Kitchen waste overflowing into garden

[Live&Learn]

Hello.

I hope you're all keeping safe and well.

We hired a decorator to plaster the ceilings of our new house and do some painting.

We don't have an outside tap so he used our kitchen sink.

I have noticed that the kitchen sink waste overflows into the garden (only one wall between them).

You can tell by the blue paint stains.

Could plaster have blocked the drains? Can my water company "cover" fix this or do I have to hire a different kind of specialist?

Please see pics.

Under sink:


Into floor:


Outside:


All advice appreciated.

Edit: medium-term plan is to replace the sink and clean up the cupboard and pipes.

Thanks.

 

[JohnD]

the buffoon has caused a blockage. looks like it is in the underground pipes. Try lifting the round metal hatch and having a prod around. Also, look for the nearest manhole cover (you can probably lift it with a spade). Lift the edge and slide it along, take pics of what you see.

Don't try to poke the blockage down, try to spoon it out. There may be a great lump of solidified plaster.

It's your expense, not the water co.

 

[Live&Learn]

Thanks, I will do that today.

Doesn't the fact that there are paint stains on the pipe under the sink that goes into the ground mean that the hole is not sealed properly? Or does there need to be some breathing room there?

Thanks.

 

[Live&Learn]

OK update.

I used a rag to take out all the water I could (seemed to go on forever) but the blockage must have been around a corner at the bottom because it was dry when i was done and couldn't feel anything, and the next day it was overflowing again.

So I signed up with homeserve for £6 a year and I got someone out who used a very long spring attached to a drill. cleared it up in 2 minutes.

He said it was grease and fat (but I often use only a tablespoon when frying and never have enough to pour down the sink so it must have been from the previous occupants).

I asked him about the loose seal under the sink and he said that the best option would be to replace the gully and just have the sink drain goind outside the wall and directly into the drain as opposed to under the floor (and fill the kitchen floor hole with cement).

Does anyone have any thoughts on this and any links to products I could look at online please?

Thanks.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Homeserve are a bunch of chancers, but at least they've cleared the blockage. (I hope...)

There is nothing wrong with that setup in theory, but the current hash of pipework is completely wrong and needs doing properly. I am very surprised your kitchen doesn't stink to high heaven, as there's no visible traps on anything, and the boiler condensate drain looks like its bodged into the waste pipe.

Given the fact there is a condensate drain involved, I would strongly recommend you find a Gas Safe Plumber and ask them to sort the whole affair out properly and safely.

 

[Live&Learn]

There is a pipe that goes from the boiler directly out of the property. I think that is called the condensate. The dark (dirty) pipe you see up there in the photos is for the washing machine (none connected at the moment). Do I still need a gas safe plumber or can any plumber fix this? Thanks.

 

[Madrab]

Nope, it looks like the boiler condensate pipe - the narrower pipe (21.5mm) - is the one is on its own and turns through 90deg and then runs vertically down and connects into the main horizontal waste pipe and then bodged with silicone.

 

[Live&Learn]

OMG you are right. I am so ******* annoyed. I specifically chose an accredited boiler installer from the Worcester Bosch website so I could get a good job on the boiler.

I called Worcester Bosch to call about a different issue I had with the installers (boiler is 15 months old, and it looks like pipes weren't flushed-i had to replace heat plate exchanger, and my rads weren't balanced. installation took barely 6 hours) but they don't care.

Is there any way I can make a formal complaint to get the boiler installation rectified?

 

[Nige F]

You can make a Plumber Gas Safe, but you can't make every Gas Safe a Plumber

 

[Madrab]

Well given the way WB push their accredited installers as their recommended way to go for to install one of their boilers I would think that if you used one of their accredited installers then they would at least want to find out why one of their accredited installers did shoddy work.
https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/products/boilers/find-an-installer

accredited
/əˈkrɛdɪtɪd/
adjective
1.(of a person, organization, or course of study) officially recognized or authorized

It all comes down to the the small print tho If you feel it's justified then maybe try and find an exec and make a formal complaint, or at least a complaint in writing, it will at least get a look at and they have to respond.