Possible Solutions

It seemed like there were three possible solutions to the flooding problem.

1. A Land Drain
As far as I could make out a drain would be sunk at the rear of the house and take the excess water away from the house into the main drains. The advantages of this solution would be that we could solve it from outside without having to do any work inside. The disadvantages would be that it might silt up over time and fail. There seemed to be no effective product on the market for maintaining the land drain. The other possible disadvantage would be that it might not solve our problem. If the flow of the water comes from the front of the house to the back then the water would have to flow through the kitchen before it reached the drain.

2. Tanking
Tanking seems to be a “paint the walls with bitumen” solution. The basic idea is to turn the house into a swimming pool in reverse. Its advantages are that it is cheap, but it does involve major disruption. The disadvantages are that if it get punctured, even a small hole. The water will find a way in and eventually you will be back where you started.

3. Vertical Damp Proof Membrane and Pump
This solution is to cover the walls and floor with “bobbly” plastic and have a kind of guttering that runs around the inside of the perimeter of the house. The gutter drains into a sump which contains a battery backed up pump. The pump removes any water into the drain. The internal walls are then dry lined.

We have decided on the third solution provided by Newton Membrains and installed by Robinsons Preservations Ltd. Although I am going to do much of the donkey work myself

House Rennovations: Solutions

It seemed like there were three possible solutions to the flooding problem.

1. A Land Drain
As far as I could make out a drain would be sunk at the rear of the house and take the excess water away from the house into the main drains. The advantages of this solution would be that we could solve it from outside without having to do any work inside. The disadvantages would be that it might silt up over time and fail. There seemed to be no effective product on the market for maintaining the land drain. The other possible disadvantage would be that it might not solve our problem. If the flow of the water comes from the front of the house to the back then the water would have to flow through the kitchen before it reached the drain.

2. Tanking
Tanking seems to be a “paint the walls with bitumen” solution. The basic idea is to turn the house into a swimming pool in reverse. Its advantages are that it is cheap, but it does involve major disruption. The disadvantages are that if it get punctured, even a small hole. The water will find a way in and eventually you will be back where you started.

3. Vertical Damp Proof Membrane and Pump
This solution is to cover the walls and floor with “bobbly” plastic and have a kind of guttering that runs around the inside of the perimeter of the house. The gutter drains into a sump which contains a battery backed up pump. The pump removes any water into the drain. The internal walls are then dry lined.

We have decided on the third solution provided by Newton Membrains and installed by Robinsons Preservations Ltd. Although I am going to do much of the donkey work myself.

Isaac’s Questions: Do worms have eyes?

My 4 year old son asked my wife “Do worms have eyes?”. I had no iedea if worms have eyes.

It seems that they don’t have eyes but they can tell the difference between light and dark. They have things called “receptors” which can tell the difference between light and dark and can feel things.

A very handy worm site is:
http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/wormworld.html

and:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1993/biology/bio041.htm

Where do children get their questions from?

Isaac’s Questions: Do worms have eyes?

My 4 year old son asked my wife “Do worms have eyes?”. I had no iedea if worms have eyes.

It seems that they don’t have eyes but they can tell the difference between light and dark. They have things called “receptors” which can tell the difference between light and dark and can feel things.

A very handy worm site is:
http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/wormworld.html

and:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/newton/askasci/1993/biology/bio041.htm

Where do children get their questions from?