Drain Problems.

SantaClaus

Ive got a hole in a shared drain that runs under my house. Stones are falling through and causing blockages. I cant claim this off my insurance so I'm looking for a cash price to fit a sleeve on the drainpipe and to have everything sucked out. Any CL recommendations would be appreciated.

E_cafc

That`s the problem with shared drains. How many houses are on your drain line? Does it run along the back and then underneath to the front to another chamber in your front garden? Do you know if it`s an interceptor chamber at the front? If it`s shared then every household has to take some responsibility and share the cost of getting this fixed. The only long term solutions are a dig up which would be a nightmare or the no dig option of drain re-lining. Having it sucked out costs a lot of money. Even if you get it pumped out it will still get debris in the line and block up again.

I am assuming that you have had a cctv survey done to locate this defect?

carly burn

Had a similar problem myself a couple of weeks ago.Nightmare!
Have you checked with your water/drainage supplier that it's not their responsibility? If its shared it may well be.

Failing that, some water boards offer insurance for as little as a couple of quid a month.Can't claim for fouteen days on my one but if you can hold on it could be well worth it.

SantaClaus

E-cafc said:

That`s the problem with shared drains. How many houses are on your drain line? Does it run along the back and then underneath to the front to another chamber in your front garden? Do you know if it`s an interceptor chamber at the front? If it`s shared then every household has to take some responsibility and share the cost of getting this fixed. The only long term solutions are a dig up which would be a nightmare or the no dig option of drain re-lining. Having it sucked out costs a lot of money. Even if you get it pumped out it will still get debris in the line and block up again.

I am assuming that you have had a cctv survey done to locate this defect?

Thanks for getting back E-cafc. The CCTV was done a couple of days ago. There's a hole 9.5m along from the point the drain becomes shared. The drain runs 3/4 of the length of my house and then takes a left under my dining room (there's a hidden manhole cover that can be accessed at this point). It then goes through my neighbours garden to the main public drains. I know my neighbours should chip in to fix it but I'm not holding my breath that they cough up as to them there's no visible problem. I know this isn't cheap but I want it fixed properly (re-lining?) and sucked all the way from the public drains to make sure nothing backs up again.

I've attached the photos I took from the CCTV.


We're going to get a Dynarod quote but wanted to know if there are better/cheaper options.

Absurdistan

SantaClaus said:

Ive got a hole in a shared drain that runs under my house. Stones are falling through and causing blockages. I cant claim this off my insurance so I'm looking for a cash price to fit a sleeve on the drainpipe and to have everything sucked out. Any CL recommendations would be appreciated.

Shared drains are the responsibility of your water board under law.
I know because I had problems with mine. Thames water did all the work for free.
Give them a call.

SantaClaus

We've already got insurance (2 actually as we found an overlapping policy). Neither will cover us for repairs but they will come and clear the drains in an emergency. Thames Water originally said they'd fix it but a second surveyer said that it wasn't their problem as the flats I share drains with and my house are considered one building (originally it was a house that was divided into flats and had my house tacked onto the side.....). On top of that buildings insurance said we needed a special policy for shared drains that we knew nothing about so they're not helping. CL wasn't my first stop :-)

E_cafc

I make you right there, Charlton Life should never be the 1st stop lol . It must make you wonder why you bother getting yourself insured, any old cop out will do from those lot. It appears that you are on your own with this if your neighbours won`t help out and the insurance won`t cover it so yes, after looking at the images from the cctv I would go ahead and get a quote from Dyno-Rod and a couple of others. You could ask Metro Rod for a quote( very similar to Dyno Rod).

Once it`s all agreed Dyno Rod are very prompt usually at undertaking this work and offer good guarantees. Drain re-lining is a very solid, hassle free repair. The drains would be cleaned thoroughly before the lining is done to remove any debris and ensure a smooth liner. I work for a drainage company but we don`t actually undertake any lining work.

Good luck, hope it all gets resolved asap!

SantaClaus

E-cafc said:

I make you right there, Charlton Life should never be the 1st stop lol . It must make you wonder why you bother getting yourself insured, any old cop out will do from those lot. It appears that you are on your own with this if your neighbours won`t help out and the insurance won`t cover it so yes, after looking at the images from the cctv I would go ahead and get a quote from Dyno-Rod and a couple of others. You could ask Metro Rod for a quote( very similar to Dyno Rod).

Once it`s all agreed Dyno Rod are very prompt usually at undertaking this work and offer good guarantees. Drain re-lining is a very solid, hassle free repair. The drains would be cleaned thoroughly before the lining is done to remove any debris and ensure a smooth liner. I work for a drainage company but we don`t actually undertake any lining work.

Good luck, hope it all gets resolved asap!

Thanks. I'll give them both a call.

AddicksAddict

SantaClaus said:

E-cafc said:

That`s the problem with shared drains. How many houses are on your drain line? Does it run along the back and then underneath to the front to another chamber in your front garden? Do you know if it`s an interceptor chamber at the front? If it`s shared then every household has to take some responsibility and share the cost of getting this fixed. The only long term solutions are a dig up which would be a nightmare or the no dig option of drain re-lining. Having it sucked out costs a lot of money. Even if you get it pumped out it will still get debris in the line and block up again.

