Need Help, Surveyor suggested a Drainage Inspection

Hello,

Need some help, Were due to sign contracts monday, We just had our Surveyor inspect the house yesterday and all came back good with the exception of one thing, He has suggested getting Dyno-Rod (or similar type company) out for a CCTV inspection of the drainage, I've not been able to get hold of him yet to ask him why this is required. I just got the report a couple of hours ago,

I've not purchased many houses so I'm not sure if this is normal or if most people would get this done anyway, I had not planned nor even considered getting it done until now.
Any help or feedback you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a copy of what the surveyors report said
" The drains are generally PVC and run to the back of the house. There is an AJ outside the back door, but this does not provide adequate access for inspection and cleaning and some upgrading is required here. From here, they run to an outfall manhole near the rear boundary of the site. I do not know where they run from there.
They appeared to be clean and in good working order but as they have not been used for some considerable time, they should be thoroughly flushed through, prior to use.

Ideally, the client should have the drain examined by CCTV and a condition survey be prepared (By “Dynorod” or similar). If serious flaws are found outside the boundary of this site, I advise that the client “walk away”.
"

Many Thanks

Sounds like sensible advise. I'd pay for the drain survey, because if you have to do work on them it could cost 1000's. You should explain to your solicitor that you need a drain inspection carried out, and you cannot sign until you have the results back.

Where do you live? Check golden pages for drains

Maybe the surveyor is covering himself against a future claim, especially when he mentions problems outside the boundary wall.

I would take the advice of the surveyor. If they have noticed something that needs to investigated then I wouldn't ignore their advice.
A relative of mine had to have a similar inspection done on their drains. They used a company called Superdrain to get it done.

It's not uncommon for CYA stuff in those reports. Not slating them as my surveryer more than paid for his report with advice. However, the reports are full of caveats. You could ask informally if there was a specific genuine issue or is this a general recommendation.

FYI theres a co in the golden pages called Green something - they have a full page ad, that charge less than Dyno Rod etc to do a CCTV survey, its around €300 I think - I'm not afffiliated with them at all just had to search for co to do this myself recently, ended up not getting it done though so don't know how good they are.

MAJJ said:

It's not uncommon for CYA stuff in those reports. Not slating them as my surveryer more than paid for his report with advice. However, the reports are full of caveats. You could ask informally if there was a specific genuine issue or is this a general recommendation.

Click to expand...

I'd agree. I've never seen the words 'walk away' used in that context though. Normally they use terms like 'possible obstruction' and 'ponding' to indicate faults that may be there but they're not really sure about.

OP, I'd ring the surveyor and ask exactly what was meant by that statement. - you've paid the money, don't be afraid to question the report. It's in their interests to make sure you understand the report. If anything sounds dubious then ask for a clarification in writing.

edit: "I do not know where they run from there" is also dubious. I thought the surveyor was meant to report whether the property was connected to a mains sewer / SWD or not.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all responses,

I've got some additional information, I spoke to the Surveyor and asked his a number or questions, in particular i asked him to explain the problem.

Here's what he said in summary.
The Drainage runs from the back of the house to the back of the boundary wall (This is were the man hole is located), He siad this was unusual as its typically at the front of the property running out into the main road.
His concern is the location of the man hole. He was unable to inspect it and determine were it runs from the back of the property. Its possible that it runs straight from the back of the property up to the main road or it would run down through a number of neighboring back gardens, This is were his concern is, If it runs through a number of other peoples property it could cause issues in the long term, if someone was to accidentialy dig it up or damage it it could cost a lot of money to repair.

He also mentioned if it runs through back gardens, who owns it or who is responsible for it.

Here is were I'm at:
I'm unsure if this is an issue, The house was built around 1985 ish... so its been there a long time and there does not seem to be any issues todate.
The neighboring houses are also built around the same time and people are settled.

I'm not sure what a CCTV inspection will tell me, or if it will change my current position on the property, other than costing between 300 and 400 yo yos,

Any advise anyone can give is really appreciated... As mentioned before were due to sign on monday morning.
I do plan to ring the estate agent and ask him if he or the vendors know were the drainage runs and make it knowing as a concern, But other than that I'm not sure what else i can do.

Thanks

This is not uncommon. A lot of developments run sewers through back gardens.

Normally, mutual rights of access for maintenance will be covered in the deeds for all properties concerned.

This is a question for your solicitor, not the surveyor or the agent.