Drains project planning first actions
Drains project planning first actions
Local building laws and procedures have to be complied with whenever you carry out drainage or pipework repairs and installation by yourself.
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 regulations during progressing each phase of the work. In most cases they do not need to be notified for a simple replacement of broken parts.
Whatever water we see on the surface around your home is usually rain. This can discharged into a soakaway, watercourse, surface water sewer or, particularly in older properties, into the foul water sewage system. The rainwater pipes in combined drainage systems empty their discharge into the foul water drains through gully traps, this prevent foul air from escaping outside creating odours. However, the latest systems are designed in a way which separates the foul water and the surface water. It is extremely important to ensure that you do not connect foul water to a surface water sewage system. When in doubt about the how the modern sewage system works, consult the Building Control Department.
The first thing to do in a DIY sewage replacement job is to decide the position and level of the waste pipework. The basic thing which you have to care about is to keep the route as straight and short as you can while designing the route of a waste or soil pipe, this will help to reduce the likelihood of stoppages. Also, make sure none of the pipes are laid at too steep an angle. You can calculate the fall of a drain over a distance using a surveyors site level. In the absence of one of these, create a datum point and set levels with a hosepipe filled with water and compute the fall from the datum in this manner.
The stability of the existing home is of prime importance it should be not compromised while the drain ditch is being installed so check you are not impacting on the existing structure. Similarly, take care of the substructures when laying a waste pipe that runs alongside the house.
If you try to dig all the trenches before you start pipe fixing, there is a chance of some trenches collapsing. You should attempt to get the pipes laid as soon as possible and, after inspection and checking, you should back fill the ditch.
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 trench 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. The base of the ditch should be clean and even and free from protruding stones or bricks etc. If the material at the base of the ditch is not appropriate then you might have to bring in new material.
You should definitely not use hard materials such as bricks to support the pipe in the trench. 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 material used for bedding should be firmly compacted down with a depression created to allow the joints in the pipes to fit easily. For the complete pipe length you have to provide a continuous and uniform support.
Make sure that your plans are made in such a way that drain rods are within reach of every part of the network of pipes. The drains should therefore run straight between two points to ease the passage of the drain rods. As a rule of thumb, a directional change in the pipework must have an inspection chamber for rodding access as drain rods do no go around corners.
If you are keen on DIY and follow some basic rules then you will be able to do plumbing and drainage on your own.