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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 7:26 pm
by kotinka
Hi all,
I'm new here, so thanks for your patience! 
I'm paving my front garden in Indian Sandstone & I have a BT inspection hatch at the front which looks vile. As we're doing the work ourselves, does anyone know where I can buy a custom size or BT size recess tray to cover up this eyesore?
Thanks.
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:54 pm
by Tony McC
What size? 300x300, 450x450 and 450x600 are usually available ex-stock from good civils merchants such as CooperClarke, Burdens and UGS
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2005 7:47 pm
by kotinka
Hi, the BT hatch is 1005mm x 532mm. It's a lot longer than the usual manhole cover.
Thanks.
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2005 9:12 pm
by Tony McC
There are specially-manufactured BT badged covers, but they are vastly over-priced. I think the size most likely to be used on your project would be a 1200x600mm, comprising three trays of 400x600 in the outer frame, but depending on the actual manufacturer, there may be, say a 1050x550mm unit.
It's highly unusual for such a large BT chamber to be located on private property: the big chambers are typically placed within the public highway, so that there can never be any significant access problems. Have you contacted BT to find out why they have such a large fitting on your land?
Jones of Oswestry, and Suprablock both manufacture BT-compliant recess covers, and you just might be able to buy direct, although they normally prefer to sell via a dealer or via BT themselves. Contact details can be found in the Links section of the main website, under drainage.
Incidentally, I removed all of the other copies of your message that you'd posted to each of the forums. In future, if you want to ask a questuion, post to ONE forum only. If you spam the board with a single query, posting the same message to each separate forum, you just annoy other users who may have the potential to help you. This holds true for every message board on the 'net, not just The Brew Cabin.
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 10:32 am
by kotinka
Hi Tony, & all,
apologies for the spam, I'm getting the hang of the site now.
I contacted BT as you suggested & also dug out the deeds of the house. It turns out we have a 2 meter "service strip" on this estate, which means any of the services seem to be allowed to stick anything on your garden as long as it's in that space 
BT have said I have to use a BT approved hatch cover & will be in trouble if I replace it with anything else, they're looking into selling me one at the moment.
So if that doesn't work out I guess I'll be planting a cotoneaster over the thing. Ah well, ya win some, ya lose some!
Thanks for the advice.
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:46 pm
by danensis
Or to look at it another way, someone has appropriated 2m of service strip into their garden.
The reason that you have to use the right covers for the job is that the machine used to lift the covers is specific to one make. I was involved with a scheme recently where the contractor had mixed up the duct lids with the sewer lids, and when they came to lift the lids the machine caused thousands of pounds owrth of damage to the manholes. Of course a sensible operator would have stopped when the first one went wrong.......
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:37 pm
by kotinka
Personally, I would rather new estates such as the one I live in had a pavement. Then, the area that covers services would not be my responsibility & pedestrians would have a safe place to walk instead of having to walk in the road. So I'd be grateful if the council would come & look after the "service strip". Do they build them like this to save money?
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:01 pm
by Tony McC
Of course it's done to save money. Less of all that expensive surfacing and paving for the builder/developer, less pavement to be cleaned, swept and weeded by the council, and the utility companies get to dump all their cables, pipes, ducts, and boxes into a strip of land that some other poor bugger has to maintain.
Everyone's a winner, except for the poor old householder, of course, but they can be fobbed off by telling them that a proper footpath might add a couple of grand to the cost of each house. What would you rather have? A couple of grand in your back pocket or a safe footpath area for your children?
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:02 pm
by Tony McC
Forgot to add - be careful about buying direct from BT(or any other "licenece to print money" utility service). They buy from, say Jones of Oswestry, and then bung on 35-60% profit for themselves. See if you can buy direct