Panache paving and inspection chambers - Hide a shallow inspection chamber

[Grumpythedwarff]

Hi, I'm new to this site and paving in general so please excuse me if this has already been discussed before, I just couldn't find the answer I needed on the site!

I'm laying a new patio (replacing a lawn area) in my first house and there is a pvc shallow inspection chamber to the edge of where I want to lay the patio. I cannot avoid the chamber altogether as this would make the garden look odd (IMO anyway).

Anyway, I am laying Bradstone's Panache paving slabs and would like to avoid cutting them where I can to preserve their design. Bradstone describe them as butt jointed slabs, which I believe means I don't need to leave a gap between each slab and therefore don't need to fill the gap (correct me if I'm wrong).

What I would like to do is alter the height of the risers in the shallow inspection chamber by an inch or two so that the lid of the inspection chamber becomes level with the top of the blinding that the patio will rest on, then I can lay a dry slab over the top of the chamber lid so that, whilst it is still accessible, it is hidden from view completely.

Would hiding the shallow inspection chamber in this way violate any building regulations? The inspection chamber only serves our property, as each property on our estate (it's a new estate) has its own shallow inspection chamber.

Thanks in advance for your collective help.

Grumpy

[Pablo]

Hi grumpy what your intending to do is not best practice but it's your property and you can do what you wantas long as it doesn't cause problems for others. Personally i would advise you to use a recessed cover because you probably wont be able to perfectly line a flag up with the cover meaning cuts or serveral dry laid flags which will never sit properly and look out of place. You are not violating any laws but would have to put it right when you sell. I'm more of a dopey fan myself.
Pablo.

[Tony McC]

Don't be a pillock: use a recess tray.

Technically, paving over an access or inspection chamber IS a breach of building regs, but as Pablo says, it's also bad practice. If you come to sell the property, it could cause a problem with the valuation survey, but aside from that, it makes it very difficult for any future remedial work.

Done properly, recess trays are very discreet and you'll hardly notice their existence after a couple of weeks.