Can a toilet discharge into a gulley?

[AdamW]

I'm staying at my parents' house, the macerator in the main bathroom is playing up AGAIN (second one in 9 years, first one replaced FOC by Saniflo), so I have suggested that they get a plumber in to have a look and see if it is at all possible to run a new soil stack and removing the need for the infernal device.

Due to the position of the existing soil stack (runs vertically down the centre of the house) and the bathroom in question (a good 10 metres from the toilet to the stack), a simple addition is unfeasible.

However, I noticed that directly below the outside wall of the bathroom, there is what looks a bit like a draincover, 25cmx25cm, into which the kitchen sink, dishwasher etc. drain. There are NO gutters or similar rain-collecting devices draining into this drain. This appears, therefore, to be a gulley hopper. The cover looks like the following:

Now, before they start getting plumbers in to look at it (I love them dearly, but there is no way I would tackle a soilstack even if I knew how!), is it possible and allowable to use a gulley to carry the outflow of a toilet?

I was thinking, if the existing hopper arrangement was removed, and replaced with some kind of underground elbow or chamber, could a plumber run a 4" stack vertically down into it?

This appears to be the last hope for a trouble-free toilet, I really hope this can be done!

 

[shaggy]

I don't see any problem there. The sink will be discharging into a trapped gulley which should be replaced with a long-radius bend at the bottom of the new stack. The kitchen waste can then connect directly to the stack.

 

[kevplumb]

go with that ic micht be a thought tho

 

[AdamW]

That's great guys, thanks!

Next step is for them to get a plumber in to see what he reckons.

I am guessing IC stands for "Inspection something or other"... I had thought that, as the gulley has blocked once before (although no-one knows how long it had been there or since it was last rodded.) So, a rodding point would definitely be part of the requirements!

Again, many thanks.

 

[shaggy]

Kev was refering to an Inspection Chamber, (he has his own definition of a manhole ), which would be downstream of the bend at the bottom of the stack. The gulley is more likely to block because people put stuff they shouldn't down the kitchen sink, and also there is a sharp change of direction at the bottom of the gulley trap. A rodding point would be upstream of the stack of course.
You say you wouldn't diy but modern plastic drainage materials are easy to use. There's plenty of help on this forum as well. Think about it.

 

[kevplumb]

 

[AdamW]

You say you wouldn't diy but modern plastic drainage materials are easy to use.

Unfortunately modern poo still smells really bad! Not sure I could handle tools properly wearing a bio-suit either! I replaced my own toilet once, that was bad enough, I really think I would gag if mucking about with someone else's toilet... I am a real pansy when it comes to bodily emissions.

Plumbers must have very strong stomachs, that's all I can say! Either that or plumbers' college teaches you to "go to a happy place in your mind" as you put a carrier bag over your hand and reach round the u-bend

 

[shaggy]

You're on the right lines here Adam. It helps if you imagine Kylie Minogue is the only person to have sat on the seat and a box of 100 disposable latex gloves are only a few quid. Get the pan in a strong dustbin liner, sealed up with gaffa tape, and get it out of the house immediately.