How to know what manhole is for...help!

[Emma84]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to help with this!

We have recently had a wall built around our front garden. In the front garden, there are two manhole covers - one rectangular and one circular. The rectangular one appears to be for waste water from our property? This being the case, we have raised this and changed the cover so that we can 'disguise' it. The circular one is lower down and when we looked inside it, it is completely full of mud and appears to house a family of ants. We don't have any problems with blockages or anything like that and haven't had anyone coming round wanting to look in there.

The question is would we be okay to cover over this drain with soil or should we do as we have done with the other drain and raise it up and change the cover if we want to disguise it?

Sorry - I don't know all the 'proper' terminology! I have been looking at the water search that was carried out when we bought our house but I find it pretty useless!

Any guidance would be gratefully received

 

[JohnD]

photos please, and dimensions

 

[Emma84]

Hi John,

I'm not entirely sure about dimensions but I've just taken some photos...

We have a downpipe that runs from our house into the ground - don't know if that has any significance.

Let me know if dimensions are essential and I will ask my husband

 

[JohnD]

put your hand in the photo to show how wide it is.

How deep is it?

Are the pipe and cover plastic?

 

[Emma84]

Husband said it's about 6-7ft deep. He's put a long stick in there and said that it feels as though there is gravel in the bottom.

He's just measured the width and it's 1ft 1/2 wide.

The inside is plastic and the lid says 'Plastidrain' on it.

 

[ianmcd]

Looks like a rodding point , raise it and make it accessible

 

[JohnD]

so is the depth similar to the depth of the drains in your other one?

 

[Emma84]

Thanks Ian. Excuse my ignorance but what's a rodding point?!

John - husband says that the depth is about the same.

 

[ianmcd]

if your drains get blocked you use rods to clear the blockage from that point

 

[HERTS P&D]

Use a hose pipe to fill it with water and see if it goes into the manhole, you could use food dye to help.

Andy

 

[Emma84]

Sorry Andy - use a hose to fill what with water? You can tell I'm a complete novice

 

[HERTS P&D]

The one with mud.

Andy

 

[Nige F]

You won't need food dye with all that mud

 

[JohnD]

shame it's so deep, it will be difficult to clear the mud out.

 

[John D v2.0]

generally builders don't put manholes in for fun, so you can guarantee it's a bad idea to fill it in. At least 30 years before we moved in, someone decided the manhole on the sewer out the back of our house would look better as a concrete driveway, then they were cursed when next door needed access to clear a blockage.
Don't be that person cursed in future.