Drain task planning 1st steps
Drain task planning 1st steps
Before you undertake DIY plumbing and drains work it is essential to understand the national rules and rules formulated by the local authority.
You need to explain your work plan in detail to the authority if you wish to install a new sewage system or alter an existing one, the officials will then go through the plan to check if it is in accordance with the rules. However you do not require authority approval for replacement of failed joints or cracked plumbing and drains pipes.
Surface water is basically water from rain and is handled differently from dark waste water in a modern sewage development. In older properties this can discharged into a foul water sewage system whereas in other properties this can discharged into a soakaway, watercourse or a surface water sewer. Air escape from the drains is stopped when rainwater pipes are discharged into the foul water drains through gully traps in an older combined system. However, modern systems are designed to keep the foul water and the surface water apart. If you have a modern system it is very essential that you make sure that you do not accidentally integrate the foul water to a surface water sewage system. If you are unsure about the sewage system around your house get advice from the Building Control Department before you start any work.
Before starting your work, finalise the routes the waste pipes would take. The main things to consider when planning the route of a waste or soil pipe are to keep the route as straight and short as you can. If the pipe slope is excessive, your joint alignment may fail. Using surveyor’s site level you can calculate the fall of a drain over a distance to check the values. By establishing a datum point and using a hosepipe filled with water to establish levels you can calculate the fall from the datum in a situation when do not have one of these measures available.
Don’t compromise the stability of the house when setting up the drainage ditch. You have to make sure that no building foundation is undermined if you are laying a drain pipe running parallel to the building.
While installing a new sewage system make sure that you do not dig too long before laying the pipe. The pipes should be laid quickly and the ditch back filled after the system has been examined thoroughly and tested as required.
Weak soil may require that you shore up the walls of the excavation, particularly for deeper trenches. It is advisable to take proper precautions. If you are not sure prop up the ditch anyway to prevent it from falling. Make sure that you leave enough room in the trench for you to work but try to keep it as small as possible. The base of the trench should be clean and even and free from protruding stones or bricks etc. You may need to import a suitable material for the base of the ditch if the existing material is unsuitable.
Pipework must be uniformly supported by the soil bed, and not by stones or bricks haphazardly placed underneath the pipes. Even if used for just a temporary support this can damage the pipe. The base should be tightly packed in the appropriate manner with holes carved out to fit in the protruding pipe connections. You will need to provide a continuous and uniform support for the complete length of the pipe.
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. So that is why a run of drains should be as straight as possible between two points or inspection chambers. An inspection chamber should be present at places where the pipework changes its direction, this is important so that it remains accessible to drain rods and they do not need to go around corners.
DIY plumbing and drainage is within the reach of many DIY fans if you follow these simple rules.