The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed Jul 19, 2017 4:58 pm**

Did have some discussions on this some time ago - job got put to one side.

Background ... had dug out a few cu m with intent to build an ornamental pool.
Decided against this for a number of reasons ....

So before I fill hole in .... going to add 2 x soakaway crates ... I did this at the other end of the property to cure a boggy area ... and it has worked fine.

I know this is not formal soakaway as not having any pipes discharging into it .. and ground not ideal for a soakaway - but as I have a damn big hole might as well utilise it.

The soakaway crate manufacturers state that the cares should be Geotex wrapoed and sand on 100mm of sharp sand.
Checked on a few sites - seems common advice.
Though section on FAQ here shows stone used.

Anyway have a couple of tonne of sharp sand in readiness. Along with 2 crates wrapped in non-woven Geotex

My question is do I put down 100mm of sand then a layer of Terram then stand crates on this followed by a layers of stone around crates - then backfill.

Sort of logic thinking that adding Terram will stratify layer and stop sand just merging with the backfill.

All I am doing is helping deal with heavy rain .. instead of just sitting in ground (which is very poor) the crates allow for water loading to store in the crates .. and then slowly disperse vais sand into below ground ...... just helps the top layers of teh ground from being a bog.

Posted: **Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:56 pm**

plenty of advice on index pages

Posted: **Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:42 pm**

I did look at that first. ( I maybe incorrectly referred to it as FAQ). After reading had the questions above.

Posted: **Thu Jul 20, 2017 7:17 am**

Yes membrane on top of bedding, wrap all round and back fill with stone.

Posted: **Sun Jul 23, 2017 2:44 pm**

You can use sand or 6-10mm clean aggreagte as 'regulating' at the base of the pit.

Assemble the crates as per maufacturer's instruction and then wrap them, much like a xmas prezzie, in a good quality geo-textile such as Terram or similar.

Place the wrapped crates onto the prepared base, and backfill with "free draining material", which generally means more 6-10 or 20/5 clean aggregate.

Once you have about 100-150mm of the clean agg over the top of the wrapped crates, you can place a sheet of the same geo-textile over the aggregate, and then continue the backfill with "as dug" material. The geo-textile helpm minimise clogging of the clean agg by limiting transfer of fine silts and clays.

It's probably worth adding a length of pipe to the not-really-a-soakaway and have it extend, say 2-3m beyond the pit, and then cap the end with a blanking plug, or wrap it in visqueen and tape it down. Then if, at some later date, you decide you need to make a connection to the not-really-a-soakaway. it's a simple matter of finding the end of that pipe rather than breaking into the carefully constructed not-really-a-soakaway.

The Brew Cabin

Soakaway - sort of