Replacing drain inspection cover

dancelikeamonkey

Hi, i moved into this house a few months ago and i think the previous owner must have gone over this inspection drain cover with a petrol mower or something. 

I want to replace it  and have found this which looks similar but seems expensive for some plastic:
 https://www.jewson.co.uk/p/osma-multi-base-inspection-chamber-322-x-140-x-110mm-brown-PO4D969Z

If that is a good choice, can anyone advise how it's fitted? I don't want to just yank on it and damage anything it's attached to. 

Thanks in advance for any help (and cheaper alternatives if possible )

bjorn_toby_wilde

It’s a snug push fit (you can see the seal in the pic you linked to) so twisting and pulling upwards at the same time should remove it fairly easily.  The one you’ve linked to looks like it should do the trick.

On new builds they’re often left proud of the surrounding soil like that because nobody could be bothered to trim the pipe and sink them level with the surface after the lawn was put down.

dancelikeamonkey

Ah nice one thanks.

Yeah guess I'm lucky this one is "only" slightly proud of the lawn but some of the ones on the street are ridiculously above it.

I'm guessing there's no easy way to cut it down but I'll be more careful with my mower than they were.

Eldi_Dos

Is that price not for the whole unit rather than just the "lid" ?

When cutting lawn set blades next step up to avoid lid.

Section62

dancelikeamonkey said:

Hi, i moved into this house a few months ago and i think the previous owner must have gone over this inspection drain cover with a petrol mower or something. 

I want to replace it  and have found this which looks similar but seems expensive for some plastic:
 https://www.jewson.co.uk/p/osma-multi-base-inspection-chamber-322-x-140-x-110mm-brown-PO4D969Z

If that is a good choice, can anyone advise how it's fitted? I don't want to just yank on it and damage anything it's attached to. 

Thanks in advance for any help (and cheaper alternatives if possible )

The fittings are precision made and are bulky to transport which adds to the cost, but OSMA is one of the more expensive brands, and Jewsons one of the more expensive retailers for one-off purchases.  I've not used them for years so don't know their current policy, but they used to show the 'list price' (as per Wavin) for OSMA drainage and then discount it down if you ask nicely - from memory you could get down to paying about a third of the 'list price' (i.e. 66% discount).

There are cheaper options from other manufacturers - but you'd need to take the old cover off and do some measuring to work out exactly what would fit.

It should be push-fit.  Clear the soil around the cover, take the lid off, then gently rotate the fitting to 'break the seal' (the rubber seal can 'stick' to the pipe) and then see if you can lift it off without the chamber sections coming out of the ground with it.

dancelikeamonkey

Eldi_Dos said:

Is that price not for the whole unit rather than just the "lid" ?

When cutting lawn set blades next step up to avoid lid.

Hi, yeah it's the whole unit because the frame the lid sits in is broken as well unfortunately. 

I just mow around it. Shame the previous owners didn't seem to 🙂

dancelikeamonkey

Section62 said:

The fittings are precision made and are bulky to transport which adds to the cost, but OSMA is one of the more expensive brands, and Jewsons one of the more expensive retailers for one-off purchases.  I've not used them for years so don't know their current policy, but they used to show the 'list price' (as per Wavin) for OSMA drainage and then discount it down if you ask nicely - from memory you could get down to paying about a third of the 'list price' (i.e. 66% discount).

There are cheaper options from other manufacturers - but you'd need to take the old cover off and do some measuring to work out exactly what would fit.

It should be push-fit.  Clear the soil around the cover, take the lid off, then gently rotate the fitting to 'break the seal' (the rubber seal can 'stick' to the pipe) and then see if you can lift it off without the chamber sections coming out of the ground with it.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll just stick with that one then to date a lot of faffing around - and try and get some money off. 

Aye it's pulling things apart that I'm a bit nervous off. If the chamber sections do come apart should it hopefully just be a case of pushing them back together or are they physically joined with something do you know?

Section62

dancelikeamonkey said:

...

Thanks for the info. I think I'll just stick with that one then to date a lot of faffing around - and try and get some money off. 

Aye it's pulling things apart that I'm a bit nervous off. If the chamber sections do come apart should it hopefully just be a case of pushing them back together or are they physically joined with something do you know?

Most plastic fould-water drainage is push-fit.  Some is solvent welded, but that is less common these days.

The chamber sections shouldn't come apart, because soil friction (if nothing else) should keep them in place.  But without knowing how well the installation was done you can't rule out the possibility of one or more sections coming away with the cover.

In theory you'd be able to push them back in, but the problem is if you get soil or stones into the joints it might be impossible to get the chamber back together without digging down to clear the debris away.  Again, this isn't a common thing to happen, just a PITB if it does, so worth taking extra care when removing the cover fitting to make sure that is all you remove.

TELLIT01

I found this from Screwfix   https://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast-push-fit-square-mini-access-chamber-cover-frame-300mm/12847?gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1249404&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=837555045&gclid=Cj0KCQjwo63HBhCKARIsAHOHV_Wbs_zOYF9B4EJ7fPgpv7hZnE_1VD9evgxfYBKLNLAz9BJM5YvXgtcaApp4EALw_wcB

They are generally the first place I look as they also tend to be cheaper than other places.

Eldi_Dos

dancelikeamonkey said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Is that price not for the whole unit rather than just the "lid" ?

When cutting lawn set blades next step up to avoid lid.

Hi, yeah it's the whole unit because the frame the lid sits in is broken as well unfortunately. 

I just mow around it. Shame the previous owners didn't seem to 🙂

I suppose the price reflects that it has got to be able to stand heavy loads if it is used in area's where vehicles go over them.
Pity you could not find a offcut of plastic /wetwall /flooring to screw down over , I see there are a certain type of screw on the company webpage.

dancelikeamonkey

Actually that's got me thinking., if i just replaced the cover part and used some exterior black paint on the frame part you would barely notice it was broken. 

That would save me a few quid and a lot less risk of damage.