Gully drains away slowly perhaps a pint an hour, seemingly not into the sewer run. No inspection cover where I'd expect any join to the sewer run under a concrete path, about 0.9m from the gully. With my sham "Belden cable " rodding system, 3m run of cheapo 5mm "spring" drain clearer with handle chopped off, covered in vaseline inside a length of old garden hose. Active end, a few inches in, a cone from a cake icing set and a small cable tie, tie not cut so as more excavation from that, to fair off where the 5mm spring emerges from the hose. Powered by a slow speed drill. Could excavate to about 1.5m before a definite solid blockage, bricks of a soak-away? As I can quite easily rod down 1.2m with substantial 3/4 inch copper tube bending spring of an old sewer rodding kit, probably no U/S bend stink trap, presumably not required at the gully if going to a soak away. If a soak away , then older than 50 years and presumably bunged up with cement roof tile surface grit etc. Still the same very slow draining out of the gully. I've been paying water coy for combined sewer treatment of roof run off, so I can see a direct sewer manhole connection going in place. I thought my routine monthly bucket of water plus cistern flush would be an adequate scouring flush. But no, looks like the Victorian idea of a scouring flush from "monsoon rain" every now and then is necessary to keep the 4 and 6 inch pipe runs in good fettle.
Roof downpipe to sewer or soak-away?
Oct 11, 2026
Last reply: 8 hours ago
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How would you know whether or not you've got a blocked brick soak-away or a collapsed earthenware drainpipe? The only way you're going to tell fairly simply is to get a drain company in with decent CCTV, unless you've got one yourself.
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How would you know whether or not you've got a blocked brick soak-away or a collapsed earthenware drainpipe? The only way you're going to tell fairly simply is to get a drain company in with decent CCTV, unless you've got one yourself.
Agreed, from experience. It also found a manhole access that was covered over completely.
I'm wondering what the design/actual lifetime of a soak-away is. Going by how much of that cement roof tile surface grit dislodges and washes into the gutters each year, I suspect no more than a decade before a soak-away is silted up and no way of clearing the silt out. I'm guessing that half a century is far too long for a high rainfall rate functional soakaway.
Or take the plunge (sic?!) and dig the bastard up
I'd agree Prolly worth remaking
I suspect a silted-up defunct soak-away. I could justify a DIY camera job for a final check. If there is a blocked connection to the sewer pipe , its in an 8m straight run between 2 manholes. Lamphole fashion a lamp in one is an unobstructed view from the other. I could put a close-up lens on a dashcam, and place in a clear drinks bottle with a torch and lead weight. Then stop/start pulling with string between the manholes looking for discontinuities. I forgot to say in original post, the hose is to constrain the small gauge drain block spring , only slightly more rigid than old curtain rod, from upsetting, ie tying itself in knots when powered with a drill
I suspect a silted-up defunct soak-away. I could justify a DIY camera job for a final check. If there is a blocked connection to the sewer pipe , its in an 8m straight run between 2 manholes. Lamphole fashion a lamp in one is an unobstructed view from the other. I could put a close-up lens on a dashcam, and place in a clear drinks bottle with a torch and lead weight. Then stop/start pulling with string between the manholes looking for discontinuities. I forgot to say in original post, the hose is to constrain the small gauge drain block spring , only slightly more rigid than old curtain rod, from upsetting, ie tying itself in knots when powered with a drill
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