Hello,
Our Victorian property was built in the year 1900 to 1908 and is situated on a fairy typical UK street of terraced houses. Our particular block of houses consists of five properties of which we are the end (Our properly marked with blue dot). The picture below illustrates perfectly the drainage arrangements.
Needless to say there is no separate arrangements for run off water/sewerage, everything goes down the one drain. Just before the sewers leave the boundary of our property into the main public sewers there is a manhole (see photo)
So my questions are:
1. Why are there two exit pipes into the main street sewer ? If you examine the picture one has white toilet paper in it but there is a second just above it.
2. The bottom exit pipe (one with white toilet paper in it) has a nasty habit of getting blocked on a regular basis. Quite often the bottom trench is full of waste and the top pipe is draining off any liquid. No materials to my knowledge like baby wipes etc are present that could cause a blockage.
Does this happen as now we live in an age of water saving, fewer baths, economy flushing toilets so insufficient water is discharged to remove solid matter ?
Could it be that this happens by design until sufficient back pressure of waste causes it to discharge into the sewer in one big gush ?
Is it more likely that the problem resides on the street sewer where a partial blockage causes this.
Using a hosepipe and drain rods with a large soft rubber disk clears it within 5 minutes (once every 7 to 10 days required).
3. I'm pretty sure that as illustrated in the first picture that unblocking this drain is the responsibility of the water authority (Anglia Water). I resorted to clearing it myself as it was quicker and also if I called them out every fortnight I assumed it would be only a matter of time before they suggested it was in some way the residents faults.
Without a clear understanding of why this is happening I am unsure on how to proceed.
4. The manhole (pictured above) has a badly corroded drain cover which is no longer air tight. If the drain is the responsibility of the water company, is it also their responsibility to replace the cover or is this up to me.
5. How big is the main drain running down the street likely to be that it discharges into. I always imagined it to be something like a 4 to 5 foot high channel you could possibly walk down head stooped. Probably a lot smaller but I really have no idea. If anyone has a diagram that dates this type of property era so I could get a better idea would be great.
Thanks in advance to any 'helpful' posts. If I have missed out any information or additional photos are required please say.
Poisonata
Our Victorian property was built in the year 1900 to 1908 and is situated on a fairy typical UK street of terraced houses. Our particular block of houses consists of five properties of which we are the end (Our properly marked with blue dot). The picture below illustrates perfectly the drainage arrangements.
Needless to say there is no separate arrangements for run off water/sewerage, everything goes down the one drain. Just before the sewers leave the boundary of our property into the main public sewers there is a manhole (see photo)
So my questions are:
1. Why are there two exit pipes into the main street sewer ? If you examine the picture one has white toilet paper in it but there is a second just above it.
2. The bottom exit pipe (one with white toilet paper in it) has a nasty habit of getting blocked on a regular basis. Quite often the bottom trench is full of waste and the top pipe is draining off any liquid. No materials to my knowledge like baby wipes etc are present that could cause a blockage.
Does this happen as now we live in an age of water saving, fewer baths, economy flushing toilets so insufficient water is discharged to remove solid matter ?
Could it be that this happens by design until sufficient back pressure of waste causes it to discharge into the sewer in one big gush ?
Is it more likely that the problem resides on the street sewer where a partial blockage causes this.
Using a hosepipe and drain rods with a large soft rubber disk clears it within 5 minutes (once every 7 to 10 days required).
3. I'm pretty sure that as illustrated in the first picture that unblocking this drain is the responsibility of the water authority (Anglia Water). I resorted to clearing it myself as it was quicker and also if I called them out every fortnight I assumed it would be only a matter of time before they suggested it was in some way the residents faults.
Without a clear understanding of why this is happening I am unsure on how to proceed.
4. The manhole (pictured above) has a badly corroded drain cover which is no longer air tight. If the drain is the responsibility of the water company, is it also their responsibility to replace the cover or is this up to me.
5. How big is the main drain running down the street likely to be that it discharges into. I always imagined it to be something like a 4 to 5 foot high channel you could possibly walk down head stooped. Probably a lot smaller but I really have no idea. If anyone has a diagram that dates this type of property era so I could get a better idea would be great.
Thanks in advance to any 'helpful' posts. If I have missed out any information or additional photos are required please say.
Poisonata