Soakway - Problem

Foul and surface water, private drains and public sewers, land drains and soakaways, filter drains and any other ways of getting rid of water.
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wainman
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:15 pm
Location: hull

Post: # 40998Post wainman

Can anyone help .
I have dug a hole in my front garden under my drive in search of what I was told was a colapsed drain only to find the drain from the downpipe which also collects water from 2 drives ends about 1 meter from my house about 4 feet down over a hole filled to the top with gravel where there is standing water (bin there for 2 weeks now not going down).I have had drainage experts out who tell me this is a soakway which has come to the end of it's life and I need a new one dug further down the garden.
I note on this site that a soakway is not full of gravel but empty. Some people in the Brew Cabin have mentioned about soakways full of rubble.
Can anyone please tell me the difference and if moving my soakway will solve my problem.
Also the soakway is close to my utility pipes and I believe water is following these pipes into my house and collecting in the void under the floorboards.How do I stop this?

Any answers or advice will be welcome.

Thanks
COLIN
colin5553

seanandruby
Site Admin
Posts: 4713
Joined: Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:01 am
Location: eastbourne

Post: # 41003Post seanandruby

Welcome to the brew cabin colin. you need to go to the drainage section on the main index. An empty chamber, as opposed to a brick filled soakaway will give you more space for the water. If as you say the water is seeping into your house then i would either, borrow a pump, or hire one immediatly, dig down say 500ml, or low enough to stop it going into the house and pump the water out.Dont pump it down a drain as it may be silty.
sean

Tony McC
Site Admin
Posts: 8346
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
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Post: # 41096Post Tony McC

Gravel-filled soakaways replaced rubble-filled soakaways, and now storm crates are replacing gravel-filled soakaways. If you're having a new soakaway constructed, it makes sense to use the most up-to-date construction methods.

Storm crates have a much higher void space than gravel - around 95% compared to 30%, so, in theory, to achieve a soakaway of the same capacity, a storm crate construction need be only one-third the size of a "conventional" soakaway (it's not quite that simple, due to ground permeability, but there's no point in trying to baffle you with science at this stage)
Site Agent - Pavingexpert

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