I live in a 20 year old house in Kent (on soil with lots of chalk stones in it). Whenever it rains heavily my gutters run over and I know my soakaway standpipe backs up. There is a joint right at the bottom and this "leaks" as the downpipe empties over time. I notice, however, that it is still weeping even though we have not had rain for a few days. I am pretty sure the soakaway itself could be blocked. Also, as I am halfway up a hill, I am wondering if water draining away down the hill is maybe backing up and seeping through that joint.
a) Is that possible/likely ?
b) Where do I even start trying to find out where the soakaway is and if there is a problem there? and
c) As the ground has a lot of stone in it and generally drains OK can I just ignore it?
Thanks,
Mike
Soakaway Problems
-
84-1093879891
Soakaway standpipe? Wossat?
And what's this downpipe?
A soakaway is an underground structure, so I can't figure out how you can see a joint 'weeping'. Can you explain this in more detail?
To locate the soakaway, you first need to loacte the pipework that connects to it, and then use rods or a 'generator/detector' kit to track its route to the eventual soakaway. There's a chance that the Local Authority BCO will have some reord of where soakaways were placed on that development, but I wouldn't count on it!
As you are on chalk, I can't quite understand why you're having such problems. Obviously, it's hard for me sat here in sunny Culcheth to visualise the problem, but I'd tend to suspect that you have a simple blockage or sedimentation problem in one of the pipes linked to the soakaway.
And what's this downpipe?
A soakaway is an underground structure, so I can't figure out how you can see a joint 'weeping'. Can you explain this in more detail?
To locate the soakaway, you first need to loacte the pipework that connects to it, and then use rods or a 'generator/detector' kit to track its route to the eventual soakaway. There's a chance that the Local Authority BCO will have some reord of where soakaways were placed on that development, but I wouldn't count on it!
As you are on chalk, I can't quite understand why you're having such problems. Obviously, it's hard for me sat here in sunny Culcheth to visualise the problem, but I'd tend to suspect that you have a simple blockage or sedimentation problem in one of the pipes linked to the soakaway.
-
77-1093879610
Sorry Tony,
Excuse my lack of building terminology !!! I mean the pipe that runs from the roof guttering down to the ground and into the soakaway. It is the bottom of this pipe (at a joint) that weeps for a while after heavy rain as if the pipe is emptying. That is why I thought that the soakaway itself may be blocked as any leakage due to the pipe itself being blocked would, I guess, be seen as an overflow in the gutter (which also happens in very heavy rain).
Cheers
Mike
Excuse my lack of building terminology !!! I mean the pipe that runs from the roof guttering down to the ground and into the soakaway. It is the bottom of this pipe (at a joint) that weeps for a while after heavy rain as if the pipe is emptying. That is why I thought that the soakaway itself may be blocked as any leakage due to the pipe itself being blocked would, I guess, be seen as an overflow in the gutter (which also happens in very heavy rain).
Cheers
Mike
-
84-1093879891
Right - you have a downspout that comes from the roof and leaks when it gets to ground level.
Is this downspout discharging directly into the underground pipe system or is it discharging into a hopper or gully?
If it's piped directly into the undeground system, then the fact that water is surcharging suggests that there's a blockage somewhere, but it's much more likely to be in a trap or a section of pipe than at the soakaway itself.
Have you any means of rodding the troublesome section?
Is this downspout discharging directly into the underground pipe system or is it discharging into a hopper or gully?
If it's piped directly into the undeground system, then the fact that water is surcharging suggests that there's a blockage somewhere, but it's much more likely to be in a trap or a section of pipe than at the soakaway itself.
Have you any means of rodding the troublesome section?