Time this old country had a change and a message sent to the corrupt politicians that we are sick of them. Use your vote wisely, vote Green at the elections.

I  have signed up as a distributor for Utilities Warehouse and I am really excited by this opportunity. Everyone I know who is making good money either works full time for Utilities or has it as an additional income stream.

I have chosen to spend more time at home with the kids and so will use this to earn an income as well.

If you live in the West London area and would like to discuss how Utilities Warehouse can help you Save money, please contact me through  tomassolimited (at) yahoo.co.uk.

(Please remember to make that all one long e-mail address and replace the brackets and at with the appropriate symbol. I seem to be getting alot of spam recently.)

Have a great day.

Peter.

Do any of you know what is happening with the drains that serve your property and the changes in legislation that are occuring?

How many of you actually know at the moment, if you, or the water authority own the sewers that serve your property?

Here’s a top tip for you.

1) Was your property built before 1936 and the drains are connected in with your neighbours.

2) Are you mid terrace of a row of Victorian cottage houses or a nice thirties semi?

3) If you are the end house of a row, chances are you are what we call “Head of the Run.” Although you may be the last house. Lift the manhole cover using an old screwdriver and have a look at what is down there. If you can see a pipe running from out of your property towards your neighbours, then  you are “head of the run.”

That pipe only takes your waste  and therefore it is private. You will pay to have it cleared regardless of the age of the property.

If you look down the manhole and there is a funny looking chamber with two holes one above the other, you have struck gold. That is an interceptor. See diagram below.

Image taken from the leading manufacturers, Hepworth’s website http://www.hepworth-drainage.co.uk/images/drain-ABS-pipe.jpg

Now when you look at an interceptor you look at the two branches of the y with the tail facing away from you.

If you have one of these in the chamber you are looking at, then the sewer serving your property is owned by the Water Authority as long as you have met the criteria set out in points 1 & 2.

The Local Authority where you live have a copy of the Water Authority sewer plans. I suggest highly you ask if you can see them. You can sketch the plans, but you are not allowed a printed copy. If the sewer to you propert is on the plans then the Water Authority owns them.

If your sewers met criteria 1 & 2 you have what in the trade is called a “Section 24″ sewer. “Section 24″ refers to the Public Health Act of 1936 where ownership and maintenance falls to the Water Authority. Therefore, you dont actually have to hire a Drainage company to sort out your problems!!! You ring your Water Authority and log a blocked drain and quote that you have a blocked section 24 sewer.

Dont all thank me at once for having just saved you shed loads of money in the future!

Now then, as discussed before, the kitchen gully is a private connection into the manhole. Therefore, if it blocks you will need to work out if it is just the gully that is blocked or if there are problems further down the line.

Most importantly, there are legislation changes comming in where most private sewers and laterals will be transfered over to the Water Authority. This is being discussed in parliament this year. If successful, all private lines and laterals will transfer over in April 2011.

If you want to know what this means for you personally, please contact me and we can arrange a site visit and and initial assessment.

Any questions e-mail me at tomassolimited (at) yahoo.co.uk.

Peter.

This the type of manhole you can find in driveways and out in the road. Made in different thicknesses and strengths depending what load is going to be applied to it (i.e is there a car going to be sat on top of it or an aircraft.)

 A manhole found in a block drive.

When you have a problem with your drainage system please stop and think what is wrong and if there is water overflowing, where is it comming from? Is it from the Kitchen Gully or from a manhole as shown above? Is there access to the offending covers by the side of the house? Can we get a hose from the front of the house to where the problem is or do we have to put them over fences or take them through the property.

Once you have recovered from the shock of having foul water over your drive, stop and think about the above. It will help the company comming out to you to prepare and have an idea of what they are commin up against. Now you can ring a quality company, like Tomasso Limited, and say “Hi, I have water pouring out of a manhole at the back of the property. It is a rectangular cover and there is access to bring hoses down the side of the house. There are no other overflowing manholes at this time.” Wow, now that is going to shock me and my staff and show you have followed this page and helped yourself.

contact me through http://www.freewebs.com/tomassolimited

The most professional roofing company I have ever come across is a company called Reliable Roofer. They are as the name suggest Reliable. John has spent over twenty five years in the business and is one of the nicest and most honest people I have ever come across. Their knowledge is second to none and they aim to repair your roof, not rip you off for a new one. If John tells you that you need a new roof then you must live with more holes than a swiss cheese and live in pritty damp conditions!!

Take a look at  http://www.reliableroofer.co.uk/

Reliable Roofer are Checkatrade members and their feedback can be read there. Their full details are available from their website.

Got a new advert professionally done for Tomasso with City Local, Richmond.

 Russell Dickens is an absolute gem and the customer service is amazing!!

 Check out :

 http://www.citylocal.co.uk/business/285700/TomassoLtdDrainCleanerscoveringRichmond/

 I highly recommed City Local, Richmond and if you are considering internet advertising talk to Russell.

Leaves are the main problem this time of year and whilst you are sweeping up leaves make sure that they are not blocking the kitchen gully outside your back window.

The kitchen gully is the square concrete surround that has the pipework from the kitchen sink and usually the washing machine going into it. This is the most common thing to block and it is usually blocked either with leaves covering the grill or food  that has been put down the plug hole. A simple solution is to regularly clean the leaves and food scraps off of the grill with an old spoon and put in the trash.

In all honesty it is one of the simplest jobs a drainage operative has to deal with. We usually come out, lift the manhole cover to make sure that the manhole is clear and then deal with the gully. We simply take the grill off with a spoon or crowbar and then rod the gully. Easy £100 in our pockets for a something that with regular maintenance should not occur.

An idea is not to put food scraps down the sink and secondly is to install a plastic gully cover which can be picked up from screwfix for £6. I can install these for a fixed fee (Parts and labour) if people are interested.

Check out my website for more details http://www.freewebs.com/tomassolimited

I run my company, Tomasso Limited and will be imparting some basic knowledge of the drainage industry. This will give people some chance when dealing with Drainage companies.

I have an ONC:Building Studies and am in my second year of my HNC:Construction. In the industry you dont actually need any qualifications to unblock peoples drains but I honestly feel that when problems occur, you need that education to professionally recommend remedial works.

Please feel free to contact me with any queries you may have and I will endevour to help you, the best I can.