Advice request - buying house with foul sewer pipes

Davidben83

Bump 

Grateful for advice, thank you. 

Section62

Davidben83 said:

Bump 

Grateful for advice, thank you. 

Sorry, I missed your post the other day.

I would say 1920 is about right.  The piecemeal development of the road is a bit of a curveball and makes it open to some doubt as it is possible the construction was a bit later but to an earlier design.

Another source of information worth having a look at is the Historic England archive of aerial photos.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/

Usually that would be a very long shot, but you've got more chance than most as Aerofilms were based in North London and very active in the 1920's and 1930's.

It might also be worth checking the 1939 Register (on Ancestry or Find My Past) which gives details of people living in properties on a street-by-street basis.  If the property was built by September 1939 then there should be an entry - although where individuals might be still living their records are redacted so it can take some detective work to figure out whether a property exists or not.  If you go down that route and need some help then just ask.  I believe both family history sites have a trial membership option, but if you are a library member you may be able to get free access to both at a local library, or in some cases use Ancestry at home.

If only you could wait a few months the 1921 census is due for release early next year!

A further curveball is London is one of the places where there are some Section 24-type sewers from as late as the mid-1960's.

Having building control sign off is a plus.  I have to admit to being very surprised at that as London Boroughs and Thames Water are usually quite strict about build over of sewers.

I think the house being built where an old road is shown needs more investigation - it is possible it was only an access track or the like. So I wouldn't get unduly concerned that you are dealing with a large sewer until more information is known.

Davidben83

Hi everyone

We have recently had a CCTV survey of the sewers completed and I'd be grateful for your thoughts on whether we should proceed with the purchase. 

There are five manholes at the property - four inside the house and one in the front driveway. The company performing the survey could only gain access to one manhole inside and the one outdoors. The report confirmed that they are foul sewers and outdoors one has an interceptor. The pipes that were reviewed required work (grades 3 and 4, although 4 is for lateral flow pipes) and the main sewer has fractures that need to be lined in the "medium term".

This is making us very hesitant to proceed with the purchase. The amount of remedial work on the sewers appears non-trivial which we are concerned would be disruptive. And there is uncertainty about the condition of the pipes leading to the other manholes that were not surveyed

We also do not know whether a build over agreement would have been required and what the sewage company would do if the manholes are inaccessible. Break the floors presumably.

Finally, the planning documentation does not mention that there is a foul sewer under the extension, so we are not sure whether they got the right sign off/oversight from building control. 

Liverpool85

Wow, I’m bet your glad you got the CCTV survey. The vendors probably worried it would find issues making sale difficult & indemnities are often of limited use.

I would avoid this house. It has potentially disruptive maintenance issues and a lot of uncertainty about hidden issues that could cause a lot of hassle. 

If it was your forever home at a good price you could consider buying, if you’re aiming to renovate, gut, future proof etc.
if it’s a short term house then it may well be a big pain to sell and the price may fall if e.g a drain collapses 

hopefully you can find something else