Foundations & Drains

[Spinny]

Thoughts on the drains now please. The neighbours drains are leaking again as you can see. Look closely and you will see cracks in the clay pipe. I think plan is now for him to replace with plastic. I am concerned that then leaves the pipe across the boundary still as clay (boundary is near the fence). Doesn't seem a great place for a future leak at that final clay pipe joint, where it already looks as though the collar may have been repaired with concrete or something. The pipes carry all his foul water and almost all his rainwater including that from the new extension.

 

Do you think the water company will come and take this opportunity to dig the lateral pipe across the boundary out and replace with plastic to avoid future problems ?

 

I am ok with the water company digging on my side because it is old concrete that will need to come up anyway. Now seems a better time for preventative maintenance, rather than waiting for any hidden foul leak to arise ?

 

There might be a question about where to stop of course. Lateral pipe goes to public chamber on my land fed by my drains too. Chamber is brick and pipe inputs and outputs clay - presumably been there since 1935.

 

Thoughts ? What would you do ?

[saveasteading]

The arrangement suggests that 2 pipes flow from the right, and merge on your side of the fence. Then it heads off,  under or very  close to the house on the left. Is your house on the left?

Is that correct?

 

[Oz07]

Can't see water company doing anything themselves at their cost. 

[Spinny]

2 hours ago, saveasteading said:

The arrangement suggests that 2 pipes flow from the right, and merge on your side of the fence. Then it heads off,  under or very  close to the house on the left. Is your house on the left?

Is that correct?

 

2 pipes (their private drain pipes) flow from the right and merge on the neighbour's side to flow into one pipe which therefore becomes a lateral public drain at the boundary/adjacent to fence. The lateral drain then travels 2m or so across my property into a public manhole on my property (not in photo). Yes we are on the left of the fence in that pic.

 

If you enlarge the photo and look closely you will see that the clay Y pipe has visible cracks in it. They have already put some plastic pipes in to try to fix other clay pipes with holes and cracks. It is still leaking. Yes by replacing their private pipes with plastic (or plastic sections) they can fix it. But clearly there is still then a single clay pipe which spans the boundary to flow into the manhole on our side. Given the problems with the clay pipes on their side, I would think the clay pipe spanning the boundary is quite likely to fail (or indeed might already have cracks). Or their join onto that clay pipe could fail or break the lateral pipe. Now would seem to be the ideal time to replace that pipe before they start building steps and a raised platform over it. Given the pipe spans the boundary it should presumably be the water company's responsibility to do that. If I were the neighbour I would want to get that done too rather than have the water company turn up one day to break out the work they are doing so they can to fix a leak.

[Spinny]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

Can't see water company doing anything themselves at their cost. 

The lateral drain is the water company responsibility. If it leaks or blocks they have to come and fix it. As I understand it, they will dig up anything in the way as necessary to fix it in those circumstances, which would include the neighbours finished work. Water company have already told me that if there are any problems with the manhole on my property to call them and they will have to come and fix it. (Never realised this in the past and have paid for drain blockages to be cleared there myself).

 

It just seems daft to me not to replace the pipe crossing the boundary now - in everyone's best interest - the neighbour, the water company, and me.

[Spinny]

Front of the extension is at the very bottom of the pic, and as the lateral drain is more than 0.5m away from the extension, they have self certified to avoid paying for a build over agreement. However they are building forward of the extension by 2m to create a raised platform and steps with a planter on top. Something of a grey area perhaps.

 

(I plan to do work in the area around the public manhole on my property in the coming year or two - replace old concrete and/or put slabs down. Presumably I don't need a build over agreement for that either as I am not 'building' over by replacing the surface ?)

 

 

[Oz07]

1 hour ago, Spinny said:

The lateral drain is the water company responsibility. If it leaks or blocks they have to come and fix it. As I understand it, they will dig up anything in the way as necessary to fix it in those circumstances, which would include the neighbours finished work. Water company have already told me that if there are any problems with the manhole on my property to call them and they will have to come and fix it. (Never realised this in the past and have paid for drain blockages to be cleared there myself).

 

It just seems daft to me not to replace the pipe crossing the boundary now - in everyone's best interest - the neighbour, the water company, and me.

I just think they would rather deal with something when in occurs and seek to reclaim any costs if applicable afterwards. I just can't see a massive water company coming out to replace a section of sewer for pvc as a preventative measure. Although you do say its already leaking. Is there a build over agreement for this work or not needed?

[Spinny]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

Is there a build over agreement for this work or not needed?

See my post above.