Can I connect a drainpipe to a soil pipe?

[Another Dave]

I've got a 1928 house (detached) and the drainpipe from the roof gutter
goes into a soakaway. It doesn't soak away very well and the rear corner
of the house often has a puddle against its wall. This doesn't seem a
good idea to me.

About 60-70cms from the drainpipe is the soil pipe for the upstairs
bathroom. The waste pipe from the shower/bath is joined into this and
the whole lot goes to the main sewer.

Is there any reason I shouldn't also join the drainpipe into this?

If I can, what's the best way to do it?

Another Dave

[Bob Minchin]

Talk to your sewage processor - usually the clean water supplier but not
always.
A few years back there was a rebate scheme to householders who did NOT
send their surface water into the main sewer. You property might be one
of those.

Going back a long time, there was a move to encourage surface water to
go to the sewers to give better flushing of the system. Now with higher
density of housing and higher water usage, the surface water can become
an embarrassment in the system hence the "bribe" paid to those who used
soakaways for surface water.

[Phil L]

You can do whatever you want, no one is going to stop you, but there's a few
things to note: the sewer smells will emanate from the gutter as well as the
top of the soil stack, this may seem trivial now but you may change your
mind in summer if there's a window nearby. Also it's 'not advised' to run
surface water into the sewers, they don't like it because it means they have
to treat it all as sewage, there's nothing they can do, they just don't like
it, but you don't like having a puddle, so guess who's gonna win?

Google for images of soil stack boss - you want one with a spigot large
enough to take a drain pipe, obviously they'll both have to be plastic, if
there's cast iron involved you may as well forget the whole thing

[John Rumm]

On 26/11/2015 19:27, Another Dave wrote:
> I've got a 1928 house (detached) and the drainpipe from the roof gutter
> goes into a soakaway. It doesn't soak away very well and the rear corner
> of the house often has a puddle against its wall. This doesn't seem a
> good idea to me.
>
> About 60-70cms from the drainpipe is the soil pipe for the upstairs
> bathroom. The waste pipe from the shower/bath is joined into this and
> the whole lot goes to the main sewer.
>
> Is there any reason I shouldn't also join the drainpipe into this?

Depends on the area, some have combined sewers designed to take sewage
and surface water, others stipulate use of separate surface water
systems or local disposal (e.g. soakaways).

Your local building control department will be able to tell you which
applies.

Some local authorities get a bit peeved with too much surface water
being directed into the sewer and then causing that to overflow.

> If I can, what's the best way to do it?

with a trap would be best... however it sounds like you may end up with
a column of water sat in the pipe. While that may work with soil pipe
that has tight fitting O rings at all the joints, its likely to leak out
of a typical down pipe joint.

(I would however recommend avoiding the technique I discovered someone
had used in my place... taking a square section down pipe into the end
of a 110mm soil pipe. plugging the gap with a plastic bag, and then
burying the lot under a patio!)



--
Cheers,

John.

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[Tim Lamb]

In message <n37puv$fij$1...@dont-email.me>, Bob Minchin
<bob.minc...@YOURHATntlworld.com> writes

Why not locate the soak and clear it?

Usually the pipe discharge point is surrounded and plugged by black soil
from decayed leaves/moss in your gutters.

A temporary cure can be as simple as feeding a garden hose and jet
nozzle down the pipe until the obstruction is reached.

If surface water was allowed into your soil system, I expect the builder
would have done it:-)

--
Tim Lamb

[Jeff Layman]

On 26/11/15 21:22, Phil L wrote:
> Another Dave wrote:
>> I've got a 1928 house (detached) and the drainpipe from the roof
>> gutter goes into a soakaway. It doesn't soak away very well and the
>> rear corner of the house often has a puddle against its wall. This
>> doesn't seem a good idea to me.
>>
>> About 60-70cms from the drainpipe is the soil pipe for the upstairs
>> bathroom. The waste pipe from the shower/bath is joined into this and
>> the whole lot goes to the main sewer.
>>
>> Is there any reason I shouldn't also join the drainpipe into this?
>>
>> If I can, what's the best way to do it?
>>
>> Another Dave
>
> You can do whatever you want, no one is going to stop you, but there's a few
> things to note: the sewer smells will emanate from the gutter as well as the
> top of the soil stack, this may seem trivial now but you may change your
> mind in summer if there's a window nearby. Also it's 'not advised' to run
> surface water into the sewers, they don't like it because it means they have
> to treat it all as sewage, there's nothing they can do, they just don't like
> it, but you don't like having a puddle, so guess who's gonna win?

When we had a conservatory put up last year, the rainwater soakaway had
to be disconnected and the house gutter drainpipe (and conservatory
gutter drainpipe) was instead connected to the soil pipe, which
fortunately ran very close nearby. Traps were added to stop any smells.

It's worth noting that there may well be an added charge by the company
who deals with sewage (probably the same as the water supplier) if the
new surface water connection to the soil pipe is the first connection of
that type. We already had drainpipes at the front of the house connected
to the foul water pipe, so it wasn't an issue.

--

Jeff