Drainage regulations?

[Gerry555]

Is it illegal to run the outlet pipe from a sink through the exterior wall of a house and down to a drain, or are there regulations in place to assure that the pipe runs down the inside of a building (this seems to be the norm)?

I ask as we live on the second floor of an Edwardian house and the flat we live in was badly converted. The kitchen sink is situated in the middle of the flat and the outlet pipe plumbs into a larger pipe that runs under the floorboards to the back wall. It then drops down (internally) to the drain in the backyard. Because the sink is a few metres away from the back wall, there's no angle on the pipe under the boards so it blocks with regularity (a major pain).

What we'd like to do is run the sink's pipe through the wall to its left and down the side of the building to another drain, which is almost perfectly aligned. Is it OK to do this?

 

[Softus]

What we'd like to do is run the sink's pipe through the wall to its left and down the side of the building to another drain, which is almost perfectly aligned. Is it OK to do this?

Yes.

 

[Gerry555]

Thanks Softus.

Because there's only a small gap between our house and the neighbouring property, it's impossible to run a ladder up the side of our building so scaffolding would be required. That doesn't seem to be the sort of thing plumbers do/organise, so who would be best to contact to carry out the work? Builder? Roofer (ours does guttering)?

Presumably we wouldn't need planning permission, either.

 

[Softus]

For scaffolding, you need a scaffolder.

If was doing the job I'd organise one for you, not leave you in the lurch.

And no - you don't need planning permission, as long as the building isn't listed.