Root ingress survey in Great Sankey

Root ingress survey — how it works here

Root ingress is a symptom rather than a cause. A root system does not force its way into a sealed pipe; it finds a joint that has already opened or a crack that is already there, because water is escaping and that is what it is looking for. That distinction decides how you fix it. In WA5 the pressure is concentrated in the older, greener streets — the mature front gardens of Penketh, the village core around Sankey Bridges, and the long hedged boundaries out towards Burtonwood — where Edwardian and inter-war clay runs have a joint every metre under trees that have had a century to find them. We survey the run, show every point of entry, record how much of the bore is obstructed, and grade the joint the roots came through. Cutting them out buys you two or three growing seasons. Lining the section is what actually stops it, and the report says which joints need it.

• Every entry point located and the joint it came through graded
• Percentage of the bore obstructed recorded, not just described
• Shows whether cutting alone will hold or the section needs lining
• Concentrated in the pre-war streets — Penketh, Sankey Bridges, Burtonwood
• Footage is the evidence for any conversation about a neighbour's tree