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Post by houpla on Mar 11, 2023 14:19:35 GMT 1
+1 for sorting out the surrounding area. All the rainfall from our chemin ran/runs straight down the slope to what was our barn. That's why the back wall was falling down. We put very solid foundations in but incorporated French drains on two levels as well as a caniveau encircling the back and side at ground level round the house. Then at least 1m wide or more of concrete, pointed slabs or briquettes all the way round. A concrete 'V' gully leading to a big storm drain takes care of heavy rainfall. It's dry as a bone Have you got space round the house to create an effective diversion of ground water? Not trying to be funny , just an honest question . What's a French drain ? Not a drain in France or even a drain in French style It's named after the chap who 'invented' them. A deep, narrow trench half-filled with rubble, stones or pebbles, with a slotted or perforated pipe laid on top and then filled up with more hardcore. Very, very effective at diverting water away from foundations or relieving pressure on a retaining wall.
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Post by houpla on Mar 11, 2023 14:21:12 GMT 1
That muddies that up for me, I always thought it was a U shaped concrete/plastic gutter sunk in the ground at road level and with a galvanized grill on the top. That's a caniveau
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Post by alexpjv on Mar 11, 2023 15:04:24 GMT 1
With my garage built into a hill, stone walls built on dirt, I have to try not to trap the flow of air, otherwise the moisture wants to go up the walls to the wooden floor above. So I just put down paving slabs on hardcore and sand, try to avoid covering the walls too much, keep the big opening and limit the partitioning. It is a delicate balance, preserving the ventilation, but it works.
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Post by jackie on Mar 11, 2023 17:31:15 GMT 1
The airgap and ventilation will protect the timbers. Are you and the other person really less than 12" tall? On your thread regarding the humidity problems you really should have mentioned this little gem of a detail. Now that I know what is beneath your feet I can tell you that your hi-tech internet connected dehumidifier will be running 24/7 consuming loads of electricity trying and failing spectacularly to dry out the planet. You really should have switched that VMC back on, perhaps now you can appreciate why it was fitted. I think you should prepare yourself to find worse damp problems on this visit than the last, if I am wrong then I will be very happy for you to be so. What an unhelpful, pompous, I told you so post. 😢
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Post by pcpa on Mar 11, 2023 18:32:16 GMT 1
That muddies that up for me, I always thought it was a U shaped concrete/plastic gutter sunk in the ground at road level and with a galvanized grill on the top. That is un caniveau.
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Post by pcpa on Mar 11, 2023 18:36:42 GMT 1
With my garage built into a hill, stone walls built on dirt, I have to try not to trap the flow of air, otherwise the moisture wants to go up the walls to the wooden floor above. So I just put down paving slabs on hardcore and sand, try to avoid covering the walls too much, keep the big opening and limit the partitioning. It is a delicate balance, preserving the ventilation, but it works. I have done pavé autobloquante in a pièce under a terrasse with a terre battu floor and would consider it in a cellar, solid concrete floors in constructions like those are a disaster unless full on tanking is done.
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Post by pcpa on Mar 11, 2023 18:40:34 GMT 1
Well we get there tomorrow at about 1800 so lets see what's what with the VMC having been left on. JD I thought that you had said that you had switched it off and were using an internet connected dehumidifier and were remotely monitoring the humidity level.
I'm pleased to learn that you have left the VMC running and apologise for the tone of my posting, at the time you were very resistant to using the VMC.
You should be there by now, I hope that you had an uneventfull journey, it is very very damp at present following Tempête Larisa so you are arriving at a good time to see the worst conditions the building can encounter and how it has coped.
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mysty
Member
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Post by mysty on Mar 11, 2023 19:21:31 GMT 1
That muddies that up for me, I always thought it was a U shaped concrete/plastic gutter sunk in the ground at road level and with a galvanized grill on the top. Your a pro as well and not ferry trained.
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exile
Member
Massif Central
Posts: 2,669
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Post by exile on Mar 11, 2023 19:58:41 GMT 1
I thought a French drain is a pebble filled gully a metre or so deep. Kind of. It is a trench dug outside your house to below your floor level. A little gravel is added together with a plastic pipe with slots in it to allow water to pass in or out. The rest of the trench is then filled with gravel. Water will flow down through theb gravel and then into the pipe and away to drain - provided you have the slopes right.
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Post by lapourtaider on Mar 11, 2023 20:23:44 GMT 1
I thought a French drain is a pebble filled gully a metre or so deep. Kind of. It is a trench dug outside your house to below your floor level. A little gravel is added together with a plastic pipe with slots in it to allow water to pass in or out. The rest of the trench is then filled with gravel. Water will flow down through theb gravel and then into the pipe and away to drain - provided you have the slopes right. Thanks, trench was the word I was looking for but couldn't think of.
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Post by Polarengineer on Mar 12, 2023 6:48:27 GMT 1
That muddies that up for me, I always thought it was a U shaped concrete/plastic gutter sunk in the ground at road level and with a galvanized grill on the top. Your a pro as well and not ferry trained. It was my P&O ferrybuilder French-English dictionary that translated caniveau into french drain.
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Post by cernunnos on Mar 12, 2023 10:14:43 GMT 1
Not trying to be funny , just an honest question . What's a French drain ? Not a drain in France or even a drain in French style It's named after the chap who 'invented' them. A deep, narrow trench half-filled with rubble, stones or pebbles, with a slotted or perforated pipe laid on top and then filled up with more hardcore. Very, very effective at diverting water away from foundations or relieving pressure on a retaining wall. I should have googled it too
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Post by annabellespapa on Mar 12, 2023 10:37:11 GMT 1
I always thought that a French drain was a trench with rubble at the bottom and then lesser graded gravel rising to the surface, the addition of a corrugated pipes with slots is a modern addition and improvement to the original.
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Post by houpla on Mar 12, 2023 17:04:25 GMT 1
Not a drain in France or even a drain in French style It's named after the chap who 'invented' them. A deep, narrow trench half-filled with rubble, stones or pebbles, with a slotted or perforated pipe laid on top and then filled up with more hardcore. Very, very effective at diverting water away from foundations or relieving pressure on a retaining wall. I should have googled it too That little gem of info didn't come from Google...it came from experience The chaps dug out the trenches but guess who got the job of barrowing the gravel and laying the pipe? The last one I did was a couple of years ago, across the 'lawn'. Again, the trench was dug for me but that's where the participation ended
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Post by annabellespapa on Mar 13, 2023 9:38:40 GMT 1
Come on JD, how's the house?
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