For good reasons, homeowners should always be ready to answer the vital question, where can I find drainage plans for my house? Firstly, having an access to these plans is important for home maintenance.
Second, drainage plans will come up if and when you sell your home. Seeing these plans will surely be on the checklist of prospective home buyers.
Buying a new house after the sale of your old residence will naturally again involve looking for the drainage plans of the property you’re moving in.
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Ask a conveyancer: Where can I find drainage plans for my house?
If you’re buying a home, the conveyancer of the property can provide you with its drainage plans. The selling agent of the house is another source you can ask the question: Where can I find drainage plans for my house?
You can also check with the real estate agent whom you picked to help in your home purchase. Professional real estate would typically have access to the resources to help their clients look for drainage plans for properties on the market.
Authoritative sources of internal drainage plans
In some situations, you will have to rely on other sources to answer the question: Where can I find drainage plans for my house?
Such situations can happen if you bought in an auction a house in as-is condition. The drainage plans of the residence may not be readily available.
Don’t worry if you’ve embarked on an as-is purchase in a public auction without an agent. You still have other authoritative sources to help you tackle the question: Where can I find drainage plans for my house?
Enquire at the local council: Where can I find drainage plans for my house?
The local council tops the list of authorities who can help you get the drainage plans of your house. Its typical functions include keeping an archive of the plans for all structures in the council’s area.
These plans include the drainage diagram of structures recorded in the archive. To get the specific drainage plan you need, you will have to pay an administrative fee.
You can also inquire at the local council for any subsequent modifications or updates on drainage plans. The details of these changes are usually required when building permits for remodeling are filed.
Ask expert local plumbers: Where can I find drainage plans for my house?
Drainage plans can also be obtained from the major plumbing contractors where a residence is located. They are the only service providers licensed to install, repair, or replace drains in and around houses and other structures in a locality.
Thus, these contractors have to keep drainage plans of their area of coverage to deliver their services. Most of these plumbing experts maintain websites which can you can easily access to learn more about your question—where can I find drainage plans of my house?
A key to a quicker sale
Access to the drainage plans of a house is important for its owner as well as a prospective buyer. If you’re selling your residence, presenting the property’s drainage plans to a prospective buyer can make the sale quicker.
Well-advised home buyers will surely have to consult these plans in their inspection of the property. They may even ask help on how to read the drainage plans provided to them.
The important elements to look for in a drainage plan of a property include the location of all its drains. The drainage plan must indicate the location of the sewer, effluent tanks, storage area drains, and surface water drains.
What to look for in drainage plans
Here’s a checklist of the things that are crucial when examining drainage plans:
- Diameter of pipes and the materials they’re made of
- Water supply mains
- House drainage system
- Septic tanks
- Construction, depth, and position of soakaways
- Drainage layout and the system’s access points
- Storage areas for raw materials, wastes, etc.
- Floor bunding areas and their capacity
- Location of drain covers, etc.
- Site discharge points
- Sensitive drainage areas
Check for drainage modifications
In the plumbing trade, all these elements combined are also often called a property sewerage diagram or a drainage diagram. Check for any changes or modifications made around this plan.
The variation from the original plan will show if there was a major renovation for the house. Check the work quality undertaken, a factor that will significantly affect the valuation of the residence.
Decipher drainage plans with an expert’s help
It’s advisable, therefore, to have professional advice when seeking the full answer to the question, where can I find drainage plans for my house?
With an expert, you can determine when and how the drainage modifications were done. Drainage plans typically include stamps or labels that a professional can tell if the work is not finalised or a final inspection is required.
Consult other local agencies on top of drainage plans
You can supplement the expert advice you gathered with information from the Office of Fair Trading or local water provider. These agencies typically compiles details on drainage updates or modifications and exactly when these were done.
Such information is vital so that potential problems on a drainage plan can be identified. If you’re buying a property, you will have to see to it that such issues are resolved before signing its sales contract.
Conversely, any problem with the drainage plan of the house you’re selling will raise a red flag to potential buyers. You have to resolve this concern, as it will affect the market appeal of your sales-listed residence.
Want some more pointers about drainage plans?
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