adding a join into a clay underground pipe.

[gaz_moose]

I was digging down near the corner of my house to expose where the underground pipe runs. I have located it but it is covered in concrete which seems to be part of the footing. the house is a 1980's so i presume that the pipe will be clay as the surround for the downpipe drain is clay.

 

I want to put a Tee piece into it to add another rain water drain. it will join in from the direction the picture is taken from. My idea is to cut along the dotted line and breakout and replace everything to the right all the way upto the house, would this be my best option? im worried about compromising the house foundations. i did think about just bashing out the area that i need but cant see how i would fit the Tee piece.

 

The pipe seems to be ontop of the house slab but just a mound of concrete ontop.

 

the one one in the background is a rodding point for the house waste. this is in plastic.

 

basically i don't know what im doing can someone tell me what to do 😂

[Andehh]

I'd be angling it to join the plastic below rodding point. For the sake of an extra corner bend, easier and less risky imo. IANAL Though...

[Mr Punter]

So to clarify, are there separate systems for foul water and for rainwater?

 

You may struggle to connect to clay pipe that is encased in concrete.

[MikeGrahamT21]

Exposing the clay pipe is doable, I’ve had to tap into a few in my time on my 60s bungalow.

 

all depends how they were put in, back then if done correctly, the clay pipe should be surrounded by some plastic, like a thick plastic bag, and then the concrete, so in theory they should remain separated, but isn’t always the case and a few of mine needed extra work.

 

until you manage to expose a bit you won’t know what your dealing with.

 

As above also make sure your tapping into the right drain for your needs 

[BadgerBodger]

Depending what you want to have flowing in and mindful of any requirements to segregate foul, surface or rainwater you want a saddle. Particular attention needs to be paid when connecting could in the manner as you need to connect maintaining the direction of flow and ensure at least 1/3 of the bottom channel remains intact.

 

something akin to the below.

 

https://www.drainageshop.co.uk/drainage-tees/flexseal-ta-saddle-45-110mm.html?kw=&ci=685597489864&network=g&pm=&cid=20892672460&aid=153930635701&tid=pla-2225359058083&dev=m&mt=&lim=&lpm=9046321&pos=&dm=&fid=&mid=104842450&pid=GWTA110-45&country=GB&source=google&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADi76WXXifCeIvkpeie6f3PJ1Lth7&gclid=Cj0KCQjw3vO3BhCqARIsAEWblcBvvfAdjrvhkTcZfdK0pMR1Xr7uusAv0IVbQYC5HfBDoXghg454mK4aAk1eEALw_wcB

[gaz_moose]

the plastic pipe at the back is for the household waste and the pipe in the foreground is for the rain water. i want to plumb in a new pipe for rainwater so really should go into that one.

ironically the concrete encased pipe is preventing me from getting the fall i would want if i was to 'accidently' go into the household waste pipe.

 

i just wondered if anyone had some magical way to chip the concrete off the clay pipe. im glad to hear that it might have something between the two as an isolator, it at least gives me some hope.   

[BadgerBodger]

Fair enough. If it is just collecting rain water you can pretty much run it flat as there should be no to minimal solids and it would be easily roddable via the gullet grating if it isn’t trapped.

 

how good is the concrete, a jet wash can do a reasonable amount of damage to old degraded concrete but is unlikely to do much to clay vitreous 

Edited October 2 by BadgerBodger

[Oz07]

You can get internal connectors now I've used them before. Perfect for this scenario where its too hard to get a flex on the outside of the pipe. 

[Oz07]

https://youtu.be/tzYlIh8jSFs

[gaz_moose]

a spade didn't do any damage to the concrete yesterday. im just going outside with the SDS. 

[Conor]

1 hour ago, gaz_moose said:

a spade didn't do any damage to the concrete yesterday. im just going outside with the SDS. 

Be prepared for the entire length of clay pipe to shatter, both directions, all the way back to the footings on either side. They tend to do that. What's your plan then?

 

What you need to do is make two cuts, remove the middle section, replace with a PVC Tee with flexible couplers to the clay pipe. So in that instance you only need to clean off 50mm or so of concrete from either pipe to get the couplers on.

Good luck.

[gaz_moose]

i broke my phone on Thursday. so lost any pictures i took. 

i used my generic Titan type SDS drill set to SDS on a low setting and nibbled away at it. I removed about an inch of concrete from underneath so i could get the new pipe in. I slapped washing up liquid on all the fittings first to make them easier to assemble then tightly wrapped everything in plastic bags ( charity bags 😆) before burring it all in concrete again. The swivel adjustable angle bends are amazing, shame they done do them for every type of plumbing.