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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:04 am
by rsb1965purple
Hello new to the forum registered to get some advice.
Recently had the front drive block paved and on the surface of it they have done a very good job it looks great.
Now the problems come when it rains. Basically when it rains the drains fill up and the water pours over a retaining wall (approx 6 inches high) and into the neighbours driveway flooding their garage. Our drive is on a pretty severe slope toward the house, somewhere between 1 in 10 to 1 in 6 I would say.
When he layed the driveway, after he dug out the all the existing driveway down and put in the retaining wall. He said "The soil is clay, a soakaway isnt going to work I would save your money and not bother digging one just put the acco drains in so it looks like there is drainage ", I insisted the he did something to sort the drainage problem but not specifically tell him to dig a soakaway. After all he is the expert am i right ? He should provide drainage for the job. Also he should have known what the job entailed before he started.
To top it off the soakaway he has dug is approx 1.5 m away from the corner of the house. Which as far as I understand is against building regs as they have to be 5m away. Contacted them and they say building regs doesnt cover drainage from a driveway ? How can that be ? A soakaway is a soakaway doesnt matter where the water come from surely ? The only option for drainage to a drain is straight through the front room into the storm drain in the back garden which is mega money.
Where do you guys think we stand ? What can we do ?
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:05 pm
by rsb1965purple
Here is an album of photos taken. During construction and one of what happens when it rains.
https://goo.gl/photos/WM5aN8b75StvxyYN9
Excuse the bad MS Paint scribbles on the one photo. Just to add a little more info. If i shove a tape measure down the drain pipe that leads to the soakaway it measures about 1.6m
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 4:43 pm
by mickg
before the work commenced where did the surface water from the old driveway drain too ?
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 5:23 pm
by rsb1965purple
It used to be 2 tire tracks of concrete that ran top to bottom with a solid concrete part about 5m2 at the bottom. Where the door is. With a gap in the middle that was full of hardcore. With about 30m2 I suppose of grass on the left hand side of the lamp-post.
I guess the grass soaked up some of the water It used to get pretty boggy and slippy that was part of the reason to get the drive done. but other than that I havnt got a clue where it went probably downhill. Next door is lower than us. Blocking over the driveway has obviously concentrated the problem. I added another picture to show the old drive before it was done good old google maps hasnt been round here for a while.
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 8:09 pm
by seanandruby
How deep did he dig the soakaway, what did he use, eg :-rubble, stone, storm crates etc: and did he connect it up? Is that muddy water?
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 4:31 pm
by Tony McC
Building Regs does *directly* deal with drainage from a driveway. Your contact in the Building Control Office ought to be introduced to Part H3 of the building regulations. I would suggest they start with paragraph 3.2......
"Surface water drainage should discharge to a soakaway or other infiltration system where practicable."
....and then there's paragraphs 3.23 all the way to 3.35 at the end of the document which deal specifically with soakaways and infiltration systems, including, in para 3.25 (a) that soakaways be at least 5m from any building.
I would suspect that the person to whom you spoke was sufferiung from the debilitating disease which often affects minor officials. It's known as "can't-be-arsed-itis."
Your photies raise several questions, but of immediate concern is the so-called "retaining wall" which looks suspiciously like a concrete panel fence to me, and the water ponding against the property.
You have a very good case to sue the installer. Even if you did not give specific instruction for drainage, they have a legal duty not to compromise the structural integrity of your property. That 'fence' and the water feature outside the front door are very definite threats to that structural integrity.
There is no simple fix. A drainage system has to be installed. You cannot allow water to drain onto a neighbour's property, and, obviously, you can't have it collecting at the front of the property. I'm not familiar with the site, so I can't say what would or wouldn't be viable, but the current arangement is simply not acceptable. Get a good quality contractor, drainage engineer or an independent assessor to look at the site and advise accordingly.
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:12 pm
by sy76uk
No proper edgings in place either by the looks of it.
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:45 am
by rsb1965purple
seanandruby He says he made the soakaway 1m3. But from what i remember he went down to about the bottom of the gravel boards which at that point is 2 boards high going town to about 2.25 boards at the lowest point. So after the stone, sand and blocks on top. The stuff he used looked like sand with bits of bricks and stuff in it but I would say mostly sand. None of the fancy drainage crates and stuff that I have seen on here.
The water isnt muddy it was pretty clear. I think what is in the water is just some of the sand thats washed down the drive.
Tony McC , Your answer is golden and the one I really wanted to hear. It means I have the clout of building regs behind us to do something about it. I shall give them a call later, they are usually out on their rounds till 3, then i'll knock some sense into em and get a straight answer, Quoting the section you gave me.
Another concern that you have raised is the gravel board wall. Until this point I thought that that was fine. What should I be worrying about to throw at him?
I went to the CAB who told me to get three quotes and send him a letter saying what the problem is and how to sort it. All of them reckon the only way is to go straight through the living room to the drains at the back. If we had known that when he quoted we probably would have had it done 
Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 2:01 pm
by Tony McC
Concrete fence panels are not designed to be retaining structures. The concrete used is selected for its fine aggregate content to give a smooth mould-friendly surface rather than any inherent strength, and the internal reinforcement is pitiful (and non-structural).
These panels *will* crack when loaded, and once cracked, water will penetrate, find its way with almost zero hindrance to the rebar inside, which will rust, expand, and further crack/spall/shatter the concrete.
Put simply, it's a cowboy job.