New drainage and soakaways
New drainage, soakaways and surface water
Drainage that works is mostly about falls, bedding and where the water is going to end up. We set out, dig, lay and test, and we tell you before we start where the water will go and what the ground will take.
Most of the drainage problems we get called to were built in. A run laid too flat so solids drop out. A soakaway put in clay with no percolation test, so it fills in the first wet autumn and never empties. A downpipe plumbed into the foul system because it was the nearest hole in the ground.
New work is the chance to get it right. We set out from the invert levels, lay to a fall that self-cleanses, bed and surround properly, and test before backfilling. Where surface water has to soak away we dig a trial pit and test the ground first, because the size of the soakaway depends on what the ground will actually take.
What is included in the price
- Site visit, levels taken and the route set out before pricing
- Foul and surface water runs in clay or plastic, laid to the falls in Approved Document H
- Soakaways sized on a percolation test rather than a guess
- Land drainage and channel drainage for wet gardens and flooding driveways
- New gullies, inspection chambers and rodding access
- Connections into an existing private run or, where permitted, the public sewer
- Air or water test on completion, and camera footage of the finished run
- Muck away and reinstatement
What is not included
Any of these is quoted separately and agreed with you first. Nothing gets added to a bill without a conversation.
- Building control application fees and water company connection fees
- Septic tank and treatment plant supply and commissioning, quoted per job
- Build-over or build-near agreements with the water company, though we advise when one is needed
Get this priced
Four questions and we will come back to you, usually inside the hour.
No call-out fee, at any hour
Coming out to look and giving you a price is free, day or night, weekends and bank holidays included. There is no supplement for out of hours work either.
How it works
Four steps, no surprises
Survey and levels
We find the existing runs, take levels and work out where the water can go. On a soakaway that means digging a trial pit and testing the ground.
Design and fixed price
You get the route, the pipe size, the falls, the soakaway size and one price covering the whole job including reinstatement.
Installation
Excavate, bed, lay, surround and backfill in the right order, with chambers and rodding access where they need to be.
Test and hand over
Air or water test, camera footage, and a mark-up of where everything runs so you have it for the future.
Questions
New drainage and soakaways: your questions answered
Do I need building regulations approval for new drainage?
New drainage and alterations to existing drainage generally fall under Part H of the Building Regulations, and connecting to a public sewer needs the water company's agreement. On most domestic jobs we handle the practical side and tell you exactly which notifications are needed and who has to make them.
Why did my last soakaway fail?
Almost always because it was too small for the ground it was dug in, or it was dug in clay that will not percolate at all. A soakaway has to be sized from a percolation test and the area of hard surface draining to it. If the ground genuinely will not take water, the answer is an attenuation crate, a connection to a surface water sewer or a discharge to a watercourse, not a bigger hole full of stone.
Can you drain a garden that floods?
Usually. It depends whether the water is coming off a hard surface, sitting on clay with nowhere to go, or arriving from next door. We look at where it comes from before we suggest land drains, a channel and gully, a soakaway or a combination.
Can rainwater go into the foul drain?
It should not, and on separate drainage systems it is not permitted. It overloads the sewer and it is a common reason for drains backing up in heavy rain. If your downpipes have been plumbed into the foul run we will tell you and price separating them.
Where we do this
New drainage and soakaways across Hampshire, Surrey and the Berkshire borders
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Quoted from camera evidenceMore →Building over a sewer
Building over or within three metres of a public sewer normally needs the water company's agreement. Finding that out after the footings are dug is one of the most expensive mistakes in domestic building.
Read the guide →Blocked drain, or a job you want priced properly?
Ring us and speak to the person who will be doing the work. Twenty four hours a day, no call-out fee, and a fixed price before anything starts.