The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Tue May 26, 2020 2:08 pm**

Hi, I'm a new member but have been reading a lot of the great advice on here. I'm struggling to find information to help me move forward with my project......

I'm totally redesigning our back garden and have taken down a concrete garage, lifted a large block paving driveway and removed large stainless steel trenches from around the full house. My plan was to lay a small path around the house and install ACO drainage channels next to the property but I've run into a bit of a problem. The old paving was at the same level as the DPC, that's why I think the previous owners installed the heavy duty steel trenches. I've now got down to the level of the drains but I don't know whether to remove the current gulleys and hoppers that are in situ. Could an expert please give me an opinion on the pictures attached?

The pipes going in to the gulley are:
small black with elbow - waste from washing machine/kitchen sink,
small black above gulley - waste from downstairs wc sink
large black - rainwater from gutter
large white - rainwater from conservatory gutter (it did go in to the old steel trench)

If I can keep them in place how do I connect the ACO drains to them?

I've found a few interesting things in the house from the previous occupants, they seemed to be keen DIYers - in the pic you can see a rodding eye that I discovered underneath the sand & stone base of the block paving!
I'm not an expert in these fields but have been furloughed from my job at least for the next 6 weeks so my wife is keen to keep me busy!! Any help is much appreciated and I'll gladly post more photos to assist!

Posted: **Tue May 26, 2020 2:11 pm**

No image!

Posted: **Tue May 26, 2020 2:20 pm**

Sorry Tony, struggling to work out how to upload the images

Posted: **Tue May 26, 2020 3:03 pm**

Posted: **Wed May 27, 2020 11:09 am**

Your images.....

Posted: **Wed May 27, 2020 11:19 am**

That's a strange set-up!

Could you expose a little more of the buried pipework? I'd like to se how that rodding eye links in with the rest of the system. It looks an odd position for a RE.

The problem is you have both SW and FW going into the one pipe, so I have to assume the pipework is part of a FW system. If it had been SW only, the gully and pipework could have been replaced by the proposed linear channel, but because you have FW, those above-ground pipes can't be emptied into an open linear channnel.

So: your most likely solution is to cut a notch in the rear (LH end as you lok at it) of the gully fitting and then use an end-cap with pipe outlet fitting to connect your channel into the gully.

On the right hand side, you don't have sufficient depth to accommodate a standard channel, but you might just be able to get a shallow channel in place. How far would such a channel extend at that right hand end? Would a shallow channel be suitable?

The other option would be to align the linear channel to the outside edge of the drainage fitting and fashion a connection from the side of the channel to the side of the gully, or from the base of the channel into one of the buried pipes via a junction fitting.

Does that make any sense?

Posted: **Wed May 27, 2020 11:53 am**

Hi Tony, many thanks for your reply. I'll do a little more digging to expose the pipework and send a new photo.

Yes, it makes sense to me and I think it's something I could do. Would it be easier for a DIYer like myself to replace the old gully with a new unit that would allow the linear drain to fit straight into rather than cutting into the clay gully?

Also, I was hoping to feed the pipe from the dishwasher/kitchen sink into the linear channel directly underneath where it comes through the wall. From your comments it seems that's something that isn't the correct practice?

On the RH side the linear channel can run around the conservatory to another gully so the shallow channel leading to a deeper channel may be a better solution.

Thanks for your expertise!

Posted: **Sun May 31, 2020 2:52 pm**

Alex, your latest photies...

....connecting foul (KW and D/washer) into an open linear channel is not best practice but, given there is a very short distance between plastic waste pipes and the eventual underground pipe, it would probably be OK.....ish.

Did you have any luck with the contractor I mentioned in the email?

Posted: **Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:31 pm**

Hi Tony,
Thanks again for the information. Yes, I got hold of Ken and he came around to take a look at my job in hand. Unfortunately for me he's got lots of work at the moment and didn't have time to take on any work here for a couple of months. However, he was a great help in passing on some of his knowledge and guiding me away from making a few mistakes in other areas of the project!
I've got lots to be working on and will be revisiting here to guide me along the process!
Alex

The Brew Cabin

Connecting aco drain to existing system - Can gulley be used