Aldershot

Around 15 years ago, one of our engineers was called to an estate agent in Aldershot town centre to look at a serious suspected drainage problem and to provide an estimate for a proposed main drain repair or new connection.

Passing rows of desks with people working, he found a staircase leading down into the cellar, and the smell of sewage coming up those stairs was terrible. Down in the large cellar was an extraordinary situation. Approximately 40,000 litres of sewage, fat and grease had accumulated below the working offices, and at its highest point the sewage had risen to within around 300mm of the building’s main electrical fuse board. At times the premises had become so bad that work had to stop for a period.

Another contractor had proposed excavating outside and carrying out a new connection or substantial main drain work, at a cost of around £15,000 plus VAT. Our engineer wasn’t convinced that was the answer. Previous investigations had concluded there was nothing wrong with the public sewer, but from experience he suspected the problem lay farther along the system, where a heavy accumulation of silt could restrict the sewer’s capacity during heavy rainfall and cause sewage to back up into the property.

Rather than immediately carrying out thousands of pounds’ worth of excavation, he recommended investigating further, then met with the authority responsible for the sewer and explained what had been found. They agreed to investigate, and an initial clean was carried out within 24 hours, followed by a more thorough clearance over the following weeks. Once the public sewer had been properly cleared, the flooding problem was resolved without the proposed excavation and new drain connection.

That job has stayed with ASL for around 15 years because it demonstrates something central to the way the company still works: find the cause before recommending the cure. Sometimes experience isn’t about doing more work. It is knowing when expensive work doesn’t need doing.

Services

• Blocked Drains & Diagnostics
• Drain Surveys