Drain rodding & jetting

[the contractor]

Hi Guys
I run a soffit and gutter repair company and have been for the last 7 years and it doing ok. Now my emploees brother is moving to the us in May and he is selling his drain jetting business for 15k including the contracts.If I desided to buy his business how hard is it to pick this trade up or do they run traing courses I have gone thought all his acounts with my acountant and my accounat said go for it if I could do it. Any advice welcome
THANKS

 

[dontknowitall]

On the face of it I'd go for it too! 7 years of trading for only £15k complete with some contracts sounds a good price, especially if your accountant has seen the books.

On my plumbing course there was a 2-3 hour session on unblocking drains but I'm sure you could find a good one for 1-2 days which would probably include a qualification of sorts as well as sections on things like how drains work, venting, some of the regulations, etc.

 

[SimonG]

Can you not put a little bit of time aside to work with for a few days, better than nowt. Sounds good though.

 

[dontknowitall]

Can you not put a little bit of time aside to work with for a few days, better than nowt. Sounds good though.

Brilliant idea!!

 

[SimonG]

I get an odd one now and again, it's how I picked up the oil side. About 4 or 5 weeks, doing my work on a morning and then servicing and repairs on an afternoon. Worked a treat.

 

[the contractor]

I know 15k is a good price but how hard is the trade to pick up and I now I will get the contracts with it but how hard will it be to pick up more work (New Contracts ect) I know nothing about the business.

 

[Resolute]

You could always buy it then sub out or sell onto someone else if you don't like it.

 

[WHPES]

I do drain rodding and jetting as part of my broad portfolio. Drain work for me tends to be seasonal - the most in autumn when debris washes down land drains and needs clearing out. There is a steady demand for general work throughout the year but I haven't pushed it hard.

It's really not that hard to do - of course there are a few things to learn but I don't get involved with repairs or new work - that is a discipline on its own and I pass this onto a drainage engineer I know.

 

[cr0ft]

As someone that's just started doing this I think it's an excellent opportunity to buy into in the current climate. Poor economic climate or not, I've found that people don't mind spending money when the poo starts back-flowing through their bath/shower etc.

From what I've seen from my first 2 jobs the work is fairly straightforward. Rods are usually the first tool of choice, jetting next. Sometimes the blocked area just isn't accessible with either tool and you will need to manually cut out the building fabric to get to the soil stack (especially with poorly designed internal soil stacks).

If you have any plumbing experience this will certainly help, I've got 3 years of plumbing experience and have found it relatively easy to get into. If you want a 2nd opinion on anything you can always ask the helpful bunch on here!

 

[WHPES]

The main thing is you've got to be aware of gradients and pipe falls. Where foul water is backed up and the blockage suddenly gives you can get an unpleasant flood! Likewise when the jet tip goes into an open inspection chamber you can get foulness spraying everywhere and over everything if the chamber is full!