How to Protect Drains During Construction and Roadworks

Whether you’re managing a construction or roadworks project, or you’re a homeowner hiring out a company for your home, the safety of your drains is something you might overlook.

The truth is, construction work can make drains vulnerable to blockages, concrete ingress and damage. To protect your drains and prevent project delays, you need to set some ground rules and get clued up on exactly how to respond if damage were to occur.

So let’s explore how best to protect drainage systems during construction and roadworks.

How can drains be affected by construction projects?

A lot goes on at a building or roadworks site. Debris, rubble and concrete smatterings are all in danger of finding their way into your drains, while boring can pose another threat to the drainage systems.

The three main ways drains can be affected by construction projects are:

• When construction equipment is washed off after use, bits of concrete mixture can wash away into drains where it can accumulate, harden and cause blockages.
• An even more extreme case of concrete ingress can occur if boring operations accidentally drill into a drain, emptying large amounts of concrete into the pipe. This will usually result in a severe blockage, with extraction of this concrete sometimes leading to drain damage.
• General debris and rubble can also fall into drainage systems during construction projects, also causing blockages to build up.

All of the above can result in small or major blockages, reducing the diameter of pipes and restricting water flow, along with potential pipe damage.

How to protect drains during construction or roadworks

If you are leading a construction or roadworks project, then it’s your responsibility to protect the surrounding drainage systems for the good of the people who live in the neighbourhood.

If you are hiring builders or construction professionals and are concerned about the effect their work might have on your drains, you can work with the building professionals to decide on measures to put in place.

Here are some ways of reducing the likelihood of blockages building:

• Ask all construction professionals to wash their equipment in a specific location away from the drains, and to not to tip any liquids containing cement or concrete into the drains. An alternative location should be found.
• Explore if drain covering can be used during the project to act as a protective barrier.
• Only choose reputable construction companies to increase the likelihood of best practices and tidy working being implemented.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, human error can still occur, especially in the case of boring operations damaging drains. Let’s take a look at how you should respond if your drain has still suffered as a result of construction works.

How to resolve drainage problems during a construction project

If construction works at or near your property have resulted in a blocked drain, it’s important you act quickly to correct the situation before it has a chance to worsen.

Here’s how to resolve construction-related drainage issues once they occur:

• Contact a reliable and experienced drainage professional with experience at dealing with emergency blockage situations. If you’re in the Yorkshire area, you can give the team here at MPH Drain Services a call. We’re 24/7 drainage experts who are known for being reactive, thorough and affordable thanks to no call-out charges.
• Next, the drainage professional should conduct a CCTV drainage survey to assess the extent and location of the blockages or damage.
• If it is a concrete blockage, you will require special concrete removal services, something we provide here at MPH using powerful and precise hydroblasting, also known as drain jetting.
• If there has been any damage or cracks to the drain pipes themselves, this may require replacement of certain sections of the drain which our team can advise on.
• Some issues can be resolved with drain relining which is a less intrusive way to repair drains without replacement, and once again, the drainage experts at MPH can advise on whether this route is suitable for your case.

If in doubt, just give us a call and we’ll be at your site within the hour.

Here at MPH Drain Services, we are the go-to drain experts for Yorkshire. With no call-out fees and no-obligation quotations, it’s easy and affordable to use our responsive 24/7 services for drainage emergencies and routine maintenance too. Get in touch to discuss your needs with our team.

Call us 24/7 - Freephone 01977 802 283