Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 5:20 pm
Hi,
I moved into my house a few months ago and it seems we have an issue with rain water drainage. I’m going to get quotes but like to do my own research first, so would like to run it by you experts.
Background - I have a soakaway beneath my drive which takes the rain water from my house and the next door neighbours house. We both have block pave driveways with a channel drain running along the front of the houses. There is one pipe from each of our drains going off to the soakaway.
Problem is the water does not soak away, the channel drains overflow, floods under the neighbours garage door and fills up my gas meter box through its drainage holes (it’s inset in the ground in the middle of the channel drain).
I had dynorod out. They said there are no blockages but reported that:
- When they inserted their rods it felt as if the pipe sloped upwards.
- The two pipes coming from the channel drains join together and continue as one.
- The diameter of the pipes did not seem large enough.
- The soakaway didn’t take as much water from their pressure washer as they would expect before the soakaway and pipes filled up.
Both houses were extended about 5 years ago but the neighbour says the previous owners did do work on the soakaway, so I think I can discount it being silted up and put it down to not being built properly.
The area is clay soil, but there has always been a soakaway. The whole street has them without such problems (and most houses in the street have been similarly extended).
So I’m thinking that I need to get quotes for lifting some of the drive (hopefully not all of it) and possibly some of the neighbours. Digging down to the pipes and the soakway. Replacing with larger pipes ensuring it slopes downwards and checking the size and condition of the soakway. Installing a larger soakaway if necessary and relaying the drive(s).
Does this sound like the way to tackle it? Any idea of ballpark figures for doing this so that I have a realistic idea when the quotes come in?
Thanks!
I moved into my house a few months ago and it seems we have an issue with rain water drainage. I’m going to get quotes but like to do my own research first, so would like to run it by you experts.
Background - I have a soakaway beneath my drive which takes the rain water from my house and the next door neighbours house. We both have block pave driveways with a channel drain running along the front of the houses. There is one pipe from each of our drains going off to the soakaway.
Problem is the water does not soak away, the channel drains overflow, floods under the neighbours garage door and fills up my gas meter box through its drainage holes (it’s inset in the ground in the middle of the channel drain).
I had dynorod out. They said there are no blockages but reported that:
- When they inserted their rods it felt as if the pipe sloped upwards.
- The two pipes coming from the channel drains join together and continue as one.
- The diameter of the pipes did not seem large enough.
- The soakaway didn’t take as much water from their pressure washer as they would expect before the soakaway and pipes filled up.
Both houses were extended about 5 years ago but the neighbour says the previous owners did do work on the soakaway, so I think I can discount it being silted up and put it down to not being built properly.
The area is clay soil, but there has always been a soakaway. The whole street has them without such problems (and most houses in the street have been similarly extended).
So I’m thinking that I need to get quotes for lifting some of the drive (hopefully not all of it) and possibly some of the neighbours. Digging down to the pipes and the soakway. Replacing with larger pipes ensuring it slopes downwards and checking the size and condition of the soakway. Installing a larger soakaway if necessary and relaying the drive(s).
Does this sound like the way to tackle it? Any idea of ballpark figures for doing this so that I have a realistic idea when the quotes come in?
Thanks!
