Plumbing / Drainage

[RandyMarsh]

Hi

I have a small granny flat at the bottom of my garden and want to install a shower, basin and toilet in it, and I'm looking for a solution to pump the waste water etc back up the garden (approx 20 metres away) to the main drain up at the house. Thats the closest drain available. I don't want to dig up the whole garden and thought a Saniflo would be the answer. Unfortunately I would need to pump the waste water slightly uphill, virtually all the way to the house, so apparently a Saniflo wouldn't do the job...well that's what they told me, so I don't want to put one in if they can't guarentee it.

I've spoken to another pump company and they reccemended some pump for around £2000! This just seems a bit excessive?

I was hoping someone out there might have been in the same situation as me, and might have a FAIRLY inexpensive solution for this.

Many thanks!

 

[bengasman]

Define: fairly inexpensive.

 

[Nige F]

under £2K

 

[HERTS P&D]

Chamber pot?

Andy

 

[DAZB]

Who told you that Saniflo's cannot pump uphill ? They will pump uphill to a certain height like the Sanislim which has a 4m vertical limit and a 40m horizontal limit. It won't pump 4m high for 40m but a lesser combo of the two so with a slight uphill over 20m I think it is well within your target. Check out the full product range for the most suitable model. Also I would make sure you insulate the pipework really well underground as a frozen and split discharge pipe is no fun. I would also consider laying the insulated discharge pipe in a larger conduit which can make installing and maintaning it easier in the future.

 

[Agile]

I appreciate that you are not an engineer but even so I am surprised that you have not done one of these two things:-

Engaged a professional to design a suitable solution?

Told us both the the distance AND the vertical height the waste needs to be pumped to.

Tony

 

[RandyMarsh]

I havent got any emails saying that I'd had any replies? I thought no-one had replied to MY post, when in fact it was me that being rude.

@bengasman & Nige F: Well, inexpensive would be under a 1K really. (well under). For everything, labour incl. All I want to do is move some waste water from a granny flat up to the main drains. I dont think the whole bathroom is going to cost 2K?

@HERTSDRAINAGE2010: Might have to use a chamber pot...haha! No seriously, you're the drainage guy, what would you reccomend. If it was your home...and you were on a tightISH budget?

@DAZB: The distance is about 20m to the main drains, with lets say, between 0.5m and 1m incline. It may indeed be less of an incline than that, underground? I explained the whole situation to Saniflo and they said they would be able to help me. They refferred me to another pump company, which were just far too expensive. £1800 was the cost of their solution - basically a tank that everything feeds into and then gets pumped up to the main drains. Sounds like it'll do the trick but it's just a bit out of my price range

 

[Nige F]

There is a saniflo going on eBay @ this moment . Have a look , it might be near enough to you to collect - and should go for less than a new one

 

[RandyMarsh]

Cheers, I'll have a look.

Do you think a Saniflo is the best solution? I'm not a fan at the best of times.

 

[Psyclist]

It's your only solution really other than a chamber pot as previously suggested, or build uowards instead of outwards....

In order to be effectively pumped, the waste needs to be broken down with a macerator before it can be pumped away, and saniflo are the market leaders in these type of units.

Unfortunately, instead of trying to do it on the cheap which will undoubtedly end up costing you more in call out charges when as stated the unit fails because it can't cope, or the pipe splits and your neighbour goes berserk when they find turds in their rosebeds, consider it an absolute necessity as it really is one of the most important features of having a self-contained dwelling.

Try ringing around a few different drainage installation companies or even just builders. Tell them what budget you have and see what they suggest, but really, don't try and pay too little. It needs to work and last.