Ground Penetrating Radar for Locating route of Soakaway

[DTL]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know the feasibility of using a ground penetrating radar survey to locate a soakaway pipe/soakaway field?

The soakaway system at least 70 years old (maybe a lot more the property was built in 1850).

 

I figure a CCTV survey would be no good as the soakaway system may have blocked pipes, rubble etc which the camera will be unable to pass,

 

Thanks

Edited yesterday at 17:21 by DTL

[-rick-]

Given the age I would guess you would be better off setting aside an amount to cover the cost of replacement (or make it a condition of sale) than investing in understanding its current state.

 

Seeing your other thread, the most important thing is to make sure you have all the legal rights you need to maintain/replace any soakaway in future if needed.

[DTL]

Thanks for your response.

 

I will be putting pressure on the Vendors about this next week.

I'm just trying to get ahead of the issue.

 

The issue is that its general location is unknown, it might be just 2m long and terminate within the curtilage of the property.

Or, it might be a lot longer and travel into a farmers field in one of two directions.

 

So it seems to be getting the legal rights, should it go onto the farmers land, will first require for it to be located.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 17:43 by DTL

[G and J]

I know it sounds daft but divining does work.  Back it up by digging where the rods tell you.  I was shocked by how accurate it is. 

[DTL]

OK thanks for the response.

 

So I could potentially be divined and then dug to follow its routing?

 

A couple of days work for two men?

 

Thanks

 

[ProDave]

Try it yourself first, I was surprised I can do it.  Don't ask me how it works, but it does.

[Russell griffiths]

If you think it might go to the ditch then chuck a bucket of drain tracing dye in the tank and see if it makes it to the ditch. 

[DTL]

Thanks for responses.

 

All the responses have been helpful.

 

These are all things I will have to ask the vendor to do so we can understand the routing of the soakaway, and then once its routing is figured out then formally identify the servitude rights within the Title. I would hope to witness the investigative works.

 

I hope the vendor agrees to some investigative work including some digging, because I really want the purchase to go through. 

 

Any suggestion on what sort of company would be best to do this work?

[saveasteading]

Divining works for me. 2 x welding rods bent as L shapes. Hold loosely.

For me they cross about 1m past so I do it both ways and split.

 

If you doubt the efficacy it wong work... seriously.

 

Or hire a drain rod with tracker. That is more accurate but needs outlet access.

 

The vendor would  be crazy or hiding something if they declined. Otherwise any sale may fail at discoveries stage. 

 

[saveasteading]

Or maybe our primitive brains know where to scratch for water, and the rods make it seem more convincing.

[ProDave]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

Divining works for me. 2 x welding rods bent as L shapes. Hold loosely.

For me they cross about 1m past so I do it both ways and split.

Same for me, but I got the impression it was a time delay, so walk slower and they cross closer to the target.  But walking the other way and the target is half way between the two crossovers.

 

I use 2 old bucket handles straightened out and then bent into an L shape.

 

I didn't know I could do it until a discussion with my BIL over a pint of beer ended up "Here take these and walk across my yard" and they crossed over half way.  "That's the drain pipe from the barn" he told me.

 

I used it in anger when getting my water connection.  The mains water was not where the plan given to the contractors showed.  They were on the verge of packing up and going away, so I got my rods out and went walking.  You could almost hear them sniggering, but the rods crossed over only 1 metre further than they had already dug to so they agreed to go a bit further and there was the water pipe.

[Kelvin]

Two of the private water companies I dealt said they don’t use water diviners as they don’t need to but offered contact details for anyone that still wanted to use them. We had a go. It worked for my other half, and didn’t for me (we both knew where the pipes are) and it didn’t for the two other people that tried (and we didn’t tell them where the pipes were)