Who's responsible for a rise in the water table?

[tedsbird]

Dave, that wasn't that far from me! I used to work in the club opposite those flats! I'm about 1/2 mile from Southport - in Birkdale.

There is a soak away drain about a metre from where the flooding starts. But these were all cleaned up when we added to it and had the gable end re-done and an extension built. I don't fancy the possibility of having them inspected to see if there is a break as not only will it cost a fortune but we've had the area all block paved and I know the insurance will not cover that due to previous experience.

My main problem now is getting this sorted on the insurance. I pay enough for it each year and I've got accidental and every other cover available! They haven't sent any t&c's to state what is covered and what isn't covered for the buildings - just the schedule.

I;m thinking of getting the structural surveyor back to see what he thinks. i doubt he would have been aware of it as the cellar has been dry for the 10 months or so we've had it and the 4 months it took to purchase the property it was also dry.
Just thinking tho, we;ve had a damp course to the brick work done and a full damp inspection - had it been long standing wouldn't it have shown up then? Could the membrane have ruptured do to the extentive amount of building work we've had done? In which case would the insurance pay out?
This is one complicated scenario!!

[Dave L]

The DPC Co survey"should have shown dampness in bricks" as being a cellar though unless tanked there will always be damp present.
The floor/membrane failure could probally be cured by asphalt flooring
(cheapest option). as for 10months with no visable sign of damp,
The bank i worked on had nearly 10 years of no sign.after tanking.
Its took that long for bricks to perish enough to become absorbant,or
as i more likely suspect a drain failure, (its the sand thats got me thinking this), sands waterproof so when mixed with water, it doesn`t absord it,
it becomes it. and flows away.now with drains resting on this and the void created by the sand erosion under drains (they tend to break) and being a cellar drain (below ground level) water tends to make its way back up the drain.
If i was you i`d aquire a 4in drain bung (to seal OFF DRAINgrid top
Get 1 from hire shop,and a sump pump (probally cost you £50 ish for weekend) Plug drain with bung,pump water to an external drain (these will be on a different line and level)after level has gone to bore hole, water will flow from brickwork for a few hours (if this slows down) take pump back
and keep bung :o ,as its the drain, say you cant find it and it`ll cost you about a tenner.
and dont spill water down there as youve nolonger got a drain.

[JonCris]

tedsbird

The 'Insured Peril' refers to all of the circumstances as listed in the policy terms.

If it includes flooding then you should be covered. Also if your insurer want's you to have the cellar checked then they should pay for it. Speak to your solicitor

[tedsbird]

Apparently not! i spoke to the insurers today who said they can reasonably request further information to ascertain if the claim is an insured peril. Their request for further information is in the form of a report from a professional in that trade. Even if the water came from a drain then they would expect me to call in the enironmental health who would then advise if it came from a soak away or from the main drains. This is highly unlikely as we're having really bad rain at the moment and the cellar isn't getting worse and we've got new main drains.
A friend in the trade called today and said this is either the water table rising above the membrane and penetrating the bricks/cement or when we;ve had work done they've disturbed the membrane. Either way we're not covered on the insurance!! I;ll need to make a few more bank charge claims to pay for this one!!!

[JonCris]

They are entitled to ask questions but they are not entitled to ask you to go to the costly expense of finding the cause. They should be doing that themselves or agreeing to meet your agreed costs before making a decision.

As this appears to be a costly matter & will affect any resale see a lawyer NOW!

[tedsbird]

We have a development!

Firstly I got in touch with the structural surveyor who did a report for me when I purchased the house. He said that although there was damp present there wasn't any evidence of there being a potential problem therefore it wasn't mentioned. He did offer to come and inspect for a hefty fee of £250 plus VAT which I promptly declined.
We bought a pump as Dave L suggested and spent two days (at 160 litres per minute) pumping saline water out. Only to find it flooding back in!
Anyway managed to see teh neighbour with her arm shoved down a manhole on her driveway. Apparently as the properties are built on an angle the soakway pipes run from the back garden to the front, under my cellar (her's mirrors mine) then mine crosses the boundary wall at the front and joins hers and runs out into the main road (or so i gather). Over a period of 3 years or so the pipe fills up with silt and the water backs up and starts flooding both cellars. When she has time she unblocks it and the cellar drains - as it has done within 12 hours!!!
Spoke to the insurance who said they will now cover for the contents but not to remedy the situation as it is classed as a design fault. Think I'm going to look for someone to inspect the soakaways and get a map on this one. I can't have this happening every few years because she doesn't have the time to maintain her side of the drains! Any further advice anyone?

[tedsbird]

Sorry - also John Cris:
The insurers stated the water coming in was classed as 'ingress of water' and initially they based the claim on this and wouldn't pay out. I checked the insured perils and they were right. Now the claim has changed to a 'design fault' and again it's not what we're covered for. We've had a quote to make the cellar dry and pumps fitted etc and they're quoting in the region of £15k. In my opinion if the cellar floods it affects the bricks (as in they are already crumbling on the steps where the water flows in). This is potentially hazardous to the foundations. Could the mortgage company force us to fix it as the insurance co are obliged to inform them of any claims?

[JonCris]

Your neigbour has a duty to maintain the shared drain. If they didn't & it caused the flooding you WILL have a claim agianst them

[tedsbird]

Just an update for those who read and helped on my thread: contacted the insurance company and insisted that they send a loss adjuster out to inspect the damage etc which they did. turns out next door's soak away which is attached to mine (but goes over to her property) was blocked. Insurance got a drainage company out to remedy! Even if that wasn't the reason they paid out on the contents (well replaced most of the stuff). Things they couldn't replace they sent payment minus the VAT until receipts are provided for them. As soon as the shopping is done, we'll get the rest. Not looking forward to next years insurance quote though!

thanks to all x