Mystery overflow pipe for what/where?

Lychee

There's an overflow pipe at the back of the house, somewhere between the ground and first floor. It's pretty much at the boundary between me and my neighbour's but water from the pipe flows into my neighbour's garden. For the past week, this overflow pipe has been trickling water on and off. It trickled all day, then stopped in the evening, then started trickling again 3 days later for a few hours. There's no water coming out at the moment.

Neither me or my neighbour can figure out what this overflow pipe is for, although he's absolutely convinced it's not for his house. It's not the toilet, we know where those overflow pipes are (so this is a mystery 3rd pipe). Plus the toilet isn't overflowing. We both do not have water tanks, even so I've been told a water tank overflow pipe would be near the loft and not between the ground & first floor. It's not for our combi boilers either.

Any suggestions as to what the overflow pipe might be for please? Or how to find out what it's for? Surely an overflow pipe should flow into your own property and not into the neighbour's?

Many thanks

andyhop

condensate pipe of a boiler?

safety valve pipework from boiler/water heater?

MORPH3US

Sorry, can't help.... but I have exactly the same thing.....

I am certain the pipe is our neighbours and have told him he had a dripping pipe, but he checked and I think couldn't find where it comes from but I have no idea either.

Lychee

andyhop wrote: »

condensate pipe of a boiler?

safety valve pipework from boiler/water heater?

Thanks for your reply. Had a quick google and can't quite see how it's related to a condensate pipe? This mystery pipe is about 3 metres away from my boiler, don't know about the neighbour. If it was a safety valve pipework for the boiler, what would that mean - boiler overflowing?


Thanks, MORPH3US, for your reply. How long has your pipe been dripping for?

Wherryman

andyhop wrote: »

condensate pipe of a boiler?

Just drains off the condensation from the flue gasses of a boiler, but can also act as the overflow if the boiler is over pressurised.
Do you have a combi boiler?

janey_uk

The flats where I used to live (built early 1990's) had them, which was I think purely for ventilation of the building and to release internal condensation. They were halfway up the walls and stained them with the drips, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed. Otherwise could it be from the chimney's if they are not blocked?

jblack_2

Wherryman wrote: »

Just drains off the condensation from the flue gasses of a boiler, but can also act as the overflow if the boiler is over pressurised.
Do you have a combi boiler?

It won't be a condensate pipe. If it is then it's been illegally fitted. A condensate pipe does not act as an overflow pipe. A blow-off pipe is for releasing excess pressure from a boiler. It doesn't matter what sort of boiler it is, if it's an unvented system they all have these and if it's a newer one it'll have the condensate pipe too.

Is it white plastic or a weathered copper pipe?

Could be a toilet over-flow, a blow-off from the boiler, a drain valve from a water tank or a number of other things.

HTH, J