Drains

[Judith254]

Bought house less than a year ago and discovered 3 months ago that the rest bend for the upstairs toilet had collapsed (salt glaze) under the house and soil stack was completely blocked.
Apparently previous owners had known about it and just kept flushing their unmentionables, all under the house!

Insurance would not cover it so had a guy round to look at it, he charged me £2K to dig and investigate the problem, once we discovered several years worth of unmentionables in the ground he felt it best not to keep digging to find the rest of the pipe to connect new plastic parts, but instead re-route a new restbend and pipe to the new manhole I had built for a downstairs toilet. Distance about 3 metres. He dug to it, backfilled the trench and cemented on top flush to patio. Have I been done?

 

[Nige F]

 

[Judith254]

Is that a yes?

 

[Bahco]

How long did he work on your job?

How much were the materials?

Did you get quotes or did you give him the job straight away?

Where did you get him from i.e recommendation or yellow pages?

 

[Judith254]

He was on the job for two days. Materials I would say no more than £200.
Had quotes from other tradesmen, all starting at approx £1000 for localised rest bend replacement with new plastic parts. This guy works for a reputable drainage company but I hired him off the books.

Did he have to run to the new manhole or was he pulling a fast one? Or is it too much to ask anyone to dig through years of sewage to find the original pipe and fit the new plastic parts to it?

 

[snes]

Cant you get back to your solicitor who dealt with your house purchase. This should have been declared at sale, if not, vendors are liable.
Drainage contractors tend to charge by the hour - £100 springs to mind, but that could be off a bit. Of course, on open land, with a minidigger, that gets you a lot for your money.
For your job, a local odd job man (no pun intended!) may have been a better bet.

 

[Bahco]

Seems a lot of money for a job "on the side".

Not adding salt to your wound but the alteration comes under Building Control who should have inspected it.

They would want to see what has been done to the old drains as it could be deemed as a health hazard.

 

[Judith254]

Vendors have fled with no forwarding details. According to neighbours, vendors knew they had a serious drainage problem so they didn't want to be traced. Clearly they knew I would be claiming on their insurance for the problem, if they even had insurance to cover the problem.

 

[Judith254]

Thanks. I didn't know that. Will speak to council in the morning.
This drain has been such a nightmare and people can be so unscrupulous.
I hope this serves as a cautionary tale to anyone in the same situation.

 

[Softus]

...-route a new restbend and pipe to the new manhole I had built for a downstairs toilet. Distance about 3 metres. He dug to it, backfilled the trench and cemented on top flush to patio. Have I been done?

For 2K? Definitely not.

However, if you have any evidence that the previous owner was aware of the problem, and, when questioned as part of the pre-contract enquiries, neglected to disclose it, then you have grounds for claiming compensation.

However, many people would swallow the cost and put it behind them. Many others would collect up all the unmentionables and deliver them to the previous owner's new address, with a covering note explaining that they'd left some of their precious belongings in the garden.

 

[Judith254]

Like your style!
Can't quite believe people would pretend this isn't happening and keep flushing the toilet. If the vendors slip up one day and I find them, they will get box loads of my unmentionables by registered post!
I think £2K was a bit top heavy by £500 or so, but you are right. I just have to try and forget about it and sleep well in the knowledge that my unmentionables are going into the sewer like it's supposed to.

Will check with council though about the old pipework and 'stuff' in the ground. Is it true the faecal matter will rot away?