Soakaway

Joined
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Yorkshire
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Hi guys, it's been a while!

We're planning a driveway project and the surface isn't permeable so we'll need drainage. The area of the driveway will be approx 40m². It's the whole front garden. 2 years ago we had extensions built front and back and the builders tied the roof drains in to the existing combined sewer. Let's not have a debate here as to whether they should have done this.

Anyway, the soakaway cannot go under the drive because there's nowhere that's >5m from the road and >5m from the house.

As part of the job we're also surfacing down the side of the house to a point level with the back of the rear extension. My thought is to dig a soakaway in the back garden and pick up all the rainwater from the driveway, house and extension roofs. Thus removing any rainwater discharge to the sewer. I'll need to dig a trench down the side of the house (we're digging up the existing surface anyway) and lay 110mm pipework right around the house and install 3 gulleys and pick up the existing aco drain around the front extension, which will be extended for the driveway.

The soil in the garden is fairly hard clay, though I've only ever dug 1 metre deep for a pond.

The area of the roofs of the house are around 45m² and the driveway will be about 40m².

Reading online a 2m³ soakaway should be sufficient for this. Does this sound right? Do I need inspection Chambers along this? The overall length of the 110mm pipe will be around 18m with 2 branches to downpipes. Do i need gulleys or can the downpipes just adapt into the 110mm pipe? Picture attached.
 

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Clay don't drain very well so the 1cube per 30sqm doesn't work.

I wouldn't touch the existing which is quite possibly totally legit in your circumstances if you had a sensible bco.

Shed? Shove a water butt beside it.

Chambers: you really want them at changes of direction but for just sw and no bc involvement easy bends would work (but do make provision for rodding.)
 
The 5m from boundary thing (as long as it’s not a building at the boundary) I think is a bit flexible subject to common sense? it’s pretty hard to meet both that and the 5m from house rule for the majority of average size front gardens…
 

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