blocked drains, and no manhole.. ho eck, can i cut an hole

[alansproblems]

hi everyone, my name is alan and i have a problem, the outside drains are blocked and we have no manhole cover, i have some rods and i would like to know if can i cut a hole in the sewage downpipe and rod through that to clear the blockage. would that work will the rods be able to get around the bend at the bottom of the sewage pipe. our house is a typical terraced back to back house.
i so hope this is possible or has anyone else any thing else to try. i need to get this sorted as we have two newborn babies in the house.
thanks everyone.

 

[Burnerman]

Sorry to hear of your plight Alan, but the bend at the bottom of the soil vent pipe is very likely to be at 90 degrees and rods just don't go round that sort of angle.....there's a good chance of punching a hole in the pipe anyway.
Time to call in a jetting firm I guess - there must be an inspection chamber somewhere!
John

 

[wrathkeg]

you might check whether you are responsible for the bit where the blockage is. recently the manhole in our garden was backing up, and after buying rods and spending a cheerful evening rodding in the pitch black, I (=my wife) discovered that although the manhole was in our garden, houses along the street connect to the same drain and it was therefore the water board's problem. I (=my wife) called them the next day and they came round without question the day after and fixed the whole thing. in fact, they unblocked it from a drain a couple of doors down, so you not having a manhole might not be an issue. but all this probably depends on whether the blockage is in part of the drain to which other houses connect, or in the bit from your house to the shared drain.

 

[wrathkeg]

oh, and make sure you aren't putting the baby wipes down the drain even if they say 'flushable'. believe me: they aren't.

 

[alansproblems]

Sorry to hear of your plight Alan, but the bend at the bottom of the soil vent pipe is very likely to be at 90 degrees and rods just don't go round that sort of angle.....there's a good chance of punching a hole in the pipe anyway.
Time to call in a jetting firm I guess - there must be an inspection chamber somewhere!
John

thanks for that, there is concrete covering all the back yard.. it would have to be under that, the concrete was there when we moved in over 25 yr back.
looks like i will have to get it jetted.. looking a everyone elses they seem to have a manhole but we dont.. probably under concrete when they created a drive the park a car in. and it looks quite thick.. ho eck.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Check with the neighbours, if anyone else has a problem then you may not have.

If the problem lies in a shared drain, it is now down to the Sewerage Provider (Water Authority) to sort it out. Only when the problem is in a pipe only serving one property does it remain the responsibility of the occupier concerned to sort it out.