Pitch Fibre Drain problem

Joe_Sp

Hi all

I have recently moved into a house built in 1970, it is the last house on the run of a shared sewer running under the rear gardens of the propertys. Following a series of blockages that affected my neighbour and us we decided to get a cctv survey carried out by Metro Rod so we could understand the nature of the problem.

The result is that the pipe is blistered in several places and we have one major obstruction to the pipe where it has effectively collapsed and constricted by approx 75%. We are very carefull about what we flush down the toilet but in becomes completely blocked within 5 days or so.

I understand that the sewer will become adopted by the Thames Water in April 2011 so I would like to find the lowest cost way of fixing the pipe, that will hopefully get us through the next 12 months.

I doubt we can claim on insurance, we are both with Halifax (St Andrews).

Metro Rod wand to dig down and replace the whole length, approx a 35 Meter run 1 M underground.

What are our options, can we just replace the small section with the sever constriction?

Thanks in advance.

J

rca779

I had exactly the same thing happen to me. I managed to claim on my house insurance for the repair, although I did have quite a hard time convincing them that this wasn't just wear & tear.

The ombudsman has made a declaration about pitch fibre drains - you can see it here: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/pitch-fibre-pipes.html

Joe_Sp

Thanks RCA779

My concern is that I have a specific clause stating that Pitch Fibre is excluded although enither I or my neighbour believe this was pointed out to us.

Unfortunately we are limited with our home insurance as both our houses had floor slab replacements in the mid 80's so moving insurer is problematic....

27col

Pitch fibre pipes have always been prone to distortion and de-lamination and this has been known for a long time. They were a big improvement on the old clay pipes, which were very susceptible to ground movement, but then the problems developed. I am not surprised that Insurance Companies are wary. I cant see that there is an easy or temporary fix. If there was, the fix would have been taken up long ago.

iamcornholio

Yes, you can just replace the defective section

Joe_Sp

I think I will suggest to my neighbour that we dig down ourselves to expose the damaged section - we know roughly where it is from the survey. I reckon it is just over 1m down.

We can then decide whether to get a professional to fix it or try ourselves - all it will cost is a couple of hours digging.

iamcornholio

If you able to dig the trench, then you could probably fix the drain

Dig your trench (wide enough to work in/wider at the top) and dig out each side of the drain, and under it by about 100mm. Then cut the pipe with a grinder (if you're careful) or a recipricating saw, or a normal handsaw (ones with tungsten teeth used for cutting blocks are ideal and about £12)

Obviously make sure no-one uses the drain upstream or bung it up in a manhole upstream

You will need some rubber connectors and then put these on the two cut ends and move them up the pipe so that your new pipe section fits in, and then move the connectors down and tighten them up

Pack up under the pipe with the soil or pea gravel, but make sure its fully supported as you don't want the weight of the ground above pushing the pipe down

Test the drain and backfill

Joe_Sp

Thanks Iamcornholio that is a big help.

I will speak to my neighbour in the morning - it cant do any harm to dig down and have a look - the drain company will need to excavate anyway. It is however his call as it is his lawn that will have hole in it!

27col

If it is not too deep, it is a perfectly doable job. Especially with rubber sleeve connectors and with some help from your neighbour. Iamcornholio is giving good advice.

Insco

Joe_Sp wrote: »

Thanks RCA779

My concern is that I have a specific clause stating that Pitch Fibre is excluded although enither I or my neighbour believe this was pointed out to us.

Unfortunately we are limited with our home insurance as both our houses had floor slab replacements in the mid 80's so moving insurer is problematic....

Make formal complaint to Halifax, noting that contrary to the FOS guidance they failed to draw the exclusion to your attention. If they maintain their position, you can refer the matter to the FOS.