Mains cable to house conduit leaking water

[krcooke]

Hi

I’ve recently reopened the old coal cellar under my house and can see the mains cable from the street coming in underground. It’s entering the property by a large clay pipe (similar diameter to a main soil pipe) which has effectively been concreted up at the end except for the mains cable poking through.

The problem I’ve observed is that it appears to be channeling water into my basement as it’s leaking around the cable and when it rains it’s dripping quite badly. I assume the clay pipe extends out to the street but don’t actually know what is happening in my front garden/it’s all paved.

My question is who is responsible for the clay pipe the cable is contained within? Clearly the cable is the responsibility of the electricity company but are they also responsible for the conduit that brings it into my house? It’s brining in enough water for it to be a material problem.

Interestingly the mains water is also coming in at a similar depth where there is just a half brick missing and no water is coming in for that hole, so does feel like it’s being channeled from further away. I’ve also turned my mains water off, checked the main supply line into the house isn’t leaking as the meter isn’t going down.

Any advice appreciated

Thanks!

 

[Wayners]

Phone the electric company. They installed so their problem.
You need a new cable fitted and that clay pipe removed.
Just ask the questions

 

[SUNRAY]

Phone the electric company. They installed so their problem.
You need a new cable fitted and that clay pipe removed.
Just ask the questions

I doubt the electric company fitted the duct.

 

[Wayners]

Maybe. Worth asking though just to find out where you stand.
Other option is to dig down on outside and block off yourself if electric company is not responsible

 

[SUNRAY]

Maybe. Worth asking though just to find out where you stand.
Other option is to dig down on outside and block off yourself if electric company is not responsible

I'd say any involvement with supplier would very likely result in them moving the head/meter, at a price, to the meter box outside, provided by customer.

 

[FrodoOne]

I’ve recently reopened the old coal cellar under my house and can see the mains cable from the street coming in underground. It’s entering the property by a large clay pipe (similar diameter to a main soil pipe) which has effectively been concreted up at the end except for the mains cable poking through.

I suspect that the "pipe" may be "asbestos cement" and not "clay".

However, I am sure that you will be able to find a "product" which can be applied to the wet cement within that pipe to stop the flow of water into the "coal cellar".

(e. g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/weather-sealant-seals-under-Aquafix/dp/B005T2TUCS/ref=sr_1_4?crid=Q42VB9WU8C1W&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fkz6Fxl1PySb0L4afPyN9XJglMP_sAJkLVF-kEX0XuhHkWxVDNH5usC_v03p18Djc8IEI4Xao11cAUEWdhT4YF7eHTnuWv3CmzoSisoSOnN5SxON-l4YAcnjKw5ISzSinA4PN1tvMhIondmasVMN37UUsofHrKdvt0v-hWKyGZGkqHaMwEpBCDilX59E-sO3vOsm8Gu42Ni67t30Q8dRfMgfliOx_HBpkNEQh8CRs3EQbt_EuBAjgR1Vy2th0qfg07VEDidCGanmy0G-_MbmJLicnBIESqZoHVexLcmyUK8.Ymbd3vH3TkdGywhQr2CzlcAeSavUWxpNm49hjmUdSo8&dib_tag=se&keywords=wet+cement+seal&qid=1716527913&sprefix=wet+cement+seal,aps,430&sr=8-4 )

It may be necessary to chip away about 10 mm of "cement",
"seal" it
and
then apply something else (such as an Acrylic Sealer) on top
to completely stop moisture ingress.

(Silicone should be avoided !)

 

[Adam_151]

If it is, or you suspect it is this:

I suspect that the "pipe" may be "asbestos cement" and not "clay".

Then he should not do this:

It may be necessary to chip away about 10 mm of "cement",

 

[FrodoOne]

If it is, or you suspect it is this:


Then he should not do this:

Of course, I meant the seal cement within the "pipe"- leaving the outside.

In any case, the whole thing as so wet that there is no danger of "airborne particles" if the "asbestos cement" is chipped.

Any wet detritus will fall down (due to gravity) and can be collected (wet) from the ground.

 

[baldykev]

If you seal the pipe at the cable end, then that cable will be sitting in water constantly you need to stop the entry of water into that pipe.

 

[ebee]

If you seal the pipe at the cable end, then that cable will be sitting in water constantly you need to stop the entry of water into that pipe.

Well yes, it could be some benefit.
If you are in a boat you would not think of drilling a hole in the bottom to let the water out!

Actually, reminds me of a job where the customer explained to me that he kept hearing a small bang from under the floor.

I was going to add some sockets in that room as part of the job so I took some floorboards up prior a teabreak and behold, we could hear this noise clearer (previously he told me he could only hear it at night, dead quiet) anyway it was repeating quite timely, so I had a look down and could see cable drooping onto the wet soil below, picked a time interval to get my head down to view it, and behold, small bang and a light plume of water vapour, I deliberately made this cable one leg of the ring I was going to remove and replace to add sockets, clipping up to the joists of the additional drooping cables.

When finished I examined the offending cable and opened it up, evidence of a tiny pin hole problem, I suspect it was probably installed like that some 20 or 30 years previous with a slight invisible pinhole and eventually let muddy water in which heated up and hissed and banged and also dried the cable locally and might well have been doing this repeatable cycle for quite some time. Rewireable fuses, wooden fusebox just like the rest of this council estate and I bet there were more houses like it and some more drooped cables might well have had pinholes too.

 

[FrodoOne]

If you seal the pipe at the cable end, then that cable will be sitting in water constantly you need to stop the entry of water into that pipe.

That insulated cable seems to have been "sitting in water constantly" for many years - to no harmful effect - so far!

 

[baldykev]

Frodoone Not been sitting constantly in water as its leaking out . Not good practice to leave any cable even a SWA immersed in water constantly