Potential new home - drainage issues
Discussion
Sorry, bit of a lengthy one. We're seriously considering putting an offer in on a place which has had or posibly has some drainage issues. It's a standard 60's semi which had a garage and kitchen extension added in the early 80's.
We're waiting on some survey details from the previous sale that fell through but in a nut shell the vendor of the place did his own ground works for the extension. This included running the main foul sewer pipe from the back of the house under the new extension to the front where the chamber is with possibly some fall issues that have caused backing up in the past. All this came surfaced with local authorities and neighbours in 98 with possibly some remedial actions and seemingly has now gone quiet. All this leaves an issue that is making the house hard to sell, though it may all be fixed now.
Our aim would be to extend the house rearwards and resight the sewer and are quiet relaxed about rebuilding the inspection chamber and pipe run as necessary (would only be 8 or 9 meter's and not deep).
Can anyone offer any advice on how this situation might affect mortgaging, meeting necessary regs and insurance? I'm expecting to pay a visit to the local water company to see what details they have and whether the sewer is adopted.
We're waiting on some survey details from the previous sale that fell through but in a nut shell the vendor of the place did his own ground works for the extension. This included running the main foul sewer pipe from the back of the house under the new extension to the front where the chamber is with possibly some fall issues that have caused backing up in the past. All this came surfaced with local authorities and neighbours in 98 with possibly some remedial actions and seemingly has now gone quiet. All this leaves an issue that is making the house hard to sell, though it may all be fixed now.
Our aim would be to extend the house rearwards and resight the sewer and are quiet relaxed about rebuilding the inspection chamber and pipe run as necessary (would only be 8 or 9 meter's and not deep).
Can anyone offer any advice on how this situation might affect mortgaging, meeting necessary regs and insurance? I'm expecting to pay a visit to the local water company to see what details they have and whether the sewer is adopted.
Ultimately, it depends on what this drain serves or if it is a sewer (shared).
Does it just serve your property? Some fall issues aren't the end of the world if its private. A few solutions, but if you cannot raise the drain at the house or lower it towards the main, a pumped chamber solution would be an option.
However, if it's shared, it will belong to the Water Company and is basically their problem. Not a drain, a sewer following the 2011 WaSC transfer.
I deal with insurance claims relating to underground services (drains and water supplies). They are fundamentally very simple and unless you are non-mains, you won't have too much problem putting things right.
If you want to email me with more details (site plan / photos) I can probably advise further. Are you getting a CCTV survey done as part of the sale? May help clarify the issues and use as a negotiation tool?
Does it just serve your property? Some fall issues aren't the end of the world if its private. A few solutions, but if you cannot raise the drain at the house or lower it towards the main, a pumped chamber solution would be an option.
However, if it's shared, it will belong to the Water Company and is basically their problem. Not a drain, a sewer following the 2011 WaSC transfer.
I deal with insurance claims relating to underground services (drains and water supplies). They are fundamentally very simple and unless you are non-mains, you won't have too much problem putting things right.
If you want to email me with more details (site plan / photos) I can probably advise further. Are you getting a CCTV survey done as part of the sale? May help clarify the issues and use as a negotiation tool?
Thanks, still waiting for the survey details. We understand this includes estimated costs for rectification, so there must still be problems.
The foul sewer for the house is circa 9m long and serves only that house, the chamber it flows into collect's from the neighbouring property only then flows to other houses first then into a main sewer. I've a hunch that it's the chamber that's causing issues (built by the vendor), maybe with a pipe fault thrown in somewhere nearby.
This maybe a risky assumption but I'm struggling to see how a local issue that the property owner is responsible for will not be to difficult to sort, especially given our desired extension plans. Anything else should be down to the utilities Co to fix, assuming there are no adoption problems?
The foul sewer for the house is circa 9m long and serves only that house, the chamber it flows into collect's from the neighbouring property only then flows to other houses first then into a main sewer. I've a hunch that it's the chamber that's causing issues (built by the vendor), maybe with a pipe fault thrown in somewhere nearby.
This maybe a risky assumption but I'm struggling to see how a local issue that the property owner is responsible for will not be to difficult to sort, especially given our desired extension plans. Anything else should be down to the utilities Co to fix, assuming there are no adoption problems?
Anything after that chamber (including the chamber itself) will the water company's as shared. They don't get a choice to adopt if built before 2011. It belongs to them - they may try to deny. Having met countless 'inspectors' on site for asset disputes, the easiest way is to link them back to their own website where it will have a nice diagram. Then threaten OfWat!
Everything upstream is a drain (not sewer) and private to you.
When you get the report, happy to cast my eyes over it. Then I can give you some more accurate advice
Everything upstream is a drain (not sewer) and private to you.
When you get the report, happy to cast my eyes over it. Then I can give you some more accurate advice
guitarcarfanatic said:
When you get the report, happy to cast my eyes over it. Then I can give you some more accurate advice
Thats very kind of you, thanks. Waiting on the online agent to get their gears moving, not particularly impressed with this colour of building material so far!Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff