Shared private sewer. Worried about it long term.

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DeeKie

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We live in a house with a shared sewer. In this map published by DCC


[broken link removed]

ours would be the house on the far left except the sewer pipe is under the house, not down the side. Every now and again the pipe is blocked and needs to be unblocked. When we bought the house we had a camera put through the pipe and it was ok. However the house was built in the 50s. We cannot get insurance for any issues with it. We were thinking of extending but I’m very scared that this pipe will break or need to be replaced some time in the future. Is there any way of strengthening these pipes? Or putting our mind at ease?
 
Those private shared drains are common enough around the older estates of Dublin.

You will need to maintain access to it on your property, so that might affect your plans depending on the exact routing of the drain, but it's often possible divert the route to accommodate. An experienced engineer will know what's possible. You shouldn't have any problems extending so long as the builders bridge over the pipe to protect it if your plans include developing over it.
 
Leo said:
Those private shared drains are common enough around the older estates of Dublin.

You will need to maintain access to it on your property, so that might affect your plans depending on the exact routing of the drain, but it's often possible divert the route to accommodate. An experienced engineer will know what's possible. You shouldn't have any problems extending so long as the builders bridge over the pipe to protect it if your plans include developing over it.
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Excuse my ignorance, but what sort of engineer would you consult with before starting work? I think I’d like the pipe surveyed, to see if it needs to be replaced / reinforced, what sort of bridge should br used and what that’s all going to cost before doing anything. Just wondering what term I should shove into google.
 
You will need an engineer to sign-off on the proposed extension, they'll be able to advise on the solution here. The bridge might be as simple as a lintel bridging over the pipe, but that will all be dictated by the scale of the site details and the proposed development.
 
I don’t plan to start even thinking about an extension until I investigate this issue though. So saying I use the engineer signing off on it is no help. Does anyone know what type of engineer I would engage, or have any recommendations?
 
How many houses share? If only a few, it might be worthwhile relaying with a bigger pipe and sharing the cost. All need to be in agreement though and all need to share equally. The new pipe would be PVC rather than the older shorter clay pipe, and therefore the risk of leaks would be minimised.
 
I really don't understand what the problem is here, if indeed there is one at all.
Shared sewer pipes (combiners) have been the norm for many many decades in practically every
housing estate in Ireland.
Many extensions have been built over them and as long as access to them is maintained and any load inherent
with the build catered for, then there is no problem.
 
I just want to be certain I don’t have a problem before spending a lot of money on building out or over it. Anyone know of a service provider/ engineer who would do the before any building
 
Ravima said:
How many houses share? If only a few, it might be worthwhile relaying with a bigger pipe and sharing the cost. All need to be in agreement though and all need to share equally. The new pipe would be PVC rather than the older shorter clay pipe, and therefore the risk of leaks would be minimised.
Click to expand...
I thin 8 or 9. There are frequent blockage problems on our road but not so much out side.
 
This type of situation does exist. There are problems if one of the houses is uninsured and there is a claimable incident. In such situations, say 8 houses and 2 are uninsured, then if a claim from anyone arises, the most that the insured houses will pay is 6/8. Best suggestion, is to relay the sewer and ask DCC to take over after inspecting.
 
They won’t take over it as it’s on private land. Our land our problem and no insurance. The lack of insurance is the reason I want someone who knows what they are doing to consider it. The house was built in the 50s. I’m sure pipes with 8 or 9 house’s sewage flowing through them don’t last forever. I don’t want to build an expensive extension over it to have a problem in 5 years time which isn’t insured.

Any idea what type of engineer I should look for?
 
One thing to consider would be pipe relining where they essentially put a new pipe inside your existing pipe. Cost would be dictated by the length and any junctions etc.
In terms of building over it you need to basically create a culvert where your pipe is boxed in top and sides and the culvert is load bearing to at least the extent of your proposed extension. Therefore you need a good architect to draw up design and an experienced civil engineer to sort below ground matters.
 
Thanks Westgolf. Someone mentioned sleeving the pipe so it sounds like what you were saying.
 
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