Storm Drain Construction

Hi

I am planning to build a storm drain 8m long x 0.75m wide x 0.5m deep.

On top of the storm drain will be Class D400 gratings. In the areas where the gratings are not required we are going to shutter and pour concrete onto steel reinforcing mesh to close the gaps.

The contruction needs to be strong enough to handle slow moving traffic. The bulk of the traffic will be domestic cars, however there could be a truck at times delivering heating oil fuel.

We did plan to build the strom drain out of standard 100mm concrete blocks 7 N/sq.mm, but realised that this might not be strong enough.

Now plan to use Concrete Engineering Bricks to form a 215mm thick drain wall. I understand that the Engineering Bricks have a much higher compressive strength.

What is the difference between Type A and Type B bricks ?

For this construction would a standard sand and cement mortar suffice ?

Any suggestions would be welcome.

would it not be cheaper to install some spun concrete pipes where water admittance is not necessary?

class b engineering bricks with 3:1 mortar will deal with a heck of a lot of tonnage. they are laid beneath some pretty heavy buildings. as for vehicle impact though.........? i would use solids as opposed to perf's.

the important thing is making sure any vulnerable impact points are particularly secure. the top course of bricks will take some stick, so the grating will need to sit true and snug as not to damage the top course.

don't skimp on the foundations either. repeated vehicle tyre tracks will want to push the brickwork down.

The sections where water admittance is not necessary is pretty short, but you make a good point.

The brick work will all be belwo ground and that protected from impact force at least to the side.

We plan to use a product called Ultracrete M90 to bed the gratings down onto the top of the bricks. Any comments on this ?

self builder 123 said:

We plan to use a product called Ultracrete M90 to bed the gratings down onto the top of the bricks. Any comments on this ?

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just read about it - sounds impressive and highly suitable in this instance.

Hi

Would you use the Ultracrete M90 to construct the brickwork rather than the 3:1 mortar ?

self builder 123 said:

Hi

Would you use the Ultracrete M90 to construct the brickwork rather than the 3:1 mortar ?

Click to expand...

you could if it were necessary, i.e. important that access is restored quickly. i am always wary of products that cure quickly particularly where masonry is concerned. i personally would use regular 3:1 mortar. sounds ok to bed the ironwork as there will be zero suction from the metal side.