Non-emergency drain blockage

Furts

DRP wrote: »

I just stuck a large screw driver down into the gully below the drain pipe - all very soft material down there and the water cleared straight away when i started digging at the soft material - i guess this means that the blockage is directly within the area pictured and not the pipe to the sewer - good news i guess!

We are getting a downstair loo installed soon - i think it might be a good time to replace that gully?

If you really have a true soil pipe going into the gulley, and by that I mean one taking a toilet then I am surprised that it is blocked. I am also not surprised that a large screwdriver cleared the soft material for this will be aka pooh! It is collecting within the clay chamber of the back inlet gulley.

If my observation and understanding is correct then this drainage fails to meet any concept of good practice, and likewise The Buildings Regulations. It really should be replaced with something fit for purpose.

DRP

Furts wrote: »

If you really have a true soil pipe going into the gulley, and by that I mean one taking a toilet then I am surprised that it is blocked. I am also not surprised that a large screwdriver cleared the soft material for this will be aka pooh! It is collecting within the clay chamber of the back inlet gulley.

If my observation and understanding is correct then this drainage fails to meet any concept of good practice, and likewise The Buildings Regulations. It really should be replaced with something fit for purpose.

I'm confused too! The soft material that i cleared from the top of the drain was certainly not poo - abslutely no smell.

Also the toilet has been flushed several times, the washing machine has been on, and ive used the sinks since the blockage started and there's been no issues.

I can see the soil pipe from under the hall floor go through the wall to the outside - could there be a separate drain underneath or compartmentalisation of the gully itself, meaning the 2 are totally separate?

Furts

DRP wrote: »

I'm confused too! The soft material that i cleared from the top of the drain was certainly not poo - abslutely no smell.

Also the toilet has been flushed several times, the washing machine has been on, and ive used the sinks since the blockage started and there's been no issues.

I can see the soil pipe from under the hall floor go through the wall to the outside - could there be a separate drain underneath or compartmentalisation of the gully itself, meaning the 2 are totally separate?

The gulley is just one chamber. I suspect that you have some cobbled together drainage that works most of the time. It could be that the side of the gulley has been broken out and that the trap detail is not working. This would all be disguised by the concrete, which would also be acting as a seal to this. A clue to the answer would be if you smell sewerage, or if you smell it only after a period of dry weather.