Drains blocked under road by previous owner

[wiresandwood]

Hi all,

Looking to see if anyone has any advice. I recently bought a new house, and the drains were not clearing so I ordered a CCTV survey. The survey discovered a drain test plug (big metal thing with a rubber gasket on) had been dropped down the drain during some previous building works and rather than retrieve it the previous owners (or their builders) had tried to push it all the way down into the main sewer.

Unfortunately it got stuck near the end and they broke several sets of rods trying to shift it, so what's now down there is 3 sets of broken rods and a big metal plug obstructing my drain.

The blockage is well under the road in Thames Water's bit. The drain company said that, as the fault was clearly caused by the previous owner of the house, Thames Water could charge me several thousand pounds to clear it as they may have to dig up the road to do so (the drain is in the middle of the road, so the whole road would apparently have to be closed).

Things I'd like to know, if anyone does:

• Can Thames Water charge me for it? Their website doesn't mention that they can do this, but it's actually pretty light on detail at all.
• Should I ring Thames Water to discuss, or will they attempt to get the address off of me as the drain is blocked? I am very nervous about putting an emergency repair in motion which I can't stop and that I will eventually pay an awful lot of money for
• Are the drain company just trying to get a few hundred extra quid to try to retrieve it when I could have it done for free?

I've received conflicting advice from various people (some say Thames Water will fix it for free), and I thought this place might actually have someone who knows!

Any help is much appreciated as I'm in a right conundrum over this

 

[^woody^]

If the drain run goes straight from your house to the public sewer in the road, then it's yours to sort out

If it's part of a run with other people connected to it, and then it goes into the public sewer, then its the water company's drain and problem.

 

[vinn]

Where's the nearest Man Hole or Inspection Chamber to the blockage?
Is there a Manhole cover in the road?
A drain cleaning machine eg. a Ridgid K-7500 with a particular fitting and camera can capture drain rods and solid debris and retrieve them. But you would need a professional operator.
How come this sewer appears to have been in use until now?

 

[swishy6]

and they broke several sets of rods trying to shift it, so what's now down there is 3 sets of broken rods and a big metal plug obstructing my drain.

So the water authority have made it worse. Here's a section on the changes made to drainage rules in October 2011. It's not Thames Water but still the same rules apply.

https://www.southernwater.co.uk/sewer-ownership-changes

I suspect they're just trying it on but I'm no expert. I know that, as said above, if it's a shared drain then it's theirs. Has to be below ground too.

I had blocked drains when I first moved in a few years back. Tree roots and wetwipes were the cause. Part of my drainage is odd because it's above ground but the blockage was below and I share this drain with one neighbour. For those reasons I had it unblocked for free and a root cutter sent down too.

If it's yours to do (which I doubt), try a bloody big magnet on a new set of rods

 

[HERTS P&D]

See below:

http://www.draindomain.com/drain rods stuck.html

Andy

 

[wiresandwood]

Hey all,

Thanks for the replies. Just to clarify on a few points left here:

• The broken rods and test plug were in the drain already. The previous owner was a bit of a DIY fanatic (and not a very good one) so it may have been him, another drain company or even the water board at the time. The company that inspected it for me didn't try to remove anything.
• The company who came out were confident they could get the rods back, but were not so sure about the metal and rubber bung wedged firmly into the pipe.
• It's a detached house, but I think the "blockage" is in Thames Water's bit now as it's right down under the road. On this diagram it would be in the purple bit: http://www.thameswater.co.uk/tw/com...ges/Property-types-and-sewer-connections2.jpg
• There's no manhole between my drive and the main sewer, inspection was done from a manhole in my drive
• There's about a 0.5" gap between the plug and the drain, so water is leaving slowly, but as the drain was backed up with solid matter and I can only assume the previous owners just had it cleared periodically.

It's almost certainly in a bit of sewer that Thames Water are responsible for, the question is if they fix it and the blockage was clearly caused by the previous householder will they be able to make me pay for it?

 

[^woody^]

Yes, the cause of the blockage can be recharged to whoever caused it. You just have to convince them that you didn't.

 

[big-all]

is it a shared drain
as in others share the area the blockage is in
in other words is there are others sharing your drain to the boundary off the property??

 

[wiresandwood]

big-all: No, the blocked drain goes directly from my house to the main drain, no others join it. Sadly this means it is highly unambiguous as to where the blockage came from.

 

[Nige F]

I personally would dig a hole near to your boundary and get to the obstruction from there - I'd cut out the top of the pipe to start with then get the drain guys to operate the retrieving tools from there. I wouldn't involve the Water co. at all - their answer might be to dig the Public Highway and that is horribly expensive - I wouldn't trust them not to charge you The hole would need to be accesible and safe - but that is do able.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

I'd own up and explain the situation to Thames myself. it's highly unlikely IMO you are going to be able to retrieve the bung, even if you can get the rods back, you'd need to get behind it to drag it back, and I think it's highly unlikely even if you managed that, you'd be able to get any purchase on it to move it. Yes, it's probably going to cost you, but if you persevere yourself and make things even worse, then they may well have to dig the road up to sort things out.

Ring Thames and plead ignorance, as you've just bought the property, and the drains have blocked up. Do not mention you've had anyone else look at it already, and let Thames guys draw their own conclusions. (I'd also be getting the name of the vendor you purchased it from if you haven't already, and be lining up an invoice for them for whatever this costs to sort out.)

It would be handy to know the size of the sewer in the road, as I reckon the best bet would to get a lorry mounted 'Combination Unit', (a jetting and suction tanker in the one unit). I sometimes operate one of these things in the course of my job, they're powerful bits of kit. Once they've retrieved the rods, then then should be able to knock the bung clean through into the main sewer, and once its through, they can pull it back to them with the jetting hose into a manhole whereby it should be retrievable.

 

[wiresandwood]

Thanks for all your feedback, it's been very useful.

I spoke to Thames Water on a theoretical basis, and they confirmed that they reserve the right to pursue the current homeowner for a blockage even if it was caused by the previous owner, and that this is decided on a case by case basis. I think this means that I am going to be better off trying to get a professional drain company to try to clear it because the risk of Thames Water deciding just to dig the road up and charge me for several thousand pounds is too horrendous to contemplate.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

No chance of pursuing the Vendor for your costs?

Secondly, I would be getting a quote before committing to anything, a private contractor may not necessarily be cheaper, and I'd be watching them like a hawk personally. This could easily be a licence to print money, and thirdly, if they damage your drain trying to remove these items, you may well be no better off.

High pressure jetting can easily damage old pipes, so insist on a CCTV survey before and after, and inspect carefully for any signs of damaged pipework that wasn't on the original survey.

 

[swishy6]

Thanks for all your feedback, it's been very useful.

I think this means that I am going to be better off trying to get a professional drain company to try to clear it because the risk of Thames Water deciding just to dig the road up and charge me for several thousand pounds is too horrendous to contemplate.

Yes but surely Thames Water would inform you in advance of the work should they decide to charge for the job.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Thanks for all your feedback, it's been very useful.

I think this means that I am going to be better off trying to get a professional drain company to try to clear it because the risk of Thames Water deciding just to dig the road up and charge me for several thousand pounds is too horrendous to contemplate.

Yes but surely Thames Water would inform you in advance of the work should they decide to charge for the job.

No. Once the sewer passes under the property boundary and into the public highway, it becomes the sewerage providers (Thames) responsibility.