Repairs to soil pipe joints and gully

hatt55

This is a victorian terrace, so combined sewer system.

The soil pipe has been CCTV surveyed and has found that there were two displaced joints within about 1m of it going underground adjacent to the house. The same company have proposed a 'no dig' repair where I think they essentially apply some sort of plastic to the inside of the pipe and expand it outwards. This is priced at £1400 ex VAT.

I felt that this was a bit on the expensive side, mainly just considering the method involved seems like it doesn't require that much work (though obviously I have no idea really!). 

There is also a rainwater pipe just next to this which drains into a gully adjacent to the soil pipe (I think they must connect underground, but not sure exactly how). The concrete is a bit of a mess, and the rainwater pipe really just splashes in the general direction of the gully so water easily hits the adjacent brick work rather than draining away. There is a small void between the concrete and the gully, so water could also escape into here rather than draining away. 

I've now had another quote to basically repair the whole lot - cut out and replace the pipework 1m down from the soil stack, connect a new gully, backfill and replace the concrete. I told them the other price i'd been given and they said they would match it.

This seems like a lot more work for the price and would repair the issue with the gully as well. But I'm cautious that I told them the other quote and that seems to be what they've based the figure on. Obviously i'll never know what the price would have been if I hadn't mentioned it. They've also asked for half the cost as a deposit for materials, which always makes me a bit uneasy although I have done this before.

Any comments appreciated! 

sheenas

A bit of a school boy error letting them know the completions Quote. Three quotes is always advisable.

hatt55

Well, hindsight. But just looking on here for some advice now that that's happened. 

FreeBear

hatt55 said: There is also a rainwater pipe just next to this which drains into a gully adjacent to the soil pipe (I think they must connect underground, but not sure exactly how). The concrete is a bit of a mess, and the rainwater pipe really just splashes in the general direction of the gully so water easily hits the adjacent brick work rather than draining away. There is a small void between the concrete and the gully, so water could also escape into here rather than draining away.

I'm a fan of debris gullies at the base of downpipes - They trap a lot of the muck that would otherwise block your drain as well as offering a point where a (very) flexible rod can be poked down. An added bonus is a flap where you can view the volume of water flowing in to the drain.

Having a downpipe cemented in to a 4" socket is asking for trouble at some point in the future. So if you are going to the expense of digging it all up, the cost of a debris gully is minimal (well, £23.78 from Screwfix)

hatt55

Thanks, i'll bear that in mind. The person who gave me the second quote (more work but matching a price I had told them) was getting a little bit hurried in wanting a response, which put me off a little bit. So I'm definitely seeking out some more quotes

It looks as though this kind of thing is covered by either a drain repair company or perhaps groundworks. I'm a little but apprehensive of a groundworks company doing this because its seems a bit more plumbing relating (but also isn't a standard plumber's job!). Would a groundworks company be fine with this kind of thing?