Front yard

[JohnBishop]

2 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

If by decorative you mean rounded stones, they provide zero load bearing and just slide about.

I mean golden gravel but I can see it is a mix of angular and round stuff. Should it be 20mm or better 10mm?

[JohnBishop]

I pour a bucket of water to one of those street drains but I have not noticed anything getting to my manhole.
There is water with leaves standing in all the nearby drains.

[saveasteading]

On 30/07/2024 at 19:27, JohnBishop said:

Should I use my tongue? 😂

No. It is not skilled enough.

Does it look like it has been through someone?  Probably not.

 

are there fibres it it, or sticks or leaves . or paper?

I looks very like  a proper drain built with the housing, and linked to the mains drains.

 

Being too lazy to read back again..what is the question?

The answer probably begins with, leave it alone.

 

 

[JohnBishop]

15 hours ago, saveasteading said:

No. It is not skilled enough.

Does it look like it has been through someone?  Probably not.

 

are there fibres it it, or sticks or leaves . or paper?

I looks very like  a proper drain built with the housing, and linked to the mains drains.

 

Being too lazy to read back again..what is the question?

The answer probably begins with, leave it alone.

 

 

I mean there is nothing else in it apart from that deposit you see on the picture. No smell so I don't think it collects anything organic maybe rainwater but again no leaves.
I can see plenty of leaves floating on the water in all 3 nearby street drains so if these are connected to this manhole then there should be some leaves, small sticks, organic matter in it.
We are lowering it by 3 courses of bricks as I don't want to trip over this thing every so often.
Thank you

[saveasteading]

4 hours ago, JohnBishop said:

there should be some leaves

No. Street gullies catch leaves and sticks and stop them going in the drains.

But also yes...some bits would get through.

 

It probably belongs to the drainage company I think you should contact them.

 

[JohnBishop]

52 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

No. Street gullies catch leaves and sticks and stop them going in the drains.

But also yes...some bits would get through.

 

It probably belongs to the drainage company I think you should contact them.

 

right, isn't water company the drainage company?

[JohnBishop]

On 20/05/2024 at 17:44, Alan Ambrose said:

If it helps any, these are the grids I'm looking at atm for heavy duty:

 

Option	Link	Size	Area	Volume	Depth		Weight	Cost
								ex VAT
		M			CM		M^-2	M^-2
Duratex	https://www.duratex.co.uk/permeable-paving-grids/173-heavy-duty-permeable-paving-grid-80mm-thick.html	.5x.5			8		12.8	36.00
Truckpave 80	https://grassmats.co.uk/product/truckpave-80/	.6x.4			8		12.8	41.46
Bodpave 85	https://grassmats.co.uk/product/bodpave-85/	1x1			8.5		6.2	16.69
Truckgrid	https://www.sure-green.com/truckgrid-max-heavy-duty-permeable-paver.html	.6x.4			8		9.0	46.01
Bodpave 40	https://grassmats.co.uk/product/bodpave-40-per-m2/	1x1			4		4.5	13.95
EcoGrid E50	https://ecotradecounter.co.uk/collections/permeable-paving-systems/products/the-indestructible-ground-reinforcement-grid-e50	.33 x .33			5		9.6	19.98

 

You might find some of these a bit too heavy duty, but I like to do these things only once. I also learned that the weight / m^2 is a good proxy for 'strength' and you can largely ignore the manufacturer's 'acceptable loading' figures. For heavy loading, the sharp nature of the gravel is important.

By the way the cheapest EcoGrid I found is at https://geotextilemembranes.co.uk/

[JohnBishop]

On 01/08/2024 at 15:11, saveasteading said:

No. Street gullies catch leaves and sticks and stop them going in the drains.

But also yes...some bits would get through.

 

It probably belongs to the drainage company I think you should contact them.

 

After some rain overnight the duct inside the manhole is bone dry. This tells me this is abandoned and not connected to anything. We can wait for heavier rain before capping it for good.

Edited August 6 by JohnBishop

[saveasteading]

1 minute ago, JohnBishop said:

abandoned

Probably? I would perhaps paving slab or gravel over it, so that it is accessible.

[JohnBishop]

8 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Probably? I would perhaps paving slab or gravel over it, so that it is accessible.

Yes, we gonna cap it with two council paving slabs.

[JohnBishop]

We actually capped the man hole with plinth as it is reinforced while council slabs are not.

I have a question re stone infill for the grids. I have calculated how much I will need but the installation guide does not specify what stone infill exactly, it only says angular.

Is White Angular Limestone, 10mm any good or should I look for a smaller stone e.g. 5mm?

https://mkm.com/product/white-angular-limestone-10mm-850kg-bulk-bag-b020595
 

Is it better dark or white stone?

Edited August 9 by JohnBishop

[saveasteading]

7 hours ago, JohnBishop said:

White Angular Limestone, 10mm

That's good for most grids of say 50mm. Any bigger just doesn't fit.

