Blog Articles - The Drainage People

HOME BUYERS DRAIN SURVEY

Why would you have a pre-purchase survey undertaken ?

“Nothing lasts forever” and that also applies to drains. To help inform you whether you are offering the right purchase price and not purchasing problems that will need to be repaired at some point in the future enabling you to potentially save thousands of pounds.

What Happens Next?

Find out via your solicitor or estate agent whether the foul water drainage is on mains or a separate private sewage system such as a septic tank or sewage treatment plant.
Call “The Drainage People” who can advise on any concerns.
Book a “pre-purchase drain survey” with The Drainage People
The Drainage People will liaise between you and the vendor or estate agent for access to the property.
The Drainage People will submit its findings with advisories for any works that the survey reveals, including a guideline for any likely drainage repair costs.
The findings can be submitted to your conveyancing solicitor or mortgage lender.
You can purchase your property in the safe understanding that there will be no hidden drainage surprises, post purchase, that you will have to shell out for.

The Drainage People have vast knowledge of environmental law, building regulation requirement as well as drainage design and installation experience

I’VE GOT SMELLY DRAINS

Here at The Drainage People we often have householders contact us in despair because they have an intermittent foul odour in their property, often strongest in the bathroom area. For some, it has been a long term issue and they have been at their wits end trying to resolve the issue.

WHAT CAUSES THIS PROBLEM?

As a general rule, the sewer smell omits from the waste water system which may seem a fairly obvious statement.

The question is, how does the odour get into the property?

If the sanitation system is correctly installed and damage free there should be no reason why foul water drainage odours can, or should, enter the dwelling.

If there is a fault in the system, pressure from gases in the sewer or private drainage system can force the foul odour into the property as a form of pressure release form the sewage pipes caused by displacement, sometimes made worse by air movement within the property.

You may find that when you’re trying to discover the cause of the sewer smell it can be frustrating and challenging and you may have already asked other trades for their input but because of The Drainage Peoples expertise and knowledge we will be able to pin point the cause of the odour and resolve the issue.

If you are experiencing the problem of smelly drains, call the drainage experts – THE DRAINAGE PEOPLE, we are here to help

DO I NEED A PRE PURCHASE SEPTIC TANK SURVEY?

Some rural and suburban properties are not able to be connected to main drainage, due to location, topography or even the fact that there is no local mains drainage infrastructure available.

These properties will need to have their own private waste water system.

This could either be:

A septic tank system.
A sewage treatment plant system.
A cesspit.

“Out of site is out of mind” is the general mind set and that’s OK whilst everything appears fine but not so good when it goes wrong.

It is the home owner’s duty to ensure that any off mains drainage system is compliant and does not cause nuisance or pollution to others or the environment.

Questions you may need to ask the vendor about their off mains waste water system.

Does the system serve only one property?
Where does it discharge its effluent?
Is there any requirement to enter neighbouring land to maintain in the future?
How often has it been maintained or serviced in the past?
Does the system ever have issues during wet seasons?
Does it require an environmental permit?

There is no problem with an off mains system but it’s in the buyers interest to confirm that it’s in good working order and environmentally compliant.

The Drainage People have thorough knowledge of off mains waste water systems and are able to undertake a pre-purchase survey to evaluate any potential issue with an existing sytem. Our survey will expose physical and compliance issues that may potentially cost a lot to correct in the future.

Call us now on 01225 430628 and speak to our team of experienced and qualified industry experts to gain insight into any potential issues or, even better, peace of mind when buying your property.