Driveway drainage with no sewer access

r44flyer · Post: # 85381Post **r44flyer** Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:42 pm

Hello all,
We have a front driveway of some 40sqm or so which is to be block paved (DIY). The house is terraced and we have no downpipes or underground drainage for rainwater to the front, only neighbours either side do. So, all surface water from the driveway needs to be dealt with by, perhaps, interceptor drain and a soakaway.

The drive slopes towards the house, and I am aware that digging big holes next to the house probably isn't a good idea, nor indeed is it permissible. We do have a small flower bed at the base of the driveway, in one corner, which is about 2sqm and 1m from the house. We'd prefer to keep a plantable area here if possible. There is clay in the area but a test pit showed the soil to be very well draining.

I know it's not a huge area, but will the flower bed on its own be good enough to cope with all the water if it is diverted to it via an interceptor or slot drain?

Should I consider installing soakaway crates and disguise with decorative gravel or pave over despite proximity to the house?

Or perhaps a gravel pit the width of the driveway to contain the water and allow it to percolate away in time.

Any ideas and advice gratefully received. I'm also convinced I have broached this topic on here before but can't find it if I have :/

Thank you.

Post: # 85382Post **Dave_L** Sat Dec 22, 2012 6:31 am

What is the ground like? Will water soakaway through it?

If so, a small soakaway in the middle will be your answer, one of the plastic crate types.

local patios and driveway · Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:26 am

You need a crated soakaway dug, ideally 1m3 in size. It must be 5m from your house and 2m from neighbours boundary. You want to have this to prevent flooding your house in heavy rain situations.

r44flyer · Post: # 85386Post **r44flyer** Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:05 pm

As above, the ground is quite free draining.

5m from the house means next to the pavement, at the highest point of the driveway. Not really feasible. You see my problem.

The only place for any soakaway is within 1m of the house. If not a proper crated soakaway then alternatively a gravel trap 30cm wide the full width of the driveway (5m) to hold the water seems all I can do.

Sat Dec 22, 2012 2:32 pm

can you post a picture flyer?
if the current drive slopes towards the house then you need to deal with the water
what have you got at the moment?
cheers LLL

r44flyer · Post: # 85392Post **r44flyer** Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:01 pm

lutonlagerlout wrote:can you post a picture flyer?
if the current drive slopes towards the house then you need to deal with the water
what have you got at the moment?
cheers LLL

I'll get you one in the morning LLL.

Post: # 85394Post **Dave_L** Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:07 pm

A picture will be a great help; perhaps a cell soakaway halfway between the house and back of the footpath/road will be the answer. Sometimes you've just gotta strike a happy compromise.

r44flyer · Post: # 85416Post **r44flyer** Sun Dec 23, 2012 3:31 pm

Photos as promised. Not brilliant but I couldn't even move the cars off as visitors had them blocked in! Hope they show enough.

r44flyer · Post: # 85417Post **r44flyer** Sun Dec 23, 2012 3:36 pm

God sorry about the size, can't figure out how to resize on my phone!

Post: # 85418Post **Dave_L** Sun Dec 23, 2012 3:47 pm

Aco drainage at the lower side by the house connected to a soakaway as far away from the house near to the boundary with the footpath is what you need to do. Bit of digging to do!

r44flyer · Post: # 85420Post **r44flyer** Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:30 pm

A bit indeed! The house is quite a bit below footpath level. one other problem is there is a sewer main that runs right through the middle of the garden, there's manhole access on next door's driveway. I wouldn't have thought I could access this directly for our driveway drainage, and I'd be worried about digging down on top of it. Is it likely to be deep enough to allow a soakaway on top of it?

The current mess of a driveway is quite compacted and as such most of the water ends up in the flower bed as it is, and it seems to drain quite well.

Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:34 pm

you just need to dig a soakaway near to the kerb side and run your pipe into that
make sure your soakaway is 1m below the pipe
if you are worried fill with brick hardcore ,then polythene then put 100mm of concrete over the top
cheers LLL

local patios and driveway · Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:59 pm

Mr flyer it seems to me that you are looking for someone to tell you that your flowerbed plan is ideal, but you wont get that here, these guys are experts.

Its a soakaway somewhere in the middle of the driveway, the extra depth caused by the slope is minimal when you need to go over a mter deep.

Post: # 85434Post **Tony McC** Mon Dec 24, 2012 9:46 am

This "main sewer" that you think may run through your plot: is it Foul or Surface Water? Do you know? Also, do you have any idea about its depth and pipe diameter?

I'm thinking that, given it's such a small drive and therefore limited when it comes to satisfactory siting of a soakaway, it might be worth considering putting a small access chamber on that existing line, either inserted directly or off-set slightly and then linked via a saddle connection if the main pipe is 22mm or greater.

Admittedly, it's a lot more work, but it could be a better option.

Mon Dec 24, 2012 10:32 am

110mm surely gaffer?
LLL ???