Non-emergency drain blockage

DRP

We have a drain next to our front door that has started overflowing today in the heavy rain. The water is often slow to exit the drain and today the gutter is not draining away quick enough. You can see the little ditch next to the drain has filled with water (and leaves). As the rain slowed the overflowing water seeped away within 10 minutes (presumably under the block paving).

The drain is for our gutter downpipe and our soilpipe (which enters the drain through the wall of our house from under our hall floor). Nothing seems blocked/overflowing in the house (yet?).

The drain is a weird thing with seemingly unused bits that the previous owner blocked with flower pots (see pic).



2 questions:
1) Who to get in to sort this? Dynorod or similar? It's not an emergency as such.

2) Any ideas as to what this drain is? Not sure how long it has been there, but its a 1901 house. There's no inspection chamber anywhere.

zaax

Where does it drain to, sewer or soak-away? If a soak-way you need a builder or DIY its not that difficult and will save you lots of money. If sewer local water co.

Furts

The flower pot feature is an old vitrified clay back inlet gulley. It is a trapped gulley and would originally have received waste water vertically through where the flower pot is. This would not be from a toilet for the solids would block the gulley. I suggest that over the years the kitchen waste pipe, or whatever, has moved elsewhere, and is now your grey pipe.

To clean, or rod the gulley which is what I suggest, you access it by lifting the grating .The outlet will be part way up the clay wall of the gulley. The rods need to go down the this outlet. If you call out anyone who suggests pressure jetting the drain be very wary. This is the default answer because it is easy and profitable. Your concern is not this but the integrity of your old drains.

Hope this helps.

Furts

And the other item looks like an upturned Inspection Chamber cover. But I am puzzled slightly because I have not come across any with a pvcu or polypropylene lid joined to a clay ring. Unless this is another inset flower pot?

EssexExile

If you do go down the "calling in the professionals" route can I mention my experiences? I usually call local businesses to do any work for me but with drains I've gone off that idea. Local drain cleaning companies seem to come & go or change identities regularly. They charge as much as the national ones but there's no comeback later as they've disappeared. Last time I used Drain Doctor, they gave a quote on arrival (not an estimate) were quick clean & efficient. And their vans are not as garish as Dynorod's.

DRP

Thanks Furts and zaax for your replies.

Zaax - it drains to a sewer, not a soakaway. However the route is a little mysterious - our attached neighbour had to rod his drains c10-15 years ago (his gullyy is the other side of the garden wall in the background) via an inspection chamber on his neighbours drive (next but one to my house).


The clay ring is indeed an upturned flower pot - the pipe under it is completely dry currently - see pics - although the water level is rising fast... The 'non-emergency, is getting a bit more urgent in this heavy rain!



The soil pipe did originally come out of the house vertically into this drain, but many years ago (20?) the bathrrom was moved to the back and now the soil goes under the floor as described in my original post.

Furts - you describe accessing the rodding point by removing the plastic grate - do you mean where the gutter downpipe enters the drain, and the rods will go in the direction of that mass of concrete between the drain and wall?

DRP

EssexExile wrote: »

If you do go down the "calling in the professionals" route can I mention my experiences? I usually call local businesses to do any work for me but with drains I've gone off that idea. Local drain cleaning companies seem to come & go or change identities regularly. They charge as much as the national ones but there's no comeback later as they've disappeared. Last time I used Drain Doctor, they gave a quote on arrival (not an estimate) were quick clean & efficient. And their vans are not as garish as Dynorod's.

thanks - i was just looking at THE drain doctor website. I think i better give them a call... the rain is forecast all day

Furts

DRP wrote: »

Thanks Furts and zaax for your replies.





The soil pipe did originally come out of the house vertically into this drain, but many years ago (20?) the bathrrom was moved to the back and now the soil goes under the floor as described in my original post.

Furts - you describe accessing the rodding point by removing the plastic grate - do you mean where the gutter downpipe enters the drain, and the rods will go in the direction of that mass of concrete between the drain and wall?

It is most improbable that a true soil pipe from a previous bathroom entered the gulley because this would be taking a waste from a toilet that would block the gulley. This waste may have gone to the inspection chamber revealed now the flower pot has been taken out. There would be a logic to this so my vote is on that.

Yes the rods would go in the direction of the concrete. It looks like the drain is incredibly shallow and the concrete is protecting a pipe that has, in effect, been laid on the surface of the ground.

You could hire rods from a local tool hire centre - probably a lot cheaper than a call out to a drain company!

DRP

Thanks Furts, i appreciate your knowledge and advice. I'm not surprise it is a bit of a bodge - it seems the last 2 previous owners made a habit of bodging!

I just stuck a large screw driver down into the gully below the drain pipe - all very soft material down there and the water cleared straight away when i started digging at the soft material - i guess this means that the blockage is directly within the area pictured and not the pipe to the sewer - good news i guess!

I rang drain doctor - when they get back to me i'll get them out on a non-emergency rate i think.

We are getting a downstair loo installed soon - i think it might be a good time to replace that gully?

tonyh66

you could probably buy rods from toolstation, for the cost of hiring some.

Its really difficult to see whats going, its good to see you have cleared the blockage, you probably don't need drain doctor, I would be concerned on where the soil pipe is entering this system. Personally I would be ripping all the bodge out and putting in either a manhole or a rodding access, especially if your adding another toilet to it.

DRP

tonyh66 wrote: »

you could probably buy rods from toolstation, for the cost of hiring some.

you're right - only about 15 quid! worth having just in case for that price. :money: