Man hole in back garden

Tim Robbins

Hi,
I am keen on a 3 bed which has a man hole in the back garden.
A friend advised to check if this man hole is private or public as it can make a massive difference on whether you are able to extend your house or not?

Plan would be to extend at some stage so this would be important.

Any tips on what I should do here?

Thanks.

DOCARCH

Simply go the drainage department of the local authority - give them the address and ask them - they will tell you and/or give you an extract of their drainage maps for the house and houses in the vicinity.

Generally, if the mnahole/drainage to the rear of the house you are looking at is not on thier map, then it's private.

From all you other threads, it looks like your looking at a recently built house? Generally in 'modern' houses only private drainage tends to be located within the site of the house - all public drainage being to public areas.

rayjdav

Also, where is th MH located and what direction is the flow?
Near to the house chances are it is as Docarch said.
You can still get "public" drains to the rear, up to a max of 8 houses so if you get a chance peer over the fence and see if there is a MH on either side in line with your one or id there are ones on the public path at your house.
If you are not too sure and it is an issue for you, I would get an AT in as they will be able to tell you more on the spot from a quick look, also taking in the other aspects of the house.
Re extending in future, it's usually not a serious obstacle tbh. Council will usually accept an eng. detail showing how you are going to bridge it.

DOCARCH

Just to add that you could have a drain (with manhole) to the rear of the house that serves a number of houses but it still could be private.

Tim Robbins

DOCARCH wrote: »

Just to add that you could have a drain (with manhole) to the rear of the house that serves a number of houses but it still could be private.

What does this mean in terms of extending the house though?

GerardKeating

Tim Robbins wrote: »

What does this mean in terms of extending the house though?

You might have to move it...

DOCARCH

Really depends on the layout of the drainage and how far/to what extent you want to extend. You could move the manhole depnding on the above (but not necessarily the drainage itself) or at the worst consider a double sealed manhole within the extension/under the floor finishes.

If you are considering extending you need an architect/architectural technician/engineer to look at.

Another thing to bear in mind re extending (if you had hoped to do so as an exempt devleopment), if it is a new house you are buying, you should check the planning permission for same. The planning permission may have a condition that you cannot construct an extension without planning permission (i.e. exempt development does not apply). This is quite common in newer developments as they tend to be tightly planned.

rayjdav

GerardKeating wrote: »

You might have to move it...

In most new housing estates I have done subsequent work in, and this issue arose, the plan to move the MH was a non runner. Developers laid the pipes, at the very very least, to the absolute min gradients so any upheavel or disturbance of any nature, would prove to be disasterous, especially if the house was mid-run.
As above, get AT/Arch on site and they will give a more definitive site specific answer.

Tim Robbins

DOCARCH wrote: »

Another thing to bear in mind re extending (if you had hoped to do so as an exempt devleopment), if it is a new house you are buying, you should check the planning permission for same. The planning permission may have a condition that you cannot construct an extension without planning permission (i.e. exempt development does not apply). This is quite common in newer developments as they tend to be tightly planned.

What is the best way to check that?

DOCARCH

You probably could find the planning permission and conditions online - if not ask your solicitor to look into it.

Tim Robbins

Ok pretty sure drain is not public.

The advise I am getting is - easy to move man hole but if you build over the drain you are taking a risk. So I was wondering could someone tell me the cost involved in moving the drain, not just the manhole?

Many thanks

sydthebeat

if the drain is public then you dont have permission to move it. the local authority are the owners and they will have a wayleave over this drain over your property.

Tim Robbins

sydthebeat wrote: »

if the drain is public then you dont have permission to move it. the local authority are the owners and they will have a wayleave over this drain over your property.

Sorry typo there. Pretty sure drain is not public. It's a new house and the usually only put private drains in gardens.

sydthebeat

So have you found out if there are any more houses being served by this manhole.. or just one?

rayjdav

Assuming, typical standard estate house, and if NOT public drain, then I would estimate not more than a days work. That is if conditions for access(mini digger), spoil disposal etc are easy.
Get a builder on site to give you an acurate local costing.
If you are moving it, first make sure that the falls are available for the pipe work as if not, you could wake up one morning with a garden of Sh1t:o

Tim Robbins

sydthebeat wrote: »

So have you found out if there are any more houses being served by this manhole.. or just one?

Serves four houses afaik. I would say the big problem is not moving the man hole but moving the drain that could run under where you want the extension. I reckon that would cost up to 5K. Anyone else?

DOCARCH

Cost for moving will depend on depth of pipe/amount of excavation, etc., etc., however I doubt you will be able to move the drain/pipe itself - as rayjdav says above - it is likely that the drain/pipe has been insatlled at recommeded or minimum fall of the pipe - if you move the pipe, in essence lengthening the run of the pipe, it may then result in the pipe have a fall below that recommeded or minimum recommeded. Get an engineer to assess.

StillWaters

I've recently moved a manhole from inside an old house to outside. It took a days labour. You can in fact keep the manhole inside, ie build over it, and put a double sealed cover on it.

I was advised that moving the drain would have been a nightmare.

sinnerboy

StillWaters wrote: »

I was advised that moving the drain would have been a nightmare.

Well you'd need to wash your hands after