By hill777 - November 8th, 2020, 2:27 pm
- November 8th, 2020, 2:27 pm
#8366
My daughter lives on the first floor of a house in London that has been converted into 3 flats. The people on the top floor have a toilet which drains to the outside of the building, then drops 6m down an external waste pipe to an elbow bend below the ground and discharges into an inspection chamber. The problem is that the effulent splashes up and sticks to the wall of the inspection chamber about 150mm above the channel. For 13 years since the house was converted into flats this has not been a problem. Indeed the problem may not have existed. But It is a coincidence, that since the arrival of a new occupant and his girl-friend in the flat upstairs, this debris, which is entirely toilet paper and associated debris, has built up until it blocks the inlet of this pipe. It does not appear to affect the inlet of other pipes, nor the outlet of the chamber. This implies that the debris buildup (slowly over the period of 3 months) spans at least 300mm across the invert channel and eventually reaches and blocks the mouth of the inlet pipe. This blockage causes a backup of effulent which eventually appears in the kitchen sink of my daughter's flat. This has happened twice in the past year. On both occasions a contractor was called and he cleared the blockage. His advice was that the whole inspection chamber should be dug up and replaced with a new inspection chamber incorporating a "gentler" bend for the foul water drain from the two flats. The cost of the work is estimated to be £3000.
I am thinking that the solution might be a short length of plastic guttering, cut to size, shaped to fit, and placed over the channel leading from the inlet to the invert channel. This could be cemented or a heavy weight placed ontop to keep it in place. I am hoping this solution will keep the debris from splashing up onto the far wall. You can see from the photo that the lower levels of the chamber are completely free. It is a bodge, but it could save a lot of money. Has anyone any other suggestions please?
The attached photo shows the inspection chamber 2 weeks after it was last cleared. The inlet from the toilet is at 7 o'clock and the outlet is at 3 o'clock. The chamber is located in a narrow alley between two buildings hence the cost of the work.
I am thinking that the solution might be a short length of plastic guttering, cut to size, shaped to fit, and placed over the channel leading from the inlet to the invert channel. This could be cemented or a heavy weight placed ontop to keep it in place. I am hoping this solution will keep the debris from splashing up onto the far wall. You can see from the photo that the lower levels of the chamber are completely free. It is a bodge, but it could save a lot of money. Has anyone any other suggestions please?
The attached photo shows the inspection chamber 2 weeks after it was last cleared. The inlet from the toilet is at 7 o'clock and the outlet is at 3 o'clock. The chamber is located in a narrow alley between two buildings hence the cost of the work.
Attachments
Inspection Chamber 2 wks after cleaning
20201104_view of Inspection Chamber.jpg (199.01KiB)Viewed 15478 times
20201104_view of Inspection Chamber.jpg (199.01KiB)Viewed 15478 times