Soak-aways

[Tim Hall]

I've fixed that for you, as there are rules, ask anybody that has had the Council Building Inspector round.

Some years ago I had an extension built. Plan A was to include a soak away to take the roof run off but the builder feared it would be a waste of time given all the clay in the area. I pointed out that at the foot of the garden was a surface water sewer/piped in ditch* so got on to Thames Water to enquire about connecting to it. The nice, incredibly helpful bod at Thames Water found it on his asset list and confirmed a connection could be made but that a charge of £150 would be levied for them to inspect the connection. "That's (cough cough) assuming you notify us (cough cough) and we can be bothered (cough cough) to come out."

Even a thicko like me can pick up such unsubtle hints, so the builder just cracked on.

*The man over the road used to catch tadpoles in it when he was a lad, it was an open ditch and it was all fields.

 

[Salar]

I've fixed that for you, as there are rules, ask anybody that has had the Council Building Inspector round.

I'm partnered with the local County Council Planning and Building Control and deal with them regularly including many site visits.

In my area they will not commit themselves to rules of thumb and always ask for full calculations, soakaway tests etc when soakways are required.

And don't even start about flooding and flood plains!!

 

[Levo-Lon]

I'm partnered with the local County Council Planning and Building Control and deal with them regularly including many site visits.

In my area they will not commit themselves to rules of thumb and always ask for full calculations, soakaway tests etc when soakways are required.

And don't even start about flooding and flood plains!!

Nightmare at times.

We have deep fen peat soil in areas.
Then there's a very large seam of Jurassic shale rock that fluctuates in depth from 20-30 feet thick to 6" and that is then covered and surrounded by blue clay, great for brick production but a right pita for everything else building wise.

If your lucky and get the rock your house will stand steady for ever as will your patio!!

 

[Randomnerd]

Hmm. All very serious stuff, but @User9609 was just letting some water off his patio (and, as I suspected, already had half the hole dug - he must have been typing the question in the hole).
Chill dudes.

 

[PK99]

[QUOTE 5339920, member: 9609"]Thanks all for the replies, a hole with stones in was how I imagined

Snip

View attachment 423070
thats a 3x2 I split in half down each side, so its a fair depth[/QUOTE]

I'm confused by that.

You have dug a hole and filled most of it with rocks. There is very little space for water to collect. Surely in heavy rain it is going to back up and overflow.?


Simple domestic version of the paving expert version is:
Hole.
Fabric.
2 upturned milk or beer crates
Paving slab over the top
Covery with soil.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Surley all the water runs downhill into Engladshire @User9609 ?
We need it at the moment

 

[Salar]

You have dug a hole and filled most of it with rocks. There is very little space for water to collect. Surely in heavy rain it is going to back up and overflow.?

Correct.

 

[PK99]

[QUOTE 5341184, member: 9609"]I see it as a 3 foot tunnel to where the water can drain away. the hole itself is tiny 90*50*60cm = 60 gallon, its only use is if it gets the water to somewhere else, I do understand what you are getting at but I thought traditional soakaways were full of stones of gravel ?

I did a bit of a test the day, stuck the hose pipe in and did manage to get the water level up to the top, but turning the hose down to about 6 litres per minute seen the water level decrease. Which is a big improvement, even last weeks rain (about half inch one afternoon) left standing water for a little while.

Of course everything is so dry at the moment the ground is just soaking it all up. I doubt it will handle it during the witer months, that whole area just become sodden.[/QUOTE]

what's the area of the patio you are draining?

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I'm confused by that.

You have dug a hole and filled most of it with rocks. There is very little space for water to collect. Surely in heavy rain it is going to back up and overflow.?


Simple domestic version of the paving expert version is:
Hole.
Fabric.
2 upturned milk or beer crates
Paving slab over the top
Covery with soil.

The point is for water NOT to collect, but drain through the rubble into the water table. It’s only a patio and this will more than suffice. Like noted upthread, this has become a mountain/molehill discussion. Could all those responsible, please focus your energies instead on my local Tesco carpark which floods after a downpour. Much appreciated.

 

[Mugshot]

Could all those responsible, please focus your energies instead on my local Tesco carpark which floods after a downpour. Much appreciated.

You've brought to mind a large DIY chains store I used to work in, whose carpark used to flood across the entrance to the shop in heavy rain to such a degree that we would have a member of staff with a pair of wellies and a trolley ferrying customers back and forth, couldn't do it now, health and safety gone mad it is.

 

[Levo-Lon]

I once burst a 8" water main while digging at RAF Brampton with a JCB.
Fire water main that had not been noted on the plans,it was about 10 feet deep.

The site flooded in minutes!! Awesome water pressure..
We had a job to shut it off,and to add to the excitement the man in charge decided to do a bomb scare drill.

He decided it would be a good excercise being as there was panic!!

Nothing to do with soak aways ,just a little story about water.
On the plus side the naffi lunch was superb.