Colour is just aesthetics. Unless one stone is harder.

I have always used white or cream.

 

[JohnBishop]

3 hours ago, saveasteading said:

That's good for most grids of say 50mm. Any bigger just doesn't fit.

Colour is just aesthetics. Unless one stone is harder.

I have always used white or cream.

 

How about Cotswold chippings? I think it's ultimate white. It says good for driveways but it does not say what is the diameter.
https://mkm.com/product/cotswold-chippings-bulk-bag-b003833

I also come across Hanson Limestone 10mm

I reckon Golden Gravel 10mm, Pea Gravel/Pipe Bedding or Gravel/Shingle 10mm isn't good.

Edited August 9 by JohnBishop

[saveasteading]

Gravel works if it is crushed flint, not whole peas. But crushed rock is better.

If no size is stated it will be too big and rather random.

[JohnBishop]

3 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Gravel works if it is crushed flint, not whole peas. But crushed rock is better.

If no size is stated it will be too big and rather random.

right, but does it have to be 10mm or 20mm is also good?
I cannot find anything suitable as there is a lot less 10mm stuff available in bulk bags.

I checked in the spec again and it says "EcoGrid stone infill (6-30mm sharp angular or slate)"
so it will take any size it just have to be angular or slate but I reckon smaller is better

Edited August 9 by JohnBishop

[saveasteading]

15 minutes ago, JohnBishop said:

I cannot find anything suitable as there is a lot less 10mm stuff available in bulk bags.

Agreed. I bought a tonne of stone to infill a 15 year old grid. the stones are way too big. notionally 20mm but that is the size that a square stone could drop though, butt it could be 30mm long. They are far too big.

I went back to the BM and they don't do smaller.  

I have temporarily given up.

 

Hang on.  a quick google and here it is. 

https://www.stonewarehouse.co.uk/gravel-chippings/garden-gravel/white-limestone-gravel-10mm/?id=1661&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_Na1BhAlEiwAM-dm7IuOwtED5Gw9xermk3kLvDFCvsLYGcdXo9s1Kb8xSnZUL0m91wBwNxoCVNQQAvD_BwE

 

Expensive but the solution.  £120 for 800 kg. so that is about £500/m3.   how much do you need?

 

To be stingy and if it is not taking much traffic, you could half fill with the cheaper stone and then spread this on top.

I wouldn't do that commercially as the labour will increase, but might with diy and for my own drive.

 

 

[JohnBishop]

I have estimated I will need 2.7 tonnes but most likely will take 3 tonnes.

[JohnBishop]

On 09/08/2024 at 17:26, saveasteading said:

Agreed. I bought a tonne of stone to infill a 15 year old grid. the stones are way too big. notionally 20mm but that is the size that a square stone could drop though, butt it could be 30mm long. They are far too big.

I went back to the BM and they don't do smaller.  

I have temporarily given up.

 

Hang on.  a quick google and here it is. 

https://www.stonewarehouse.co.uk/gravel-chippings/garden-gravel/white-limestone-gravel-10mm/?id=1661&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_Na1BhAlEiwAM-dm7IuOwtED5Gw9xermk3kLvDFCvsLYGcdXo9s1Kb8xSnZUL0m91wBwNxoCVNQQAvD_BwE

 

Expensive but the solution.  £120 for 800 kg. so that is about £500/m3.   how much do you need?

 

To be stingy and if it is not taking much traffic, you could half fill with the cheaper stone and then spread this on top.

I wouldn't do that commercially as the labour will increase, but might with diy and for my own drive.

 

 

I went for MKM as 4x bags of Cotswold chippings costs me half of what StoneWarehouse charges me :)

[JohnBishop]

Do you think I can run a wacker plate at low setting over the grid to compact the stone a bit?

[saveasteading]

6 hours ago, JohnBishop said:

wacker plate at low setting over the grid to compact the stone a bit

If the stone is all above the plastic before and during  then yes, it should be ok.

ie no wacker to plastic contact or it will break

BUT I've never done that. The wheel loading will do it for you, and maybe add a few stones if needed.

[JohnBishop]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

If the stone is all above the plastic before and during  then yes, it should be ok.

ie no wacker to plastic contact or it will break

BUT I've never done that. The wheel loading will do it for you, and maybe add a few stones if needed.

 

I topped it up as some pockets needed more gravel but currently there is stone over the grid. I agree that wacker would damage the plastic if in direct contact.
Perhaps I could just slide the wacker plate over it with the engine off or use a big hammer to tap it from above. I think the idea is for the smaller stones to fill the voids so the crap from the nearby trees won't get there first.
 

The work has commenced on the 11th of May - 3.5 months. It looks innocent but about 300 bags of topsoil and subsoil had to go. I am glad we built a proper soakway and got rid of that manhole cover. What you see is just a surplus council slab lying on the gravel.

Edited September 1 by JohnBishop