Broken Sewer Pipe vs Clogged? | UK Plumbers Forums | Plumbers Forums

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Hi guys! The sinks and toilets weren’t draining and someone has told me that the pipe has broken and is asking for £13,000 to fix it, whilst I spoke to someone from Thames water today, on my way home from the shops, and he said the same issue (clogged sinks, toilets, etc) could be from a clogged pipe and that wouldn’t cost much to get fixed. The plumber posted this video of the issue but I can’t see any broken pipe.

That’s the video he made: View: https://youtu.be/Hz5ysuuvmlQ


What do you guys think?
 

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Get a second opinion looks blocked but might be blocked due to collapsed drain either broken or dropped as the video doesn’t go any further than the blockage

Unless he did another one after clearing it
 
Interesting that on Youtube the video is titled collapsed rest bend, which is just below ground under the cast iron stack pipe with the hole cut in for the camera.
That's not £13000 worth probably not even if they propose repalacing all the pipe to the main drain, reconcreting driveways and paths etc

** I'd written all the below before I spotted the note on Y-tube. **

There's no way based purely on that video that the cost to repair is £13000.
At best that's a guestimate from a drains cleaning company who would sub the works to a ground worker, you need quotes from people who replace drains, not clean them.

How much has the intitial visit / camera survey cost and has the blockage been cleared, even if temporary?

Did he locate and mark the route / depth of the pipe to see what obstacles at ground level there would be for digging up, like the garage and greenhouse seen in the first few frames?

The final frames of the video indicate the camera is swinging side to side suggesting that section is vertical and may be looking down into a common drain which would be the responsibility of the local water company if they're saying the problem is down there.

If he or anyone else mentions putting a liner in, refuse it and ask for pipe replacement, unless liners are fitted by someone who is very experienced, they fail and cause more blockages than the original problem and you'll end up paying to have all the liner removed and replacement pipe fitted.
Not all pipe repairs are suitable for relining.

From the video there do appear to be some misaligned / bad pipe joints but no collapses and nothing too serious

If the drain is clear and running it may be worth leaving it untill / if it blocks again and look at options then.
 
Interesting that on Youtube the video is titled collapsed rest bend, which is just below ground under the cast iron stack pipe with the hole cut in for the camera.
That's not £13000 worth probably not even if they propose repalacing all the pipe to the main drain, reconcreting driveways and paths etc

** I'd written all the below before I spotted the note on Y-tube. **

There's no way based purely on that video that the cost to repair is £13000.
At best that's a guestimate from a drains cleaning company who would sub the works to a ground worker, you need quotes from people who replace drains, not clean them.

How much has the intitial visit / camera survey cost and has the blockage been cleared, even if temporary?

Did he locate and mark the route / depth of the pipe to see what obstacles at ground level there would be for digging up, like the garage and greenhouse seen in the first few frames?

The final frames of the video indicate the camera is swinging side to side suggesting that section is vertical and may be looking down into a common drain which would be the responsibility of the local water company if they're saying the problem is down there.

If he or anyone else mentions putting a liner in, refuse it and ask for pipe replacement, unless liners are fitted by someone who is very experienced, they fail and cause more blockages than the original problem and you'll end up paying to have all the liner removed and replacement pipe fitted.
Not all pipe repairs are suitable for relining.

From the video there do appear to be some misaligned / bad pipe joints but no collapses and nothing too serious

If the drain is clear and running it may be worth leaving it untill / if it blocks again and look at options then.
thank you so much! This is why you should post things online so that people can see them and give their opinions!

He charged about £300 for his estimate, and no, he didn't locate and mark the route.
 
like others say the pipe may or not be collapsed did he try to clear the blockage. Have you checked your house insurance to see if you are covered for blocked drains.
 

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