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Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 8:50 pm
by happy_days
Hi - great site.

Be interested in your thoughts on a sewer problem we have. Our house is around 8 years old and when having a new patio laid, the builder noticed that our waste drains were not draining properly (we had noticed a sewage type smell when running the washing machine).

Basically the waste is not flowing and can be seen getting stuck when opening a cover near the kitchen. Our neighbour has a history of blocked drains and is also currently suffering from lack of flow, blockage and smell.

The NHBC are processing a claim and have had 4 "experts" around to camera, plunge and measure the drains. There are differing views (including different opinions on which directions the drains go in, although we have a map from Southern Water, which seems to be accurate).

We are in a row of 6 houses and we are 2nd from the left when looking at the front. The row all connect into a drain on the 3rd house, which ultimately goes to the main sewer.

Our house and our neighbour with the problem are downhill from the others / main private pipe and the current thinking seems to be that out drains have not been laid with sufficient gradient to flow properly into the sewer on the 3rd house (the camera surveys also suggest some bellies in the pipes).

As mentioned, the NHBC are dealing, but it would be nice to have a sensible conversation with them on any proposed solutions if anyone has any ideas.

Difficult to see how the gradient on our pipes could be changed and still flow into the sewer on the 3rd property at a correct height.

Thanks :D

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:30 pm
by lutonlagerlout
just mention isaac newton to them,some wags reckon it wasnt an apple that hit him but bird s**t!
regards tony

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 10:17 pm
by seanandruby
sounds like the cowboys have been there. could be the grond was overdug then some idiot put soft soil back in which is a no no. the grond sinks and so does the pipe. i cant stress enough that pipes should be laid to spec. they should be checked at every stage from dig to completion but that seems to be a thing of the past.
are they plastic or clay or other? its quite worrying that sewage smell is coming up through the washing machine wastepipe sonds like the the collers could of parted.
keep us posted. good luck