Drainage/ guttering help needed
Discussion
Sorry this may be a bit long...
Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Edited by Audis5b9 on Thursday 13th March 20:14
Audis5b9 said:
Sorry this may be a bit long...
Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
That is not underground drainage pipe............which is strange because judging by the bricks the house doesn't look that old.Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Edited by Audis5b9 on Thursday 13th March 20:14
Replace the lot with proper 100mm undergound pipe and either a gully or a capped off 90' pipe at the wall to fit the gutter into.
Damp looks as though the downpipe is leaking at that angled joint to me.
Audis5b9 said:
Sorry this may be a bit long...
Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Q1 - 63mm downpipe, a 63-110mm downpipe socket adaptor and the 110mm soil drainage.Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Edited by Audis5b9 on Thursday 13th March 20:14
Q2 - brown and black are basically the same, the only difference is brown isn’t UV stable so can only be used below ground. Black can be used above or below ground but is more expensive.
Q3 - no, short of digging it up to check, the only way you’ll really know is once you’ve had a decent storm. Soakaways work based on storage and attenuation so a few minutes with a hose will tell you very little.
Bonus - you’ve only just taken the ivy off so the brickwork will take a long time to dry, I don’t think the rotten fence bolted to the wall will help much either.
Edited by smokey mow on Thursday 13th March 20:34
LimmerickLad said:
That is not underground drainage pipe............which is strange because judging by the bricks the house doesn't look that old.
Replace the lot with proper 100mm undergound pipe and either a gully or a capped off 90' pipe at the wall to fit the gutter into.
Damp looks as though the downpipe is leaking at that angled joint to me.
1984 house.Replace the lot with proper 100mm undergound pipe and either a gully or a capped off 90' pipe at the wall to fit the gutter into.
Damp looks as though the downpipe is leaking at that angled joint to me.
Does a gully need to be cemented in?
And what do you mean by a "capped off 90' pipe". Apologies all new to me.
Audis5b9 said:
LimmerickLad said:
That is not underground drainage pipe............which is strange because judging by the bricks the house doesn't look that old.
Replace the lot with proper 100mm undergound pipe and either a gully or a capped off 90' pipe at the wall to fit the gutter into.
Damp looks as though the downpipe is leaking at that angled joint to me.
1984 house.Replace the lot with proper 100mm undergound pipe and either a gully or a capped off 90' pipe at the wall to fit the gutter into.
Damp looks as though the downpipe is leaking at that angled joint to me.
Does a gully need to be cemented in?
And what do you mean by a "capped off 90' pipe". Apologies all new to me.
https://www.pavingexpert.com/drain10
smokey mow said:
Audis5b9 said:
Sorry this may be a bit long...
Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Q1 - 63mm downpipe, a 63-110mm downpipe socket adaptor and the 110mm soil drainage.Been sorting out our guttering recently. Previous owners had tonnes of ivy growing up the front of the house, we have removed this ivy revealing the old drain pipe going into the ground. It was completely blocked with roots. I guess once it blocked, they just diverted the guttering over the fence and got rid of the water via a different route.
I wanted to re-instate the drain straight down, as it looks odd going over the fence.. so dug up the drain and got back to clear pipe and found the old soakaway.
Pulled out these dead fittings...
Question 1: What is the best thing to replace these parts with, like for like, or is there something better to fit between the gutter downpipe and the underground pipe to the soakaway.
Question 2: When I search TP/ Screwfix etc underground pipe all seems to be brown, soil pipe stuff black... have they used soil pipes for my drainage system? is that a problem? I'd rather the joint between gutter going into the ground was black to fit in with the gutters...
Question 3: To test the soakaway wasnt blocked, I ran the hose down the pipe at full blast for 10-15 mins to check it didnt back up. Is that enough time to test it?
EDIT: Bonus question: The bricks in that corner all look damp... looks like water is tracking up. How/ what should I be investigating this? No sign of damp on inside of property...
Edited by Audis5b9 on Thursday 13th March 20:14
Q2 - brown and black are basically the same, the only difference is brown isn’t UV stable so can only be used below ground. Black can be used above or below ground but is more expensive.
Q3 - no, short of digging it up to check, the only way you’ll really know is once you’ve had a decent storm. Soakaways work based on storage and attenuation so a few minutes with a hose will tell you very little.
Bonus - you’ve only just taken the ivy off so the brickwork will take a long time to dry, I don’t think the rotten fence bolted to the wall will help much either.
Edited by smokey mow on Thursday 13th March 20:34
The rainwater downpipe will be 68mm
Everything else bang on
Could also consider 100mm land drain in a long run through the garden from the 90 degree bend at the bottom of the downpipe in lieu of the soakaway?
Edited by Patio on Friday 14th March 01:40
If I am understanding correctly, the current drain flows (via the curved drain) into a proper ground drain and piped away underground from the house?
If so then I would hesitate to replace this set up with a soak away like you suggest right beside the house. At peak winter the ground will already be wet (much wetter than you can replicate now) and adding weeks of gutter water to that will create an unnecessary problem to solve an aesthetic problem.
Its easy to underestimate how much water comes off a roof, I was shocked how quickly a new water butt filled up from a small garden shed
If so then I would hesitate to replace this set up with a soak away like you suggest right beside the house. At peak winter the ground will already be wet (much wetter than you can replicate now) and adding weeks of gutter water to that will create an unnecessary problem to solve an aesthetic problem.
