5 manholes in a brand new house (garden & drive way)...

Doozergirl

BartyBoy wrote: »

Appearance is one thing, the other thing concerns me is whether all these 5 manholes are for the property in my plot only or the neighbours are using them too. I read some online stories saying if the neighbour's property connects to the manhole that sits in my land, any problems to the neighbour's drainage, I will be responsible to pay for repair and maintenance.

This is why I questioned myself why I get 5 manholes in my plot of land, my property is a small three bedrooms house.

Thaat isn't true at all. Any shared drain will be the responsibility of the water company. Hence 'adoptable' in your paperwork.

Moving them is highly unlikely. They are part of a network and inspection chambers sit over junctions to satisfy regs and make access simple.

ERICS_MUM

Personally I would walk away from the house.

My neighbours drains run through my garden where the inspection pit is. It was always getting clogged while neighbours had babies and insisted on flushing baby wipes. I hated having to get it rodded, the inconvenience of having to take time off work, having plants disturbed (grown to disguise said eyesore), getting the stuff taken away via the house, the cost (neighbours said - my land, my responsibility, my cost ).

martin.cat

Inspection covers are plentiful these days to provide access

As mentioned above check whether they are yours or shared and the routing as this could cause problems if you wanted to extend later

My father in law has several all his in the garden and he just turfed over and this hides them well. In the drier summer months they dry out first so you still know they are there but certainly not a real problem. They have also be useful a few times too. Much better to remove the little bit of turf to inspect flow and unblock rather than dig up the drain

booksurr

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

the cost (neighbours said - my land, my responsibility, my cost ).

since the law changed nearly 4 years ago in October 2011 that is no longer true,
http://www.thameswater.co.uk/help-and-advice/8654.htm
as Doozergirl says, a shared drain is now the responsibility of the water company to clear if blocked

ellie27

Sorry to hear that.

We are in a new build development and some of the front gardens have 2 in them.

We have the largest front and largest back garden in the street and we only have 1 in the driveway, none in any of the garden areas, we didnt think anything of it at first til we saw other plots and realised how lucky we are.

If it was me, I would leave the house and find another.

yorkie3

For me, I would walk away as it is indicative of the lack of thought that has gone into the design at such an early stage. If this is the low standard that they have started off with, who knows what problems you will face down the line.

BartyBoy

ellie27 wrote: »

If it was me, I would leave the house and find another.

Thank you and everybody here for the comments and advice, much appreciated!

I think this is where I cannot make up my mind.

If I choose to pull out now, obviously I will need to start the search all over again. It is not a big deal to drive around different cities to look for a right house, but having said that it is not easy to find a property within my budget and within a reasonable distance to and from my work.

But, if I choose to stick with this property, then I have to accept the fact that I will not be able to extend the house as I wanted to, and also I need to prepare if things go wrong, I have 5 manholes to deal with (not saying all 5 have a problem at the same time, but if I only had 1, I would just need to deal with 1 manhole, in that sense)...

Davesnave

BartyBoy wrote: »

But, if I choose to stick with this property, then I have to accept the fact that I will not be able to extend the house as I wanted to, and also I need to prepare if things go wrong...

Have you determined that already, or just guessed? If drains are shared, you will need a building-over agreement, but if it's your own drain, things will be easier.

And why imagine that anything will go wrong? There may be problems, but equally, many of us have lived with inspection covers (5 at my last house) and had no issues in decades.

BartyBoy

Davesnave wrote: »

Have you determined that already, or just guessed? If drains are shared, you will need a building-over agreement, but if it's your own drain, things will be easier.

Am I still able to build/put a conservatory on top of a manhole?

I thought these manholes needed to be accessible…

Many thanks

Davesnave

BartyBoy wrote: »

Am I still able to build/put a conservatory on top of a manhole?

I thought these manholes needed to be accessible…

Many thanks

Yes, you would just change the normal one for a screw-down airtight lid, assuming the original was just a standard type. There are lids which allow you to inset the flooring material you are using too, so it blends in.