Pressure Testing Drains

[legal girl]

Does anyone know whether a District Surveyor at the local Council is able to pressure test drains? Our builder omitted to get this done following our extension and as the builder's involvement is now complete I wonder if we can just get the DS to do this for us without having to get the builder involved?

[bednobs]

if it was part of your contract with the builder, just get her back to do it. i don't know if the council will do it, but if they do you'll no doubt have to pay

[buildersmate]

Part of Building Control requirements demand that the drains are capable of holding a slight positive pressure for a minimum periods of seconds (can't remember the requirement) and the way that this is supposed to happen is that the Building Control Officer witnesses the test, when on site inspecting your build. Builders up and down the country know this, so it simply doesn't hold water (no pun intended) that your builder just omitted it.
What's important is that you get the Building Control certificate for the finished job, and it seems unlikely to me that BC will issue the certificate without witnessing the test.
It can be done at any time - the open ends of the above / below ground system are bunged-up temporarily whilst a water manometer is used to slightly pressurise the air in the sewer pipe.
I would phone BC and ask their comment - they should be willing to come and witness the test, but I doubt they will actually be willing to do it - that isn't the way it works. Your builder needs to get back there and co-ordinate this, and since I trust your haven't paid him all the contract cost (because you haven't got the certificate), he will have an incentive to do so.
The test, by the way, takes 15 mins to set-up (bungs) and about 5 mins to do.

[legal girl]

Thanks for your replies folks - I was hoping not to have to get our builder back as he's proved to be extremely unreliable but seems we may have to. I will speak to the BC and see what he says. Thanks again.

[buildersmate]

But where's your BC certificate? - not issued yet? The builder should have co-ordinated the getting of from BC. Chase BC yourself to see what they think is left as 'unfinished' on the contract. BC works as your 'friend' in the sense that they are overseeing some critical parts of a construction job are done to minimum stds.

[The Builder]

Definitely as BM has said. The builder is responsible for complying with the Regs. Most people don't realise that the builder is legally responsible. He is the one who can be fined for non compliance.

You really shouldn't have paid him up yet. If you are reluctant to deal with him again, then hire a plumber or another builder to do the test for you. Building Control used to do them themselves many years ago, but no longer.

[legal girl]

Thanks again for all your answers. We haven't paid the builder fully and don't intend to - but that's another story!

[buildersmate]

Right then, you are in a stronger position than many people find themselves in (who haven't had the sense to hold-back some of the payment schedule).

Check with BC as suggested above to see what they say is unfinished.
You probably need to give written notice to the builder that he needs to complete the project by (3 weeks time) or you consider the contract as terminated and with no further payments due by you.
Then you need another builder to take on the relatively small job of managing to completion, including co-ordinating with BC.
(If it is only the drains testing plus final inspection that BC say is required, you could employ a plumber [if you can find one] to projmge this for you. The issue will be if the drains are not air-tight and he has to whizz around trying to work out where the leak is. This is why this test is best done before drain-stacks etc get boxed-in).