I am assuming that you have had a cctv survey done to locate this defect?

Thanks for getting back E-cafc. The CCTV was done a couple of days ago. There's a hole 9.5m along from the point the drain becomes shared. The drain runs 3/4 of the length of my house and then takes a left under my dining room (there's a hidden manhole cover that can be accessed at this point). It then goes through my neighbours garden to the main public drains. I know my neighbours should chip in to fix it but I'm not holding my breath that they cough up as to them there's no visible problem. I know this isn't cheap but I want it fixed properly (re-lining?) and sucked all the way from the public drains to make sure nothing backs up again.

I've attached the photos I took from the CCTV.


We're going to get a Dynarod quote but wanted to know if there are better/cheaper options.

Looks like an episode of The Time Tunnel.

LenGlover

SantaClaus said:

We've already got insurance (2 actually as we found an overlapping policy). Neither will cover us for repairs but they will come and clear the drains in an emergency. Thames Water originally said they'd fix it but a second surveyer said that it wasn't their problem as the flats I share drains with and my house are considered one building (originally it was a house that was divided into flats and had my house tacked onto the side.....). On top of that buildings insurance said we needed a special policy for shared drains that we knew nothing about so they're not helping. CL wasn't my first stop :-)

Is your house leasehold given that it is part of "one building" with flats which almost certainly are leasehold?

If so the obligation could well lie with the freeholder to sort out the drains given that you pay ground rent.

SantaClaus

LenGlover said:

SantaClaus said:

We've already got insurance (2 actually as we found an overlapping policy). Neither will cover us for repairs but they will come and clear the drains in an emergency. Thames Water originally said they'd fix it but a second surveyer said that it wasn't their problem as the flats I share drains with and my house are considered one building (originally it was a house that was divided into flats and had my house tacked onto the side.....). On top of that buildings insurance said we needed a special policy for shared drains that we knew nothing about so they're not helping. CL wasn't my first stop :-)

Is your house leasehold given that it is part of "one building" with flats which almost certainly are leasehold?

If so the obligation could well lie with the freeholder to sort out the drains given that you pay ground rent.

Thanks Len but we're freehold and we don't pay for communal maintenance.

LenGlover

SantaClaus said:

LenGlover said:

SantaClaus said:

We've already got insurance (2 actually as we found an overlapping policy). Neither will cover us for repairs but they will come and clear the drains in an emergency. Thames Water originally said they'd fix it but a second surveyer said that it wasn't their problem as the flats I share drains with and my house are considered one building (originally it was a house that was divided into flats and had my house tacked onto the side.....). On top of that buildings insurance said we needed a special policy for shared drains that we knew nothing about so they're not helping. CL wasn't my first stop :-)

Is your house leasehold given that it is part of "one building" with flats which almost certainly are leasehold?

If so the obligation could well lie with the freeholder to sort out the drains given that you pay ground rent.

Thanks Len but we're freehold and we don't pay for communal maintenance.

If there are two separate freeholders (you and AN Other) which Land Registry can presumably verify then I am puzzled as to how it can be construed as one building. I would question the opinion of that second surveyor from Thames Water.

You have a separate freehold to the flats so how can it be construed as one? I could understand it if there was one freeholder and your house had a lease like the flats.

I'd definitely get a further opinion if it was me.

Absurdistan

LenGlover said:

SantaClaus said:

LenGlover said:

SantaClaus said:

We've already got insurance (2 actually as we found an overlapping policy). Neither will cover us for repairs but they will come and clear the drains in an emergency. Thames Water originally said they'd fix it but a second surveyer said that it wasn't their problem as the flats I share drains with and my house are considered one building (originally it was a house that was divided into flats and had my house tacked onto the side.....). On top of that buildings insurance said we needed a special policy for shared drains that we knew nothing about so they're not helping. CL wasn't my first stop :-)

Is your house leasehold given that it is part of "one building" with flats which almost certainly are leasehold?

If so the obligation could well lie with the freeholder to sort out the drains given that you pay ground rent.

Thanks Len but we're freehold and we don't pay for communal maintenance.

If there are two separate freeholders (you and AN Other) which Land Registry can presumably verify then I am puzzled as to how it can be construed as one building. I would question the opinion of that second surveyor from Thames Water.

You have a separate freehold to the flats so how can it be construed as one? I could understand it if there was one freeholder and your house had a lease like the flats.

I'd definitely get a further opinion if it was me.

The builder would have taken responsibility for the shared drain when he added the house.
Creating flats also wouldn't create a shared drain that the water board is responsible for.
Essentially old buildings (mainly terraced) built before a certain date were made the responsibility of the water board by law.
Your deeds should have mentioned the shared drain and who is responsible for it.

MSE7

Do it yourself. Hire a mini digger for the day, dig it out..I can help dig it out with the mini digger!! No problem