The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:45 am**

So ... one of the neighbours came round to borrow my B&Q rods ... smelly stuff was weeping out from the rectangular lid of an access chamber in his back garden.

He's not great on his legs, bless him, so of course I did it. Went as far as I could, then knocked on the (new) neighbours' door two houses away to ask permission to rod further along from the access in his back garden.

Ahhh ... not so good. He's decked over both the access chambers he has. Ended up borrowing extra rods from elsewhere in the avenue, going further down the route of the sewage pipes into a circular access in a rear driveway and "clawing" up from there ... not so satisfactory but eventually the sludge began to move ... 2+ hours of rodding / pushing / clawing with 20m of rods.

What are the regulations regarding the covering-over of access chambers with decking ? It SURELY can't be legal ... can it ? Made what is a grotty job much longer than it need have been.

John ... OAP (of course

Posted: **Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:29 pm**

i dont know about the legality but its plain stupid covering over IC covers,chances are he will need access himself one day then he will have to cut his lovely decking up

cheers LLL

Posted: **Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:18 pm**

When we deck over IC's and the like we always make a hatch so it is accessible if there is every any problems later on down the line. As LLL says, one day it will just need to be cut up when problems arise.

Posted: **Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:40 pm**

Its not quite a hanging offence yet, but its not good practice either.

You and your neighbours do have a right of access to maintain the system if there is a problem drain, this can be enforced by your local authority when required but obviously its better for everyone if its kept friendly.

If the properties pre-date Oct 1937 it is a local authority drain, so let them deal with it

Posted: **Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:23 am**

Thanks to LLL, Stuarty and flowjoe for your replies ! Al least my feeling that it was pretty mad seem to be shared even if there's not a suitable penalty available

The Oct 1937 date is interesting ... the properties are certainly from around that era but are instead (I think) 1938. Shall have to check, though - from what I've heard - the firm (name unknown) to whom clearing drainage locally in similar circumstances has been subcontracted by the local authority seems by all accounts to (a) be uninterested (b) to take up to 4 weeks to arrive and © simply to throw a short and weedy waterjet through the offending pipes before soon departing, leaving the problems still there. Maybe these rumours / stories aren't showing the full picture but they don't make me much encouraged ... I remember the days when ...

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Once again, many thanks !

(Written as the unwanted "ponds" in my back garden get wider and deeper

The Brew Cabin

Access for rodding sewage pipes