What is a Home-Buyer’s Drainage Survey?
Our Home-Buyer’s Drainage Survey is a comprehensive assessment of the functionality and compliance of a property’s foul and surface water drainage.
The purchase of property in England and Wales is ‘as seen’ and it is the buyer’s responsibility to determine whether the property’s foul and surface water drainage is fit-for-purpose and legally compliant. WCI’s Home-Buyer’s Drainage Survey identifies potential problems and helps to explain what the cost of resolving these problems will be so that you can get on with buying or selling your home.
What’s included in our Drainage Surveys?
WCI offers two levels of survey – the Standard Survey and Advanced Survey. Our Home-Buyer’s Drainage Surveys are offered at a fixed price and our reports are delivered without delay. Our reports are often used to support negotiations between buyer and seller.
Please contact WCI on 01984 623404 to book a survey and for pricing.
STANDARD
Our Standard Survey includes a thorough assessment of the property’s drainage system:
- Drainage map showing where and what drainage a property has.
- Compliance assessment to check whether the property’s drainage is compliant with the necessary environmental and building regulations.
- Functionality assessment including sizing checks, defects checks and maintenance checks.
- Full written report with recommendations and budget figures for repair or replacement.
What is different about WCI’s Drainage Survey?
There are many different things to consider when buying or selling a property. A typical RICS homebuyer’s report or building survey will look at the property as a whole but rarely investigates drainage fully.
At the other end of the scale, a CCTV condition survey only looks at the condition of the pipes without considering the legality and functionality of the drainage system as a whole.
WCI’s Home-Buyer’s Drainage Survey is a comprehensive survey of a property’s drainage system including the drains, septic tanks, sewage treatment plants, drainage fields, reed-beds and other drainage systems. As professional wastewater engineers, our surveys focus on providing an understanding of:
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- What drainage system a property actually has
- The functionality and performance of a property’s drainage
- The legal compliance of the property’s drainage
ADVANCED
Our Advanced Survey includes everything that our Standard Survey offers, with the addition of a full CCTV condition survey of the property’s drains:
- CCTV condition survey of accessible drains using latest self-levelling CCTV drainage cameras.
- Industry-leading WinCan condition report.
- Guidance on the relevancy of any defects found and the most appropriate method of repair.
What if WCI finds a problem?
Where our Home-Buyer’s Drainage Surveys identify issues with a property’s drainage, we will include independent and objective recommendations and budget costs for bringing the property’s drainage up to standard.
We are also able to assist with completing the work required. For example:
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- Percolation testing to establish soil porosity for sizing a new drainage field for a septic tank
- Infiltration testing to establish infiltration rates for sizing new surface water soakaways
- Environment Agency permitting where a property’s drainage requires a permit
- Supply and installation of septic tanks, sewage treatment plants, drainage fields and drainage
- Rectification and repair of existing septic tanks and sewage treatment plants