northnorfolk

Reading the b/regs they only show using a continuous loop pipe system. Is it ok to use the herringbone system?

Hi. We bought our house last year and despite having a so called drainage expert take a look be fore we purchased, it soon became clear the drainage field was failing. Our expert, concluded that we just needed to dig out the old drainage field and replace with 8 tons of shingle. Hole was dug, old pipes removed, a new single open ended perforated pipe approx. 10m long was laid and just short of £3k was handed over. Not bad for a days work but being new to septics etc was hoping to get the right advice and outcome. This was fine for four months and then we had to have another septic tank empty. A lot sooner than I expected. This was closely followed by us having the tank emptied on a 4 - 6 week basis. The field was clearly not working and every time we had the tank emptied, water would flood back into the tank from the field. The tank itself is an old concrete ring style and holds approx. 5000 litres. this holds about 16 days worth of waste as we are using 300 litres a day on average. We seem to be getting water / waste into the tank ok, its getting rid of the stuff out the other end that seems to be the problem. I have had at least four companies round to give me their opinion and frustratingly they all say something different, hence I am hoping for some ideas from the forum. Having got fed up with the various options, I looked through Part H of the building regs and soon realised that some of the options being put forward don't even comply with b/regs. even more frustrating! I don't have a huge area to play with and want to get it right. I have since dug four percolation test holes around the area I want to use and they came back with an average of 48 Vp. The area is approx. 40 square metres. Is this area going to be sufficient? Do I need to upgrade to a STP? Can I use the herringbone layout for the pipework or do they have to be linked? Please could you help, any advice would be welcome.