Author: Tony
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A Drainage Engineer’s Guide to…
In this DrainHub Guide series, we’ll take you through the process of unblocking or clearing any drain in your house, office or workplace. It should give you an insight into the process of elimination when working out where a blockage is, then how to attack it and with without having to buy expensive tools or…
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A Drainage Engineer’s Guide to Unblocking Drains
This can often be what a Drainage Engineer does day to day on any given week. Some love it, some put up with it, some would rather being doing the more complicated, technical works or maybe just surveying all day long. But I found going around doing reactive jobs would keep Engineers sharp. You’ve got…
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French Drains versus Channel Drainage
What’s the difference? Fundamentally, both are effective ways of moving surface water (rain water from above, sub surface water from below or a combination of both). Managing water flow on your property is crucial to protect against damage, safeguard structures, and maintain a safe environment. Whether you’re dealing with surface runoff or groundwater buildup, selecting…
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Cesspits, Septic Tanks and Treatment Plants
This is a general guide on these drainage features, with the aim of helping you understand the functioning and purpose of these aspects of your property. There have been significant changes in recent years and you may need to update your sewage system and/or apply for a permit, depending on your circumstances.Check out these changes…
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Soakaways and other Surface Water Drainage
Knowing how surface water, or rainwater, is dealt with on your property or a property you are working on, can help immensely with dealing with flooding, leaks, or even damp and mold issues. But it’s important to also know what the rules and regulations are to make sure any changes you make are legal and…
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Recent Septic Tank and Sewage Treatment Plants: What you need to Know
There have been many changes in recent years, beginning with new rules rolled out in 2015, which required some property owners to upgrade their drainage systems over the next two years – under General Binding Rules (GBR’s), covering domestic sewage treatment plants and septic tanks. With the aim to eliminate or reduce the amount of…
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A Drainage Engineer’s Guide To Unblocking a Bath
I’ve had to unblock far fewer bath drains in my time than most other bathroom facilities, but when they do block up, it usually goes one of two ways; a quick plunge and clear, test and walk away, or a bit of nightmare. The nightmare ones tend to be because of access. Baths, especially in…
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How Long Should a Soakaway Take to Drain?
This obviously depends on many individual factors to do with location, design and age, but generally, soakaways should have drained within 24hrs. This is the time for the soakaway itself to drain; if your rainwater drainage is taking longer to dissipate from the ground or gutters, there may be problems between the drain and soakaway.…
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Drainage Interceptors
Generally used for rainwater systems in car parks and areas where there are heavy amounts of vehicle traffic, interceptors are multi stage chambers used for separating contaminants, both solids and fluids, before the rainwater can move along to its downstream destination; this could be a watercourse of mains drainage system. It’s extremely important to maintain…
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Percolation Tests
A percolation test, sometimes referred to as a “Perc Test,” should be the first step to checking an area will be suitable for installing a soakaway or drainage field. It may sound like a big or complicated thing to do, but all it is a hole in the ground in which you fill with water…