Who knows about drains ? For a living or generally

[zippitippitoes]

I know someone does but I can't find the thread but no matter

We have a drain problem

We have pulled up a thin layer of concrete in the cellar to find out what was there and it's a drain with a big opening and we need to know if it's entirely our responsibility or partly the Water company as it's causing problems

old Victorian

and we don't know what it's for

but it's blocked somewhere

terraced house

i know mine is smelly in v hot weather buty thats all sorry

It's almost certainly your responsibility if it's within the boundaries of your property. I think the Water company's responsibility stops at the main drains in the street and you look after the section from there to your house - but definately the bit on your own property.
I'll see if I can find anything out for you - I know some handy websites - hang on.

here's a good website - check out the diagram down the page. Pretty sure it's standard in all Local Authority/water areas so I think you will need to sort it yourself or maybe speak with neighbours if the blockage relates to a longer section of drain that takes waste from a few houses.

We had v v smelly problem and toilet that could not flush properly over the summer. We paid 2 very brave men to sort the problem which was a horrendous blockage of some sort. Dh was livid when he got home and rang Enviromental Health who came out ( we said we had young children) said it was almost certainly a shared drain and came back next week to do dye tests with neighbours. Test established that it was a blocked drain and she also found those kandoo wipes down the drain which our neighbours use and we don't. All the neighbours split the bill with us and the EHo cost us nothing.
So ring your local council and ask for the EHO- be warned though- our council has this customer service type phone answering and they tried to fob dh off with water company who told him to ring council and so he was very firm about speaking to a proper EHo. Kandoo wipes are notorious for causing blockages apparently.
Good luck!

Just rescisitating the drain thread in vague hope of advice

Yup.... all the drains etc on your land are your responsibilty....

become water companies responsibility normally at the edge of your land (BUT it may be your responsibilty on a bit of land thats not your as well if thats wher the join thing for your property is)

ITS YOUR RESPONSIBILTY UNTIL IT REACHES THE MAIN SEWER even if that happens several meters (or sometime even more) beyond your land

(my mum found this out at the end of the summer when she had drain probs!)

If it's in your cellar then it's your problem, I'm afraid. As magscat says, the water board's responsibility begins where your property ends.

oh, here you are!!

By far your best bet is to contact your Local Authority - depending on how their drainage service is run, they will (should) either prvide you with a plan or point you in the direction of the agency that runs the system if it is indeed surface, foul or combined sewer. I'm assuming it is one of these. When it flooded, how did it smell?

If you contact you're local council (not quite sure of the dept.) they should have maps of all the drains & will be able to tell you if it is shared.

You may find that if it is an old terrace it was built with a single drain from the premise that then fed into the main drain which will be shared by the whole row.

call a plumber

how do you know it's blocked?

oh hello fellow drain problem person!

It seems to be a storm drain ie nothing horrid in it

we think it might be connected to the Victorian well in the back yard but as an overflow

the water authority have no drain plans for anything in this area
we really wanted to find someone who would have cctv

but not AA1 drain clkear etc.

here

this shows that drains are responsibilty of the homes that use them until they reach the Public sewer regardless of where the property boundries are... does have some stuff about ebfoer 1937 so which is worth checking!

we know it's blocked because that's how we discovered it on Friday ie it filled up and we had to investigate

pulled up the concrete and discovered a big cover and drain

you need a local plumber - someone who knows the area (and hopefully the drains!) - ask in your local hardware shop. They can be quite good at recommending people.

Did you have a full survey done when you bought the place? It might be mentioned in there.

You still haven't said how you know it's blocked.

aaaah I see!! Poor you...wherever we've been, we've always had problem drains.

So something must be running into it....have you had a lot of rain recently?

I thought thats what you meant at first on the "other thread" when you said DP had gone to Blockbusters lol

When I first started my love affair with drains, I used to go out with the gang that CCTV'd drains and pressure washed them to clear any blockages. This was a council department, and didn't charge the exorbitant fees that DynoRod and DrainULike et al will bend you over for. Always always worth talking to local council first and acting as complete dimwit (trust me, it helps )

Did or does the flooding coincide with different seasons or heavy rainfall or such like? How long have you been there, and how many times has it happened?

Been here ages but I think it's only happened recently

ie cellar was damp but not particularly wet

We will try the council and see if they have a drain facility and dp is getting some drain rods to poke with

he did suggest putting a certain toddler down to investigate but |i vetoed that (on the grounds he wouldn't be able to report back)

I'm sure i can do the dimwit part

Cellars are usually always damp Zippi as they are often not far above the water table and obviously below ground with no dry lining to protect them.

If it connects to a well, I would have thought it unlikely that its blocked, unless it has actually caved in itself - therefore rodding it "blind" will not help. You really need to find a cheap CCTV service to find out what has happened.

Either that, or we could do a deal.... if I could borrow tour toddler witha brush on his head, could he sweep our chimneys whilst I send newly crawling baby down your drain with a camera on his head?

keep in touch - if I don't respond its because this has dropped off the "threads I'm on thing" and I'm not so far up my own arse that I am beyond CATting!! Genuinely

In all seriousness though, first port of call is your council, with Dimwit approach

I think the outlet is blocked due to the poor maintenance of the road drain
(we've had problems with the sewer which is also on our property but in a shared alley)and the water company will jet that

too complicated

maybe i will CAT you