We have been having problems with our drainage system
over the past few months. A week or so ago I spent almost
a whole day trying to rod our drains to clear a blockage (not a
job for the squeamish!!!). The problem is that our original drainage
pipes are in 'pitch fibre'. This was the 'Bee's Knees' in
the 60s. when they were first brought into use - but it was soon
discovered that the pipes were liable to distortion (squashing almost
flat) after a few years underground. I'm not sure if this is
what has happened to our pipes but whatever the cause, they just
weren't doing their job. To simply dig up the and replace would
be a massive job because the pipes run under our driveway. The
driveway is at first floor level (because our house is 'upside down'
- bedrooms downstairs - living room, kitchen etc. upstairs) and
has been filled up so that the drains are about 10 feet (3.0 metres)
below the driveway. So - I decided to divert the whole system
and go around the house in the opposite direction but finishing
at the same final inspection chamber in the rear corner of our plot. This
involved digging up the whole of our garden areas and laying in
new drainage pipes. Total carnage as can be seen from the photographs.
The sytem is however now working perfectly (I hope my
drain rodding days are now over)
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