Local drainage specialists in Farnham
Local ground & drainage conditions
Farnham sits almost exactly on the boundary between the free-draining Folkestone Formation sands (Lower Greensand) to the south and the Gault Clay to the north, with the River Wey along the junction. The result is a genuine sand-versus-clay mosaic: greensand and gravel areas percolate well and suit soakaways, while gault clay and the silty alluvium on the Wey valley floor hold water, shrink and swell, and crack older drains.
Farnham's housing & pipework
Farnham's core is exceptional Georgian red-brick around Castle Street, West Street and The Borough, built over earlier timber-framed stock, so the oldest drains are typically salt-glazed Victorian/Edwardian clay laid after the 1848 railway expansion. Hale, Heath End, Wrecclesham and Badshot Lea added interwar and 1950s-70s estate housing (clay and pitch-fibre runs), with modern PVCu only on recent developments.
Common drainage problems in Farnham
- Cracked and root-displaced joints in salt-glazed clay drains under the Georgian and Victorian streets, worsened by mature street trees and shrink-swell movement on the gault clay and Wey alluvium
- Failing or under-sized soakaways dug into clay or alluvium rather than the free-draining greensand, causing waterlogging and surface flooding
- Collapsing or blistered pitch-fibre laterals on the interwar and post-war estates in Hale, Heath End and Wrecclesham
Areas of Farnham we cover
Our services in Farnham
Drainage FAQs for Farnham
Will a soakaway work at my property in Farnham?
It depends which side of the Greensand/Gault Clay boundary you're on. On the free-draining greensand south of the Wey, soakaways usually perform well; on the gault clay and Wey-valley alluvium they often fail. We carry out a BRE365 percolation test on site rather than assuming, because results genuinely swing across the town.
How quickly can you get to Farnham?
Call us with your postcode and we will confirm the earliest available arrival time. Planned CCTV surveys can usually be arranged within 24 to 48 hours.
Do you charge a call-out fee?
No. We provide fixed, transparent pricing for all our services, so you know exactly what you'll pay before we start any work.
Are your CCTV surveys WRC-approved?
Yes. All our CCTV drainage surveys are fully WRC-approved, so the reports are accepted by UK water authorities, local councils and mortgage lenders.
Request a callback
Tell us about your drainage issue in Farnham and our team will get straight back to you.