"mat." wrote in message
...
hi,

i moved to a maisonette, ground and lower ground floors, and currently
i am dealing with coal hole just under the pavement. this hole area
suffers from penetrating damp. water finds its way through the
pavement slabs to this cave. the council came to sort out some slabs,
but water still gets in, and it is very probable that it will always
do.

after doing some research i've decided for a cavity drain membrane,
channeling the water to the mains, currently a manhole in the coal
hole's floor. (platon multi from isola products seems about right.
http://www.isola.com )

an additional problem in this area is that all the services come to
the house from the street to the coal hole.

i took a picture and numbered the incoming pipes.
http://binaryform.com/house/coalholeWD.jpg


pipe #

1 ? seems old water pipe
2 gas
3 water. (lead pipe)
4 telephone.

pipe 1, is capped off. i think it might be water as it is cold to
touch and it is lead. the mains water is a lead pipe that goes to a
stop cock inside the coal hole as well, and from there on the pipes
are not lead in the whole house.

i phoned the water company, as i thought they are responsible to
replace this lead pipe that goes under the pavement, but they said
that they only own the pipes directly under the road and not the ones
that branch to each house.

is this correct? i thought that they own and are responsible for the
pipe work until the stop cock.

i would also like them to remove that capped off pipe (1), as it seems
to have water inside as well, and having to put the waterproof
membrane on the walls, it makes it easier without the expired pipe
being there just hanging from the wall.

anyone has any knowledge on who's responsible for replacing this
pipes?

any help much appreciated.

regards,
mat.

If that alcove is "under" the pavement, then walling up at your property
line will leave the pies in a void, which is not allowed.

It is best to get the services renewed that require renewing; get a large
bore plastic water pipe, then build a wall and fill in the void with earth.
Make sure as you erect the wall it is waterproof on the outside.