Conservatory drain pipe arrangements - ALL SORTED OUT NOW.

sparklybear

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES. CLOSING DOWN NOW AS ALL SORTED!

I am currently in the process of having a small conservatory built on the back of my house. The external dimensions are 3.25 x 3.75 metres. Unfortunately, the conservatory is at the opposite end of the rear of the house to where the down pipe that takes rain water from the main house roof is situated.

The builder has suggested that the down pipe from the conservatory gutter can be connected to an acco drain that will run against the rear wall of the house and connect, underground, to the main rainwater drain.

When I agreed this, I was under the impression that there would be an actual complete pipe inside the acco drain. But, having researched it, it looks like it will be an open/incomplete pipe with a metal grid over the top. (I hope I’m making sense - this is all new to me).

My worry is that there could be an overspill of rainwater from the acco drain on days like today when it has absolutely hammered down.

The only alternative idea I have is to connect the down pipe from the conservatory gutter to the down pipe for the house gutter by running a pipe across the back wall of the house.

Please can anyone advise? Many thanks.

Ectophile

Depending on your soil type, a third option would be to dig a soakaway in your garden, and direct the rain water to that.

Presumably, before you built the conservatory, all the rain that landed on the patch where the conservatory is now being built would have run off into the garden anyway.

bjorn_toby_wilde

I’d say that our aco drain is roughly the same internal capacity as a downpipe, possibly slightly more. It should be fine for a relatively small roof like that.

Logically I would say if there was enough water to overwhelm the aco then it would be overflowing your gutters too because the downpipe wouldn’t be capable of taking enough water.

WIAWSNB

"...it'll connect, underground, to the main rainwater drain."

Which drain? The one your house downpipes go to? In which case, apparently now roofs shouldn't, but - for a small conservatory - why the heck not.

Is this going to be signed off by building control?