Fitting a drain test plug

ElWhelp

Hi,

I live in a housing estate where there are problems with gravel getting into the main sewer line. It has been suggested that rats are responsible, and that one way of stopping them getting in is to fit the rodding eye at the end of the road with a 100mm drain test plug. The old cap fell off ages ago apparently and disintegrated. These plugs look fairly self-explanatory, but I'm wondering is there more to it than that?

Also, would said rodding eye generally be a standard size (estate dates from 1930s)? I would go down and measure it, only it's a pain to gain access as neighbour whose driveway it lies on is frequently away and she parks over it. I could get someone out to fit it, but they charge €200 and the plug itself is €20 for two in Screwfix!

Many thanks for all replies

10-10-20

Not sure I follow... A drain test plug is a bung and would just block the sewer line at that point? If it's a dead/unused line then why not just seal if off with cement?

10-10-20

Also, I've had rats drag stone into a sewer here, except they pulled in the 804 crushed under-lay stone from a driveway rather than the top-dressing of rounded pebbles... If it's only rounded pebbles in the sewer then that implies that it's not the rats and is instead run-off from driveways.

hydrus21

Is this is what your thinking about?

https://www.labc.co.uk/news/my-dad-told-me-about-them-drain-interceptors

ElWhelp

Thanks for the replies, 10-10-20. Interestingly, this is only the second time in my life I've heard the term 804. Before that, I used to just call it gravel! We collectively paid to have a camera survey done along the length of the line, which runs for about 12 houses. The hardcore was underneath the home of one particular woman who built an extension in the past two years. There was five buckets worth taken out of the nearest manhole after we paid to have it shifted at the start of December. The drain company's best guess was that the join around the pipes had not been properly sealed under this woman's extension.

I expected her to deal with it in an intelligent way and get her own camera survey, but instead she insisted it had nothing to do with her and won't budge. All sorts of excuses. Anyway, fast forward a mere two months and the line is clogging up again. I imagine it's the same issue and drainage company said as it has happened so quickly, it must be rats burrowing into her loose sub floor and that they would be getting in via the rodding eye which is about 20 metres down the pipe. They recommended sealing the rodding eye with a 100mm test plug, and described it as something which fits the first suggestion that comes up on Google with Screwfix (Boards won't let me post links)

I'm just wondering if these are as simple to do as it appears and if so, can I fit it myself. Despite their assurances, I don't really get how this would ensure no more rats got in elsewhere and started burrowing into her subfloor again, but I'm prepared to accept it for the want of other potential solutions.

10-10-20

If you can access where the rodding-eye joins the main sewer then you should be able to fit it using a pole. It expands when it's twisted closed.

But your other option is to do as was done here:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055230395/snobby-neighbours-refuse-to-co-operate-over-blocked-drain-merged

Contact the local council and let it be their issue to deal with the neighbour?

ElWhelp

Thanks for this. I know where the rodding eye is, but my hesitation was down to 1) potentially screwing things up by attempting to fit the cap myself and 2) a reluctance to climd down into a sewer to fix a problem that we should all be paying for. Interesting link there to an user's experience. This whole thing is such a grey area. Reluctant to go down the enforcement route unless absolutely necessary, not least as I'm one of only two prepared to take the lead on the matter. A lot of the houses only seem to have upstairs toilets and thus the problem is out of sight and out of mind for them.