Blocked Rainwater Drain _ Any Advice ?

s2sap

OK Heres the setup -

Downpipe for rainwater empties into drain. Drain has right angled outlet about 18 inches down then goes up - must be through a U bend and on out somewhere. Not connected to storm drain I imagine it goes out in 4" pipe to the garden and just ends - I know its not connected to the septic tank and there is nowhere else for it to go.

My problem is drain rods are not flexible enough to go round the U bend and as there is no inspection chamber you have no working access- is there a more flexible type of rod than standard drain rods.

I imagine the end of the 4" pipe where it meets stones must be blocked with small gravel or sludge etc. I have tried a hose.

We have dug holes out in the garden at various points to try and locate the pipe but with no joy. Cannot dig down within 10 feet of the house ( drain ) because of concrete.

Any ideas ??

ircoha

s2sap wrote: »

OK Heres the setup -

Downpipe for rainwater empties into drain. Drain has right angled outlet about 18 inches down then goes up - must be through a U bend and on out somewhere. Not connected to storm drain I imagine it goes out in 4" pipe to the garden and just ends - I know its not connected to the septic tank and there is nowhere else for it to go.

My problem is drain rods are not flexible enough to go round the U bend and as there is no inspection chamber you have no working access- is there a more flexible type of rod than standard drain rods.

I imagine the end of the 4" pipe where it meets stones must be blocked with small gravel or sludge etc. I have tried a hose.

We have dug holes out in the garden at various points to try and locate the pipe but with no joy. Cannot dig down within 10 feet of the house ( drain ) because of concrete.

Any ideas ??

It may not be blocked, perhaps the water table is such after all the rain that there is nowhere for it to go.

Is this a new problem?
The U bend u describe is standard on a gully trap to stop smells coming back.

s2sap

No unfortunately it is not a new problem - its not the water level - I think whoever laid the drain just ran it into nothing and covered it.

jack of all

This is a problem- stormwater drains should be run to a storm sewer or a properly constructed soakaway. In either case an AJ, rodding eye or manhole should be provided to facilitate inspection and cleaning if necessary. The proper solution is to identify the storm line, add an AJ and construct a proper soakaway. It's not rocket science but hard work if done by hand! Is this the only drain affected?

RKQ

Try removing all clay etc from U bend. Its a dirty job by hand. Once clear see if the water soaks away.
The soak pit (if it exists) may have become blocked by debris. 10ft of conc is quite alot. There might be a soak pit that was concreted over.

The U bend will always have water in it - to prevent smells. But if it continues to overflow, then you will have to hire a con-saw to cut a channel in the concrete and install a new pipe from the gully to a new soak pit!

ART6

The problem with soakaways is that over time moss and general debris (leaves etc) from the roof gets washed into them and gunges them up even if they were properly constructed in the first place. That's happened in all of the soakaways in my house out in the sticks, and as already said, the only way of dealing with that is to first clean out the u-bend by hand since that is often where the muck collects. Otherwise, a dig out and rebuild job.

dardevle

you should be able to rent an auger type drain cleaner that will
"snake" through the gully trap,depending on how far you can
get it through the pipe it should narrow down where the blockage
is(in concrete or lawn).