Blocked drain / gulley mystery - can anyone help?

dlmcr

Hi all,
Moved into a new house a couple of months ago and in that time have had a blocked gulley / drain problem twice and ended up having to call out a reputable drain clearing company who were able to clear the blockage cheaply and quickly with a combination of suction rodding and pressure hosing. Have also had Severn Trent out to look at it. Unfortunately nobody was able to find the actual cause of the problem (because unable to access the drain via a manhole cover, more detail below) and so to try and prevent any more call outs for this every 6 weeks or so I wanted to post here to see whether anyone would be able to offer any advice or possible solutions.

That gulley that the water waste pipes (but not the toilet pipes) lead to is just outside next to the back wall of the house, this looks like a kind of "buchan trap" and is a kind of hole in the ground all these pipes go into with a u bend leading to a pipe at the bottom of it to take all the water to the next stage.
It is this hole that was was filling up and overflowing because the water wasn't draining away and it was this that was rodded to fix the problem. At first I tried rodding this myself, didn't work, tried manually cleaning and caustic soda, neither worked.
Where the drain goes to after this hole is a bit of a mystery, the obvious place is a sewer to which there is a manhole cover around 10 feet away but I was told the drain doesn't go there. The only other manhole covers are around 30 feet away in the middle of the street.

The house was build around 1900 and is not attached to any other buildings, looking at the other buildings in the street and the way the drain is configured I am 90% certain my drain isn't shared with another property so I don't think the problem could be caused by another household disposing of baby wipes etc.

After the first blockage I thought it might be the type of toilet paper we were using (we use the thicker one) that caused the problem, but this time the cleaning company said it wouldn't be that, and that it could be anything like the volume of water passing through the drains (for example having the washing machine on at the same time as a shower) or the type of detergent or soap or shampoo we use. We are definitely not pouring anyting like oils, grease or anything similar down that would likely to cause something like this.

Would anybody be able to offer any advice in the situation? Would the best starting point in this case be to get a camera into the drain to see what is going on or would there be another possible cause? It's a bit of a mystery at the minute!

warehouse

Tree roots are a cause of this, (amongst other things). Anything big growing anywhere near possible drain routes?

dlmcr

warehouse wrote: »

Tree roots are a cause of this, (amongst other things). Anything big growing anywhere near possible drain routes?

No there's no trees anywhere nearby at all.

blackshirtuk

slightly confused on the layout and this:-

dlmcr wrote: »

That gulley that the water waste pipes (but not the toilet pipes) lead to is just outside next to the back wall of the house,

After the first blockage I thought it might be the type of toilet paper we were using (we use the thicker one)

dampdaveski

dlm,
I come across this all the time when assessing 'damp' problems.
In situations like this I recommend that people get a camera survey done of all the drainage on the property, it may well cost £120 - £200 to do it, BUT as far as I am concerned for a victorian property this is money well spent as the knowledge that all your drains are in good condition is IMO well worth the money.

the other thing I would consider is paying to get the gulley rerouted into the nearest manhole, then you KNOW it is going where it should.
Obviously I haven't seen it and their could be expensive block sets or something inbetween.
something to think about
good luck
DD

blackshirtuk

dampdaveski wrote: »

dlm,
I come across this all the time when assessing 'damp' problems.
In situations like this I recommend that people get a camera survey done of all the drainage on the property, it may well cost £120 - £200 to do it, BUT as far as I am concerned for a victorian property this is money well spent as the knowledge that all your drains are in good condition is IMO well worth the money.

the other thing I would consider is paying to get the gulley rerouted into the nearest manhole, then you KNOW it is going where it should.
Obviously I haven't seen it and their could be expensive block sets or something inbetween.
something to think about
good luck
DD

I have a friend who was once a trainee for a drain company and was advised to play the same video for the customer showing all the tree roots in their drain if at all possible!

zaax

I bet the original rodding cover has fallen into the bend, or the bend has otherwise become clogged. Put your hand down and have a good feel.

The 10' away one maybe surface water

bsod

blue/green coloured toilet blocks might help trace the route of the drains, or stick some washing up liquid in the sink, and follow the suds

dampdaveski

blackshirtuk wrote: »

I have a friend who was once a trainee for a drain company and was advised to play the same video for the customer showing all the tree roots in their drain if at all possible!

There are dishonest thieving scumbags in any industry blackshirt!
Incidentally drainage or camera inspections is NOT a service I offer

blackshirtuk

dampdaveski wrote: »

There are dishonest thieving scumbags in any industry blackshirt!
Incidentally drainage or camera inspections is NOT a service I offer

sorry if that came across as a dig at you, it was not my intention, it was merely a light-hearted warning to the op!

I agree rogues in any business