Soakaways in Kennington that stop waterlogging and protect your foundations. Fine Landscaping designs, tests and installs compliant systems for SE11 gardens and drives.
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Persistent pooling after heavy rain is common around SE11, especially on compacted lawns and paved areas. We design and install soakaways that move surface water away from your property and back into the ground safely. Whether you’re near Kennington Park or walking distance from Kennington tube station, we’ll assess your site and recommend the right solution. Our installations are built for long-term performance, not quick fixes.
Kennington’s Georgian townhouses, Victorian terraces and mansion blocks often have tight side access, shared boundaries and older drainage layouts. We’re used to working around lightwells, basements and small rear courtyards where space is limited but performance still matters. If you’re in Oval, Vauxhall or close to The Oval cricket ground, we plan deliveries and spoil removal to minimise disruption. Our experience with period properties helps us protect paving, brickwork and garden features during excavation.
Every job starts with percolation tests and sizing calculations so the soakaway matches your roof or hardstanding runoff. We install crate systems or rubble soakaways, complete with proper connection details, inspection chambers and maintenance access. Work is completed to current Building Regs guidance, with clear handover advice on upkeep. Homeowners choose us for tidy workmanship, transparent scopes, and dependable aftercare.
Ground conditions vary across the soakaways Kennington area, with made ground and compacted sub-bases common around terraces and mansion blocks. We factor in basement levels, party walls and limited access when setting depths and locations. For soakaways in London Borough of Lambeth, we also consider parking restrictions and delivery timings, especially around Elephant & Castle and busy routes. Our method keeps excavations controlled and reinstatement neat.
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Costs vary with soakaway size, access and whether we’re connecting roof or driveway drainage. As a guide, small garden soakaways can start from around £1,200–£2,500, while larger crate systems with new pipe runs and an inspection chamber are often £2,500–£6,000+. Percolation tests, spoil removal, reinstatement and any specialist digging in tight access can affect the final figure.
Most domestic soakaway installs take 1–3 days once the design is agreed. A straightforward replacement in a rear garden with good access can be completed in a day, while larger systems or long connection runs typically take longer. Timescales depend on percolation test results, excavation depth, access through the property, and reinstatement requirements such as paving, turf or planting. We confirm a schedule before starting.
In many cases, soakaways and garden drainage works are permitted development and don’t need planning permission. However, rules can change if you’re in a listed building, working near a basement, altering a front garden/driveway, or affecting shared drainage. We’ll advise on Building Regs considerations, check practical constraints, and recommend the right approach for your property. If approvals are needed, we can help you prepare the information.
Yes. We provide a 10-year warranty on our soakaway installations, covering workmanship and the integrity of the installed system when used as designed. This includes correct assembly of crate systems, pipe connections, and inspection chamber installation. The warranty doesn’t cover damage from third-party works, blocked gutters feeding excessive silt into the system, or changes to surface areas that increase runoff beyond the original calculations. We also provide maintenance guidance.
We install modern crate systems for high-capacity storage in limited space, as well as traditional rubble soakaways where ground conditions and space allow. Designs can include silt traps, geotextile wrapping, and inspection chambers for future cleaning. We’ll run percolation tests, complete sizing calculations, and choose the best option based on your runoff volume, soil infiltration rate, access constraints and reinstatement preferences. You’ll get a clear plan before we dig.
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