Do this before you start sewage fitting
Do this before you start sewage fitting
Before you undertake DIY plumbing and drains work it is essential to understand the national rules and rules developed by the local authority.
You will have to present detailed plans for the proposed drainage work when you are changing existing drainage system or installing a new sewage system, and also need regular inspections to be undertaken to ensure that the plans are following the local building rules during progressing each phase of the work. In most cases they do not need to be notified for a simple replacement of broken parts.
Surface water is basically water from rain and is handled differently from dark waste water in a modern drainage development. This can discharged into a soakaway, watercourse, surface water sewer or, particularly in older properties, into the foul water sewage system. To stop any nasty odours emanating from the drains a combined system will discharge the surface water into the foul water drains by way of the gully traps. With more contemporary systems, however the foul water and surface water is kept separate, this is a more recent development. To comply with modern planning regulations you should always make sure that the foul water and surface water sewage system do not connect. You should get advice from the local authority Building Department before you start any work in a situation when you are not sure about the sewage system around your house.
Before you begin, you will need to plan the route of the waste pipes. Keeping the path as straight and short as possible will be the main concept behind the design of the waste passageways or pipes. You must avoid making your pipe runs too steep. Use a surveyor’s leveling tool to set out the slope of the drain trench. A hosepipe filled with water from an established datum point can be used if you don’t have a surveyor’s site level.
The stability of the existing home is of prime importance it should be not compromised while the drain trench is being installed so check you are not impacting on the existing structure. Keep the drain excavation at a uniformly safe distance from the house face to avoid damage to the substructure.
Do not dig the ditch too long before laying the pipe when installing a new drainage system. Make sure that you get the pipes laid as quickly as possible and then backfill the trench as soon as the system has been inspected and tested.
Depending on the depth and soil conditions, the trench may require support. It is advisable to take proper precautions. If you are not entirely confident of the stability of the ditch you should add support. You must make the ditch as narrow as possible while leaving enough room to work inside it. The trench base must be smooth and clean, there shouldn’t be any bricks or protruding stones around. The base should be good so you may need to import material if the existing soil structuire is not up to the mark.
Never use bricks and/or other hard materials to support the pipe in the trench. This should not be used as employing this type of material as a temporary or permanent pipe support will damage the pipe. Consolidate the bottom with a small roller or rammer and provide grooves in the bed to support the joints properly. A comprehensive support should be used for the whole of the pipe.
It is very important that the design of the drainage system should be constructed in such a way that all parts of the pipework are accessible to a set of drain rods for future maintenance. Thus, a drain route must be as straight as possible between any two points. Always make sure that rodding access is allowed in an inspection chamber at any point where the direction of the pipework changes.
Keeping these points in mind, you can carry out your own drainage and plumbing work smoothly and almost professionally.