately, we were never able to detect where the leak was coming from either. We had plumbers over the years doing various things, however, we never really put an effort into trying to detect what the issue was and there was never a significant impact on our water usage. (4) If this is true : "the identified mains water that continually flows to the gutter is coming from a mains water pipe on neighbour's property" then how come dialer for leak detector in my water meter shows sign of leak Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 14Sep 15, 2014 5:50 pm thehuntbegins catjim Can the same effect be achieved by pouring the coloured water in from the top of the downpipe ie through the gutter and down the downpipe? ohh you mean climbing neighbor's property ? Yes, but it's far less drastic than chipping away the concrete at the bottom of the downpipe. Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 15Sep 15, 2014 5:53 pm [quote="thehuntbegins"] (4) If this is true : "the identified mains water that continually flows to the gutter is coming from a mains water pipe on neighbour's property" then how come dialer for leak detector in my water meter shows sign of leak /quote] An unrelated coincidence. A furphy. I am also intrigued by the two doors, one white and the other meshed, at the left rear of your balcony. The white one would obviously be your neighbours but is the wire meshed gate/door yours? Where is the property line? 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 16Sep 15, 2014 6:13 pm @ catjim : Thanks, will check with neighbor for that test. @ SaveH2O : Thanks, Yes the white one is neighbor's and wire meshed is mine. Re property line, i am really not sure may be its straight from the fence (separating the white and mesh door) to the road. If I am correct looking at this : Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re "An unrelated coincidence. A furphy." That's actually what Sydney Water guy told me when he inspected the property saying dialer for leak detector in my water meter shows sign of leak and he was also hearing something / sort of sensor to listen for leak. So you reckon it was just a absurd observation from Sydney Water ? Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 17Sep 15, 2014 6:51 pm The pasted text below is off the other linked thread. I have darkened the relevant passages. thehuntbegins We have engaged Council and Sydney water and this is update from Council : --- Council has been investigated the water running through the kerb outlet and identified that the water runs also at dry day or sunny day condition without any rain. Council also contacted with Sydney Water to investigate the cause of continuous water runs along kerb outlet. The Sydney Water have been investigated and identified that the leakage is domestic water connection in between water meter and connection with house within the property. The result (of water sample test by Sydney Water) shows that the continuous flowing water through kerb outlet is tap water from your property. So Council is unable to fix any underground pipe leakage inside your property. Please try to engage your private plumber and fix the leakage by your own cost. --------- I question either the Sydney Water report or the report's interpretation by the council pen pusher. Have you seen the actual Sydney Water report? The council report states that Sydney Water analysed the water and found that it was "tap" (mains) water. I doubt very much that Sydney Water also located the leak that then enabled them to categorically state that the leak was from an " underground pipe leakage inside your property". How could a leak from your mains water pipe possibly travel to the area of concern? I think that your correspondence received from the council person who uses terms like "tap water" has had a transitional alteration of interpretation. thehuntbegins (3) I am confused too as when I spoke with the previous owner of my property they said ...Unfortunately, we were never able to detect where the leak was coming from either. We had plumbers over the years doing various things, however, we never really put an effort into trying to detect what the issue was and there was never a significant impact on our water usage. The passage that I have darkened and underlined is also significant. Even a slow dripping tap can waste a significant volume of water and I am sure that the usage would have been noticed. If it isn't the neighbours pipe, I am wondering whether it could be mains water that is seeping underground from a property that backs on to you. Is there someone over the back fence who is constantly watering their backyard for whatever reason? It almost sounds as though you need a hydrologist to look at the site. If the source is the neighbour's pipe, then I have no idea as to how you would approach that one. I gather that their water is also supplied on their RHS. EDIT: Just noticed that the diagram you have posted confirms that the neighbour's mains water is plumbed along their RHS (as well as branching off to the LHS). Thanks for posting that. EDITED: Had my RHS & LHS mixed up and had to change them. I think it's called old timers disease (or something like that...I can't remember). 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 19Sep 15, 2014 7:05 pm So was Jesus. Better than being a doctor having to face negative patient outcomes. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: How to fix this? Somebody please help/share thoughts 20Sep 15, 2014 8:34 pm Hi Anna In order to help, you need to provide additional information eg - What is your soil type? ie Clay,Sand or gravel - The house looks 70s can you get any drawings or structurals from the shire? - What does the wall look like from inside the garage...has the garage (brick retaining) wall failed? - Possible failure methods to look at - Tension cracks to brickwork ie bending - Undermining - Sliding at base - Rotational- overturing - Ground bearing Pressure failure etc.etc From the photos it appears that the structural integrity of the retaining wall has been compromised through hydrostatic pressure behind the wall, there is also evidence of erosion into a soakwell? Unfortunately, you will need a structural engineers report with remedies & costs if the retaining wall is defective. Did you get a Structural report when you purchased the house and were these defects event then? Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs traditional gable roof facade - Have you did the dark and light gray color combination in facade with gray stone in facade… 0 4224 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair If the railhead is so poorly fixed it is also likely that the railhead is also non compliant, what about overflows and sealing railhead to the gutters?. 3 5978 |