Do you acknowledge the first steps in drain installation
Do you acknowledge the first steps in drain installation
The first thing that you will need to think about when undertaking any DIY plumbing and sewage are the regulations issued by your Local Authority.
You need to explain your work plan in detail to the authority if you wish to install a new drainage system or alter an existing one, the officials will then go through the plan to check if it is in accordance with the rules. In most cases they do not need to be notified for a simple replacement of broken parts.
The water which you see on the surface is basically rainwater. In older properties this surface water can find its way into the foul water sewage system, but more generally it can also end up in a watercourse, surface water sewer or soakaway. 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. However, modern systems are designed to keep the foul water and the surface water apart. Foul water should never be connected to surface water sewage system with any new sewage development you undertake. If you are unsure about the drainage system around your house get advice from the Building Control Department before you start any work.
To properly prepare the plans and get local authority permission to commence work there is a need for you to plan the route of the waste pipes before you begin. Have an eye to future maintenance when you design the drainage system and always try to keep the waste or soil pipe as straight and short as you can when you are devising the layout. Also, make sure none of the pipes are laid at too steep an angle. Use a surveyor’s leveling tool to set out the slope of the drain trench. Or just fill a transparent hosepipe with water and use the water level at the two ends to mark the required fall from the starting point.
The stability of the existing house is of prime importance it should be not compromised while the drain pipe trench is being installed so check you are not impacting on the existing structure. You have to make sure that no building foundation is undermined if you are laying a drain running parallel to the building.
If you try to dig all the trenches before you start pipe fixing, there is a chance of some trenches collapsing. Excavate a part of the sewage system, install and test the pipework, and then back fill and compact the earth before moving on to the next part.
Depending on the depth and soil conditions, the trench may require support. Avoid risks when working in the trench. If you have any worries, you should support to the ditch to reduce any risk of collapsing side walls during the building phase. The ditch should be narrow, but spacious enough for people to work with any required tools. Protruding stones or bricks should not be left in the base and it should be cleaned to provide a smooth, regular surface. You may have to bring in the right type of material for the bottom of the trench if the one that’s already there is not proper.
You should definitely not use hard materials such as bricks to support the pipe in the ditch. This should not be used as support for the short or the long run because it will damage the pipe, the pipe needs to be fully supported over its full lenght. The bedding should be properly compacted with hollows made to accommodate the joints in the pipes. The entire drain pipe system has to be uniformly supported by the soil bedding.
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. This need for drain rod access can be easily achieved by keeping the pipeline straight and in short sections. 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 sewage and plumbing work smoothly and almost professionally.