Help! 200 ltrs of water rising round cellar floor because of short membrane

[pedr0]

Hi,

It looks like the waterproof membrane under my cellar floor has been cut at the level of the tiles around the perimeter of the cellar, allowing water to rise up at the edges of the room and spill onto the tiles.

I am hoping that if I could just extend that membrane up a foot or so, then the water would simply stay underneath and never get up onto the floor.

But how can I extend the membrane? Can I somehow bond some more membrane onto the cut edge? (it's cut so short, there's very little to grab on to - see picture)

Or is there some compound that I could apply that would create a bridge to the stone wall?

Help! It's starting to cause damage and it's a really miserable way to spend my evenings bailing up to 200 litres of water

Update to explain the pictures: the pictures show a 600mm length where I have pulled the skirting away. The painted wall is plaster board. Where I have smashed a hole at the bottom, you can see some of the dot and dab adhesive, which makes it look thicker than plasterboard. The wall behind, which you can't really see, is a weird mix of bits of flint about golf ball size stuck together (victorian). The water is rising up behind the blue membrane. In the last photo that's actually a pool of water.

 

[foxhole]

How do you know the natural water table is not higher and the water simply penetrates the wall .?
The entire room will need tanking to prevent water ingress .

 

[pedr0]

Thanks for the reply @foxhole.

I can't be sure about the water table, but the parts of the wall I can access feel dry and the neighbours don't have problems (it's a terraced house). Also if I bail out after a heavy days rain, it will then stay dry until the next few days of rain. So while that doesn't rule out ingress through the walls, it shows that it's highly localised because thankfully I'm not having to bail until I've lowered the water table across the whole city!

The room is fully fitted with kitchen cupboards and so I'd like to try any fixes that don't require strip out first.

Is there anything I can try?

 

[SFK]

Sorry to say that I would be looking at a basement sump kit (with a lid) as any tanking you add will be penetrated by the water pressure.

This is from a quick google search (NOT a recommendation),
https://www.sumpsandpumpsdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Cellar-Pumping-Stations.html
SFK

 

[Notch7]

Thanks for the reply @foxhole.

I can't be sure about the water table, but the parts of the wall I can access feel dry and the neighbours don't have problems (it's a terraced house). Also if I bail out after a heavy days rain, it will then stay dry until the next few days of rain. So while that doesn't rule out ingress through the walls, it shows that it's highly localised because thankfully I'm not having to bail until I've lowered the water table across the whole city!

The room is fully fitted with kitchen cupboards and so I'd like to try any fixes that don't require strip out first.

Is there anything I can try?

I dont want to sound negative, but thats quite a serious problem you have. I cant see any quick fixes solving your issue. At the very least, further investigation is needed to identify the cause.

There are systems like oldroyd which can create a waterproof layer across floors and walls.

 

[Ian H]

I worked in a cellar with pump a few weeks ago, they had a pump under a removable kitchen base unit floor.

That worked well for them until the drains started to leak and the pump was running constantly.

I would give all your rainwater gully’s a good dye test.