Unexpected Sewer... Where I Want To Build My Pond...

[jagillham]

Just typical!

I fancied putting a wildlife pond up the top of the garden in a bit of an unused area with a few small trees... and there is a ruddy great big sewer pipe there!

I know nothing about sewers, so not sure if this normal or not? Seems I have a manhole cover, and also a concrete "cap" (?) of about 4ft wide sitting on several courses of brick. Is the the way they are done? Would the concrete typically be protecting the pipe, or is that part of the pipe itself?

What I don't get is where this thing goes to. The previous owners dug out a patio some 2ft deep, which would seem to where this would go...

I presume these things would normally not have sharp corners?

The house is 50's, but was obviously an afterthought as most the rest of the road is 30's/40's

Interestingly that trampoline is dug into the ground, so presumably the pipe does not go there. I can't see any other manhole covers except ones running in line down the centre of the road.

As you can see, the area I'm digging was previously a driveway. So, I don't really want to be breaking out all that concrete, just to find the pipe directly below it.

Any thoughts / comments welcomed!

 

[KenGMac]

jagillham, good evening.

Have you lifted the manhole lid to see which way the pipes run + are the drains live?

Ken

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

That is a seriously heavy duty access cover and looks out of place there. I wonder if someone might have repurposed it?

 

[jagillham]

jagillham, good evening.

Have you lifted the manhole lid to see which way the pipes run + are the drains live?

Ken

I've not, would not know how to. And, I presume won't be very pleasant.

I guess if it's in the way, not much I can do about it. Are there rules about planting near these things? I've brought a couple of dwarf cherry blossom trees which I was going to put up there too.

 

[mattylad]

Lift the lid and look underneath.
You may find a hidden bunker, secret hideaway or even just some stinky pipes

Make it a feature of the pond.

 

[JohnD]

Your water co would be interested to know you are digging round it. It should be on their plans, but plans are often inaccurate. It might perhaps not be a sewer, but a culvert for an old stream that has been covered over (my town is littered with them, and we even have some underground pumps under square hatches). Either they will know what it is, or they will want to find out.

It's the sort of thing that would usually be found in a road, or perhaps an industrial site, that heavy traffic drives over. very strange to see it in a domestic garden.

It's not normal to see one as the entrance, or emergency exit, for an underground chamber, because it would be too heavy for a person to lift open, and it does not hinge or pivot.

 

[jagillham]

For some unknown reason @JohnD they want £50 for the pleasure of showing me where not to accidentally damage their pipe!

Where I live was all fields before the current development, and the lay of the land would suggest not a route for a stream at any point.

 

[JohnD]

I have a feeling it will be worth it, rather than ploughing on....

if you can access a large-scale OS map it will show (some) pipe and sewer runs. I have an idea there is a special version for utilities, it's the sort of thing you used to find in the reference shelves of the local library.



@Ian H might know. He likes digging up pipes.

 

[jagillham]

I have a feeling it will be worth it, rather than ploughing on....

Don't worry, not going to go messing with pipes for the sake of a pond. Guess I'm more intrigued than anything at this stage. However, would be good to know what I have to deal with some can do something nice up that part of the garden.

 

[noseall]

Heavy iron lids like yours are used on reducing biscuits and deep pre-formed ring manholes. The ones with step irons inside so that you can climb down! Not just found on roads either. Domestic drives will have them, particularly if they are deep.

 

[Nige F]

You'll never get that circular lid off ! it's corroded itself on. You could dislodge the whole thing - it's not cemented down. Or you could take advantage of modern technology and get a borescope for your fone - drill a hole through the bricks on an angle into the chamber and have a look It could be a stormwater drain like we have round our estate . One blocked years before we moved in and the water was coming out the road like a spring between the concrete slabs - as we're on a slope downstream of the drain , the water also came in our oversite under the wooden suspended floor. I also noticed surface water spurting into a sewer manhole . A new neighbour near to the blocked manhole ( also a retired plumber) notified the highways people and they had to replace the whole top and jet with a tanker 2 separate times before it was cleared

 

[HERTS P&D]

You'll never get that circular lid off !

Nige, I could lift that in 10 mins, I would just a manhole lifter.

Andy

 

[jagillham]

Giving it some thought last night, I wonder if the big concrete top is just to cover the driveway part, which would explain why the patio is not in the run. Guess the solution would be dig a trench past that and see if can find either more slab, or the pipe itself.

 

[HERTS P&D]

I'm guessing that the pipe would be quite deep.

Andy

 

[jagillham]

I'm guessing that the pipe would be quite deep.

Andy

Do you think the concrete top is just a protective layer? Would it typically be hollow beneath that down to the pipe?