Why You Should Check Your Drains Before Starting Building Work in Lytham
If you’re planning an extension, renovation, garage conversion or other building work at your Lytham property, there is one part of the project that is easy to overlook: the drainage.
Most homeowners naturally concentrate on the exciting parts of a building project – choosing finishes, designing rooms and deciding how the finished space will look. However, existing drains can have a significant impact on where you can build, how foundations are designed and whether drainage needs to be altered as part of the work.
Getting the drainage side of a project checked early can help prevent expensive surprises once the ground has been opened up.
Where Are Your Existing Drains?
One of the first things to establish before starting significant building work is where the existing drainage runs.
Drainage pipes aren’t always where you might expect them to be. Older properties in Lytham and surrounding areas can have drainage routes running through gardens, beneath driveways or close to proposed extension footprints.
If you’re extending your property, building foundations close to an existing drain can potentially create access and maintenance issues. In some circumstances, drainage may also need to be diverted, protected or incorporated into the design.
This is why it makes sense to establish the position and condition of your drains before construction begins rather than discovering them halfway through excavation.
A CCTV Drain Survey Can Remove the Guesswork
If you’re unsure about the condition or exact location of your drainage, a CCTV drain survey can be particularly useful.
A drainage engineer can inspect the inside of the pipework and identify problems such as:
- Cracked or damaged pipes
- Displaced joints
- Tree root ingress
- Silt and debris
- Existing blockages
- Collapsed sections of pipe
- Poorly connected or redundant pipework
A survey can also help establish the route of underground drainage where its position isn’t obvious from existing inspection chambers.
This can be particularly valuable before an extension or other major groundworks, as repairing a defective drain before construction is generally much easier than dealing with the same problem after foundations, patios or new floors have been installed.
Don’t Assume the Drains Are Fine Because They Aren’t Blocked
A drainage system doesn’t necessarily have to be blocked to have a problem.
A pipe might have a crack, displaced joint or developing collapse while continuing to carry wastewater normally. Tree roots can also enter relatively small defects and gradually cause increasingly serious problems.
This is one reason why drainage inspections can be worthwhile before major building work. If a defect is identified early, there may be options for repairing the pipe without excavating a large section of the property.
For example, some damaged drains can be repaired using no-dig techniques such as local patch repairs or drain relining, depending on the condition and location of the pipe.
Building Work Can Affect Existing Drainage
Excavation for foundations, landscaping and other groundworks can expose drainage that hasn’t been visible previously. Older pipework can also be more vulnerable to damage from heavy machinery or excavation.
If you’re working with a professional building contractor, drainage should form part of the early site assessment rather than being treated as an afterthought.
Anyone planning an extension or substantial renovation in the area can find local information and building services through a reputable Lytham building contractor, particularly where the proposed work involves excavation, foundations or alterations to an existing property.
Good communication between the builder and drainage contractor can make a big difference. Knowing where the pipes are before excavation starts allows the construction work to be planned around them wherever possible.
What If a Drain Needs Moving?
Sometimes an existing drain simply isn’t compatible with the proposed building design.
Depending on the circumstances, the solution could involve altering the drainage route, installing new sections of pipework, moving an inspection chamber or protecting an existing drain.
There can also be additional considerations where a drain or sewer is shared with neighbouring properties or forms part of the public sewer network. These issues are best identified during the planning stages so that any necessary permissions, agreements or design changes can be dealt with before construction begins.
The exact requirements will depend on the location and type of drainage involved, so professional advice is sensible if you’re planning to build close to existing sewerage infrastructure.
Whether you’re building a rear extension, renovating an older property, adding a new driveway or carrying out substantial landscaping, underground drainage is an important part of the project.
A relatively small amount of investigation before work starts can potentially save a great deal of disruption later.
If you’re planning building work in Lytham, consider arranging a drainage inspection before excavation begins. Knowing the location and condition of your drains gives your builder more information to work with and can help identify potential problems before they become expensive building-site surprises.
For homeowners, it’s a simple case of check first, build second – because the last thing you want after completing a new extension is to discover that the drain underneath it has a problem.