Drainage questions

Scotbot

My survey says the soil pipe is not visible. Is this an issue? I don't even know what a soil pipe is. Secondly the rear drainage cover could not be lifted because it was under stones. The garden has pavers and stones in a grid pattern

Should I get a drainage survey? I understand drains can be very expensive to fix

user1977

Scotbot said:

I don't even know what a soil pipe is. 

Oh dear. It's what your sewage goes through. Hopefully there is one! Not sure at which location the surveyor expected it to be visible?

MikeJXE

Scotbot said:

My survey says the soil pipe is not visible. Is this an issue? I don't even know what a soil pipe is. Secondly the rear drainage cover could not be lifted because it was under stones. The garden has pavers and stones in a grid pattern

Should I get a drainage survey? I understand drains can be very expensive to fix

It seems to me your surveyor doesn't know what a soil and vent pipe is either

It could be outside clipped to the wall or inside boxed in

It picks up waste from the toilet, bath, basin, sink and washing machine

Discharges into the sewer 

bluelad1927

MikeJXE said:

Scotbot said:

My survey says the soil pipe is not visible. Is this an issue? I don't even know what a soil pipe is. Secondly the rear drainage cover could not be lifted because it was under stones. The garden has pavers and stones in a grid pattern

Should I get a drainage survey? I understand drains can be very expensive to fix

It seems to me your surveyor doesn't know what a soil and vent pipe is either

It could be outside clipped to the wall or inside boxed in

It picks up waste from the toilet, bath, basin, sink and washing machine

Discharges into the sewer 

It may have been that the surveyor is saying  exactly what he meant. Not visible could easily mean boxed  in and therefore unable to inspect.

It would only be concerning if it said he couldn't find one

BikingBud

See here: 

Rics-house-diagram.pdf

as there are likely other terms that you might not recognise.

Scotbot

The survey said it was not visible so he could not comment on whether ventilation was adequate.  I assume it is boxed in. The house is 40 years old and the bathroom is internal,  next to the en suite which has an external wall. Both have been replaced since it was been built.

Would  a drainage survey be a good idea?

Section62

Scotbot said:

The survey said it was not visible so he could not comment on whether ventilation was adequate.  I assume it is boxed in. The house is 40 years old and the bathroom is internal,  next to the en suite which has an external wall. Both have been replaced since it was been built.

Would  a drainage survey be a good idea?

Drainage surveys usually only look at underground drainage - it seems the surveyor is talking about the internal soil pipe and saying they can't check whether it has the required ventilation (e.g. an air-admittance valve).  To get that fully surveyed is likely to involve removing the boxing in (strictly speaking an AAV should be accessible anyway) - which the vendors are probably not going to agree to.

If the internal soil pipes were likely to be pitch fibre then I'd suggest a thorough survey would be a good investment - but if it is just a question of a possible missing AAV (or similar) on a uPVC system then it is likely to be more economically viable to just fix the problem when/if it ever becomes one.  The possible issues could be with a loud gurgling noise when emptying the bath/basin, or smells from the plugholes if the traps get emptied.  If neither of these issues was apparent then it is likely everything is fine.

Albermarle

Section62 said:

Scotbot said:

The survey said it was not visible so he could not comment on whether ventilation was adequate.  I assume it is boxed in. The house is 40 years old and the bathroom is internal,  next to the en suite which has an external wall. Both have been replaced since it was been built.

Would  a drainage survey be a good idea?

Drainage surveys usually only look at underground drainage - it seems the surveyor is talking about the internal soil pipe and saying they can't check whether it has the required ventilation (e.g. an air-admittance valve).  To get that fully surveyed is likely to involve removing the boxing in (strictly speaking an AAV should be accessible anyway) - which the vendors are probably not going to agree to.

If the internal soil pipes were likely to be pitch fibre then I'd suggest a thorough survey would be a good investment - but if it is just a question of a possible missing AAV (or similar) on a uPVC system then it is likely to be more economically viable to just fix the problem when/if it ever becomes one.  The possible issues could be with a loud gurgling noise when emptying the bath/basin, or smells from the plugholes if the traps get emptied.  If neither of these issues was apparent then it is likely everything is fine.

The OP is also concerned about this.

 Secondly the rear drainage cover could not be lifted because it was under stones. The garden has pavers and stones in a grid pattern

Seems a bit of a leap/inexperience to go for a drainage survey, just because the drain cover could not be easily lifted.

Scotbot

The surveyor basically said they couldn't access anything so couldn't  comment on drainage and solicitor has also raised an issue with drainage.  Frankly I don't understand a word of it and I know the surveyor could be covering his bottom but a drainage survey is only £250 so I think I will go ahead with it.

The one thing I do know about drains is repairs can be very expensive