Leaking Downpipe — Blocked Soakaway?

paperclap

Here’s a photo.

Left, the conservatory downpipe. Ignore the tarted up gnome! 

Right, you can see one of the old original downpipes of the property.

This is a 1955 property.

Bendy_House

You don't have a 'wet and dry' vac, by any chance...?

plumb1_2

You need to excavate around the white rwp to see if it’s connected to a drain
You’ve already got a helper with a wheelbarrow.

stuart45

Properties built in the 50's often had combined drainage systems.

paperclap

Don’t have a wet and dry vac, no!

So say I dig up around the pipe. What would/should I be looking for? How far away would a soakaway be (should that be what’s there)?

stuart45

If you have any manhole covers that can be lifted, you might be able to stick a hose down the pipe and see if the water runs to the main drainage system.

FreeBear

laurencewhymark said:

plumb1_2 said:

Do you have a soakaway or just assuming you do?

I’m somewhat assuming. I don’t know for sure, as it was here before we purchased the property. But presumed they would have fitted a soakaway, rather than connect it to the main sewage pipe (or whatever it’s called)!

When the garage here was built back in the mid 70s, the builder just dug a hole for a soakaway and lobbed a few bricks in. It didn't take long for tree roots to clog up the underground drain pipe... It has now been replaced by some storm crates wrapped in geotextile and buried some 750mm down. It seems to have coped well with the real heavy downpours we've had this year.

Bendy_House

laurencewhymark said:

Don’t have a wet and dry vac, no!

So say I dig up around the pipe. What would/should I be looking for? How far away would a soakaway be (should that be what’s there)?

I understand soakaways should be - what? - 5m from the house?

Have you taken the DP off, yet, to see if IT is blocked?!

Once you excavate around where the pipe goes into the ground, you should get an idea of the direction it's heading. Do you know where your drains/sewer run?

Could you fit a water butt to cope with the worst of the rain?

Ant555

Hi, do you know for sure that the main downpipe itself is not blocked?

My conservatory guttering was dripping water on a dry day this week which was strange -  turns out the guttering was completely full of water due to loads of twigs and leaves stuck part way down the downpipe causing it to backup.

Anyway, I just used a stick to pull and poke out the debris and all fixed - mine has a gulley to the main drain so slightly different to you at the bottom end however I wonder if your problem could be similar (and equally straightforward to fix). 


Hope this helps

FreeBear

Bendy_House said:

laurencewhymark said:

Don’t have a wet and dry vac, no!

So say I dig up around the pipe. What would/should I be looking for? How far away would a soakaway be (should that be what’s there)?

I understand soakaways should be - what? - 5m from the house?

Building Regulations, Part H - A soakaway should be a minimum of 5m from a building or roadway and at least 2.5m (?) from a boundary. Note the use of "should". Site conditions often do not allow for such generous spacing, and if you are on a free draining soil, you can sometimes get away with being closer.

I have soakaways located within 3m of my property and straddling a boundary, but that is what some builders did back then..