Drainage problems, Help please.

alteredstate

Hi there I have a quick(ish) query for any plumbers out there. Now before I start please bear in mind that im a complete novice when it comes to all matters plumbing related.

Not long ago we had a blockage in our kitchen sink which we couldnt shift. After initial attempts to locate the blockage failed the plumber we called in reasoned that the problem was further down the pipe. Apparently the waste pipe from our sink is quite hard to access so he suggested that he reroute the pipe round the side of our house into the drain.

Only recently have I realized that the rerouted pipe actually goes into the drain that all the gutter water goes into( I think its called a grey waste) and apparently it is illegal to mix the two types of water (grey and foul). Now i know your'e all probably thinking that im incredibly naive not to know this, and i probably am but as a plumber could someone tell me if is it normal practice to perform something like this or have i been misled by this particular plumber? any help or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. thanks

ormus

no thats fine. there are millions of homes with a similar set up.
mine is the same. its the WC soil pipe that shouldnt be mixed.
but the whole lot mixes at the manhole anyways.

alteredstate

Thank you,
do you know anywhere online with infomation stating this is ok?

ormus

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002531.htm#18

some info here.
i am assuming that your drain is connected to the main sewer (like mine) and is not just a soakaway for the rainwater?

plumb1_2

ormus wrote: »

no thats fine. there are millions of homes with a similar set up.
mine is the same. its the WC soil pipe that shouldnt be mixed.
but the whole lot mixes at the manhole anyways.

Not quite, if you have just foul drains(single pipe sysytem) then the soil pipe and rainwater would be mixed.

If you have 2 pipe system foul+rainwater, then they shouldn't be mixed.
sinks, washing machines etc should only go into the soil.

I got quite a few jobs of changing pipes back to soil connections, due to United Ulities(water board) inspecting the drains of peoples homes, as the chemicals from washing had been connected to surface water gullies, polluting a water course several milkes away.

alteredstate

plumb1 wrote: »

Not quite, if you have just foul drains(single pipe sysytem) then the soil pipe and rainwater would be mixed.

If you have 2 pipe system foul+rainwater, then they shouldn't be mixed.
sinks, washing machines etc should only go into the soil.

I got quite a few jobs of changing pipes back to soil connections, due to United Ulities(water board) inspecting the drains of peoples homes, as the chemicals from washing had been connected to surface water gullies, polluting a water course several milkes away.

I suspect that we have the 2 pipe systems(99% sure) and i am guessing the plumber we used to sort out the blockage would of known this too before connecting our foul waste to the pipe where the rainwater goes.
We have since had a £200 bill to unblock the rainwater drain and i am wondering if it is worth going back to the plumber who did this originally for us and get our money back. Or would there be no point because i let the work go ahead?