poor installation of plumbing

Carrot007

AdrianC wrote: »

Riiiiiiiiiight.

Sounds very like a perfectly normal shower trap, tbh. Maybe somebody's simply mislaid the actual central bit - they're removable for cleaning...

A photo would definitely help.

Indeed, sounds exactly like mine which uis fitted fine.


There is usually not even a shallow trap with a shower but a shower trap.


Which is a hole to a pipe with a central removable bit catcher and a top. All perfectly normal. Yes you need to run a bit of water into it after cleaning to get it to perform the barrier but no-one would be that silly.

jo03gra

I don't think anything is missing AdrianC, there is a cover, a hair trap, and a silver channel screwed in to shower tray. I have tried to take a photo but you just cant see past the drain channel, but I can see it is a white drain pipe curving away, all looks good to me and no smells today thank goodness.

Carrot007 please don't assume that I'm not silly I am a lot of the time...so what are you saying about after cleaning? Thanks

AdrianC

jo03gra wrote: »

I don't think anything is missing AdrianC, there is a cover, a hair trap, and a silver channel screwed in to shower tray.

Then that IS the trap... Just the same as on most shower trays.

ComicGeek

Where the drain pipe connects into the drainage channel, is there standing water here? This should be the trap to stop smells coming back up, which is what the standing water does.

Does it get regularly used, as traps will dry out (eventually) without use?

Next time you smell it, check to see if there is still standing water here. If the trap is dry, then you need to look into anti syphon traps. If the trap is fine, then it's likely to be issues with venting - modern housing schemes rarely put in enough atmospheric venting to regulate system pressure.

jo03gra

ComicGeek Thanks, there is always water in it when ever i look, but I haven't made a point of checking this when the smell is present, so I will definitely do that.

AdrianC the biggest issue with you saying there is no issue is that British Gas sent me a Dyna engineer, plumber whatever he is and he said without too much teeth sucking that there was no trap. He didn't do any investigating, told me this while standing next to the loo whilst flushing it. He said "can you hear the gurgling in the shower drain? There's no trap. That's an installation problem and BG wont cover you for it. But don't quote me" his words

I'm not convinced his diagnosis is worth the paper its written on hence worried about paying out for someone to come and pull everything apart when it all looks good, just smells bad.

Same with kitchen where the smell is worse...i can see there is a normal u bend which I assume is a trap so why terrible smells in there...he said maybe no rubber bung was fitted?

I'm a woman with 100% no experience of plumbing so I'm at there mercy

ProDave

Get a competent PLUMBER to look at it. Make sure he has a "drain pressure test kit"

The normal procedure is you plug the vent pipe and pressurise the drain pipes and they should hold pressure.

AdrianC

jo03gra wrote: »

AdrianC the biggest issue with you saying there is no issue is that British Gas sent me a Dyna engineer, plumber whatever he is and he said without too much teeth sucking that there was no trap.

He also said "Don't quote me on that", didn't he? In other words "That's a guess".

He didn't do any investigating, told me this while standing next to the loo whilst flushing it.

There y'go. A distant guess.

I'm not convinced his diagnosis is worth the paper its written on hence worried about paying out for someone to come and pull everything apart when it all looks good, just smells bad.

Ignore the big nationals. Get a locally recommended one-man band in. Go in to a local builder's or plumber's merchants, and ask around - no, not B&Q or Wickes...

Just ask him to investigate the symptoms, don't tell him any "Well, so-and-so said it might be..."

Somebody's been living in that house for seven years... It won't kill you in the next week or two.

jo03gra

Thanks guys, yes i'll get a local guy in and i'll take your advice.

AdrianC you are quite right, somebody has lived here for years before me, but she wouldn't have noticed the smell of the drains as the overpowering stench of her cats and dogs would have masked it.

I had to have a key undertaking put into the contract in order to deep clean the house before I could move my family in. Hence lack of concern on her part regarding whiffy drains...she wrecked the place then traded it in for another new build

gettingtheresometime

The sewers would have had to been subject to a S104 agreement even before they were laid & a S106 before they were connected to the sewerage system so I'm guessing the drains that aren't adopted were never put up for adoption in the first place.

Surface water can be drained away by the use of soakaways as well.

jo03gra

Funnily enough there has been no smell for about 2 days and a van from General Utilities is on the estate to check the drains with view to the adoption proceeding