Unblocking the Drain

The house has a strange drainage system that starts on the right of the house and runs around the back and then down to the front again. Its a very lengthy run that has 3 manholes. Some weeks ago, one of the manholes was almost 2/3 full due to blockage. Paid Severn Trent Water to come and inspect it to check if it was shared and also unblock it. If the drain is shared then it becomes the water company's responsibility to maintain it, otherwise its the responsibility of the occupant. Although this was unblocked, we discovered another manhole near the front of the property hidden among bushes which was also heavily blocked. Being a private drain, STW wouldn't visit again to unblock it so I had to call up a private company.  Phoned up happydrains on Monday and booked an appointment for Thursday.


The plumber (what do you call someone who unblocks drains? ) go to work immediately on arrival and had to use what looked like scaffolding tubes (shown above) to first try and dislodge the blockage, otherwise hosing it would cause the contents of the manhole to come up to the surface. Once he had broken through, the drain was unblocked within an hour. Not sure how they do this job, the stench from the drain was so foul we had to go indoors.


Its possible that the drain may not be in the best condition, so we're hoping to replace it once the digging commences.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Windows and Doors

Image
So as we await for planning consent and quotes from builders, we thought it was good to use the time to start looking at the style of windows we would want installed. The intention is to replace all the single glazed windows with double glazing at some point but this will depend on the cost. The existing windows of the house are single glazed timber sliding sash, with Georgian bars in the upper half. Front Elevation  The rear windows are simple sliding sash with the ones on the ground floor having Georgian bars. Rear Elevation The extension will consist of 2 windows in the kitchen area, followed by another in the utility area. Then there is a small window for the small toilet and 2 windows above the garage (front and rear). There is also a single door from the utility into the garden and 2 sets of bi-folding doors. In total then we have over 30 windows. We would like to replace the existing windows with something similar that keeps the character of the property but sl
Read more

Day 59 - Brickwork

Image
Once again nothing much to report on except the few courses of bricks have been laid. Photo 1  Photo 2 Working with black mortar is a lot more difficult as its easier to ruin the brickwork. So far I think the brickwork is looking pretty good. While waiting for the brickwork to be built, I thought it would be good to make a start on preparing the rooms on the inside. Photo 3 Photo 4 Started to remove the plaster from the exterior walls where I want to add insulation. Previous Next
Read more

Day 125 - Enabling Works

Image
Had a visit from a friend today and was just discussing whether to remove the fireplace or not from the living room. One thing lead to another and before long we had removed the fireplace from the living room and also removed the plaster from the chimney wall. Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 This is where we are hoping to install our wood burner but having the plaster removed, we are now debating whether to leave the chimney as exposed bricks. Previous Next
Read more