Properties off the mains sewer have their own set of drainage problems — a slow system, effluent surfacing over the drainage field, a blocked inlet or outlet pipe. We handle the drainage and pipework side, diagnosed properly before anything's touched.
If a property isn't connected to the mains sewer, it relies on either a septic tank — which settles and partly treats wastewater before discharging the liquid to a drainage field or soakaway — or a cesspit, a sealed tank that holds everything until it's emptied, with no discharge at all. Knowing which one you've got changes what "gone wrong" actually looks like.
A septic tank problem usually shows as a slow-draining or backed-up house, or a patch of garden over the drainage field that's unusually wet, boggy or lush. A cesspit problem is almost always that it's full and needs emptying, or that the inlet pipe from the house has blocked before it even gets there. Either way, the drainage and pipework side is ours — surveying it, clearing it, and repairing it.
External drainage only — the pipework and drainage field, not the tank's mechanical or biological treatment process itself.
The pipe from the house to the tank, and from the tank to the drainage field, cleared when blocked — often the actual cause of a house that won't drain, rather than the tank itself.
Camera survey of the tank connections and drainage field distribution pipework, to find out what's actually wrong before anything's dug up.
A failed or saturated drainage field is a common cause of a septic tank system backing up even when the tank itself is fine. We identify it rather than assume the tank is always to blame.
Cracked, root-damaged or displaced pipework between the property, the tank and the drainage field repaired — no-dig relining wherever the run allows it.
Tree and shrub roots are a common cause of a blocked or slow-draining field — jetted and cleared, with a survey to check whether the joint underneath needs repairing too.
Sewage backing up into the property from a septic system is treated as the emergency it is — the phone is answered 24 hours a day.
A few questions to work out whether it's the tank, the pipework or the drainage field, and how urgent it is.
Camera run through the pipework and, where needed, an assessment of the drainage field itself.
A price for the specific problem the survey identifies, agreed before anything starts.
Work carried out, then checked to confirm the system's actually flowing properly again.
A septic tank settles and partly treats wastewater before discharging the liquid to a drainage field or soakaway. A cesspit is a sealed tank with no discharge at all — everything stays in it until it's emptied. Knowing which one you've got changes what a "problem" actually looks like.
[CONFIRM BEFORE LAUNCH — see build note above. State plainly whether Sam's Drains empties tanks itself under a registered waste carrier licence, or whether that side is arranged through a separate specialist. We handle the drainage pipework and drainage field regardless.]
If every fixture is affected rather than just one, that usually points to the main run to the tank, the tank connections, or a saturated drainage field — not something wrong inside the house. A survey identifies which before anything's dug up.
Yes, and it's one of the more common causes. Roots find their way into pipe joints and distribution boxes in the field and restrict flow. It can be jetted and cleared, though a recurring problem may need the joint itself repairing.
Septic tanks discharging to surface water in England are covered by the General Binding Rules. We can survey the system and tell you what we find, though a full compliance assessment may need input beyond the drainage side alone.
No. You pay for the work, not the visit. We confirm a fixed price on site before starting any work.
Call any hour and you'll speak to someone who can book an engineer — no call-out fee, fixed price agreed before we start.