Its easy to underestimate how much water comes off a roof, I was shocked how quickly a new water butt filled up from a small garden shed
acer12 said:
If I am understanding correctly, the current drain flows (via the curved drain) into a proper ground drain and piped away underground from the house?
If so then I would hesitate to replace this set up with a soak away like you suggest right beside the house. At peak winter the ground will already be wet (much wetter than you can replicate now) and adding weeks of gutter water to that will create an unnecessary problem to solve an aesthetic problem.
Its easy to underestimate how much water comes off a roof, I was shocked how quickly a new water butt filled up from a small garden shed
With rocks and boulders in the soak away and big enough hole the water should filter through and never fill up with water. They changed the distance from the house for the soak away from 3 meters to 5 meters at some point from the 70s but obviously common sense must prevail if your garden is under 5 meters.If so then I would hesitate to replace this set up with a soak away like you suggest right beside the house. At peak winter the ground will already be wet (much wetter than you can replicate now) and adding weeks of gutter water to that will create an unnecessary problem to solve an aesthetic problem.
Its easy to underestimate how much water comes off a roof, I was shocked how quickly a new water butt filled up from a small garden shed
Running water into the sewer run is not allowed unless it’s a very old property that always had that.
I once see a property that had a solid root filled pipe through the soak away pipe that went up the down pipe 3 feet or more and the owner had sawn a slot in it just above it to let the water out. Cowboy.
acer12 said:
If I am understanding correctly, the current drain flows (via the curved drain) into a proper ground drain and piped away underground from the house?
If so then I would hesitate to replace this set up with a soak away like you suggest right beside the house. At peak winter the ground will already be wet (much wetter than you can replicate now) and adding weeks of gutter water to that will create an unnecessary problem to solve an aesthetic problem.
Its easy to underestimate how much water comes off a roof, I was shocked how quickly a new water butt filled up from a small garden shed
The downpipe went into that curved pipe, then into underground pipe linking to an existing rubble soakaway filled with rubble. (Approx 3m from the house)If so then I would hesitate to replace this set up with a soak away like you suggest right beside the house. At peak winter the ground will already be wet (much wetter than you can replicate now) and adding weeks of gutter water to that will create an unnecessary problem to solve an aesthetic problem.
Its easy to underestimate how much water comes off a roof, I was shocked how quickly a new water butt filled up from a small garden shed
I assume the previous homeowners only diverted the gutter due to the ivy roots blocking this system up and they want to keep the ivy rather than there being an issue with the soakaway. So fingers crossed the old soakaway is still working and wont be an issue for the house.
Worst case in the future I can always divert it back the way it is currently set up.
We are on clay here so not ideal for any drainage system...
Edited by Audis5b9 on Friday 14th March 07:57
I find it hard to believe a house built in 1984 doesn’t have proper sewer connected drainage on front and rear elevations, rather than some crappy little soak away 3m from the house, which should be 5m under the current regs. Is that the sole drainage connection on that elevation OP? Is there a proper sewer connected gulley you could access by re-siting the rwp/altering the fall on the guttering?
wolfracesonic said:
I find it hard to believe a house built in 1984 doesn’t have proper sewer connected drainage on front and rear elevations, rather than some crappy little soak away 3m from the house, which should be 5m under the current regs. Is that the sole drainage connection on that elevation OP? Is there a proper sewer connected gulley you could access by re-siting the rwp/altering the fall on the guttering?
We are on a septic tank here out in the sticks. There is sewage on the front elevation but no gullies in a sensible position that we could reroute the rwp to.
Would mean digging up concrete driveway to do anything other than use the old soakaway or existing rerouting.
Edited by Audis5b9 on Friday 14th March 08:51
^ Ok, I see. If you are going to install new pipes and are digging up the lawn, would it be worth installing a proper soak away crate, it will perform a lot better than some general rubble that’s been slung in a hole.
wolfracesonic said:
^ Ok, I see. If you are going to install new pipes and are digging up the lawn, would it be worth installing a proper soak away crate, it will perform a lot better than some general rubble that’s been slung in a hole.
If it's in clay as the OP states the soakaway won't be anything much more than an underground pond so it won't really matter what you put in the hole.Replacing 3m of pipe and a couple of fittings is a bit of a different job than digging up a new soakaway...
I was hoping this would be an hours work originally!
Think I will dig up the pipe, replace with 110mm and also fit a gully as we have quite a bit of moss on the roof so would be good to be able to clear out anything that makes its way down.
I was hoping this would be an hours work originally!
Think I will dig up the pipe, replace with 110mm and also fit a gully as we have quite a bit of moss on the roof so would be good to be able to clear out anything that makes its way down.
Audis5b9 said:
Replacing 3m of pipe and a couple of fittings is a bit of a different job than digging up a new soakaway...
I was hoping this would be an hours work originally!
Think I will dig up the pipe, replace with 110mm and also fit a gully as we have quite a bit of moss on the roof so would be good to be able to clear out anything that makes its way down.
I was hoping this would be an hours work originally!
Think I will dig up the pipe, replace with 110mm and also fit a gully as we have quite a bit of moss on the roof so would be good to be able to clear out anything that makes its way down.
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