Sewage Inspection Cover Problem

sandyadler

I moved into my new build over a year ago, but I’m still within the two year cover period and the ground around the Sewage Inspection Cover has settled to a degree, that it’s now possible to lift the lid off without undoing the screws! I have contacted the builder and they say ‘as long as the screws are securing the lid, it’s not their problem’. It seems a H&S problem to me? Do I have a case to take this further?   

Any answers will be most appreciative.

Paula_Smith

I have never seen one with a screw down lid before - which suggests that they don't need to be screwed down.
Is it secure? Is there a chance that you can fall through it?

Ebe_Scrooge

In what way is it a H&S issue ?  I can see that it might be a bit annoying, but is it really that much of an issue?  That looks more like a rodding point to me, rather than a full-size manhole cover - in which case you're unlikely to be getting raw sewage escaping unless there's a blockage.  For the hassle it would cause trying to have a full-on argument with the builders, I'd be tempted to do a DIY fix to be honest, it should only be a case of re-packing some soil around the cover ?

grumbler

I don't understand how subsided soil can affect the screw.

If it's the entire pipe with the rodding eye that subsited, and the soil doesn't allow the lid to be screwed normally, then this can be fixed DIY, but not that easily.

vacheron

That looks like a mini inspection chamber. 

The lids come with a frame which slides into the inspection chamber riser pipe, the lid then screws on to that.
It may be that these are just meant to be a friction fit , but if it was me, I would be unscrewing the lid, running a bead of silicon or adhesive between the pipe and the frame and just pushing it back in.

We have a few of these proud in our garden after building works and I don't think these are bonded in either, but I consider that useful as we will be able to remove them fully and adjust the height when we finally get round to landscaping around them.