Floor Drain

[markpeace]

So...I'm brewing in my garage and I've noticed that my sewer runs literally next to it. And this has me wondering, can I stick a floor drain in.? Has anyone got any experience of doing this DIY-style (I'm relatively handy), or should I get a Man in to do it (and if so, what would be a reasonable fee)?

 

[bobsbeer]

You should be fine doing it yourself depending on how deep the drain is. If you live in a reasonably new property the pipes will be plastic so easy to cut and add fittings. Older properties may have cast iron pipes.

 

[Dieseljockey]

If your into DIY then go for it.. :thumb: dig down and find the pipe, if it's plastic nip into your local builders yard and they help you find the bits you'll need. As Bob said, if you find you have cast iron....you can get an adapter.. :thumb:

 

So...I'm brewing in my garage and I've noticed that my sewer runs literally next to it. And this has me wondering, can I stick a floor drain in.? Has anyone got any experience of doing this DIY-style (I'm relatively handy), or should I get a Man in to do it (and if so, what would be a reasonable fee)?

hi mark.. :thumb: .
id be very careful if i were you ...

if its done right then great ... :thumb: .

but if its not done right...
you could end up with bad smells coming up the drain..
or even worse sewage coming up your drain.. :nono: .

and if your conection to the sewer pipe goes inside ...
it can cause a blockage...

there are all kinds of Collars to do this job which are great ...

dont just put a hole in the main pipe ...
and push your pipe in ....

get the right collar...
and it should be a piece of cake ... .

regards mick... :hat: .

 

[gibb58]

just make sure you put a water trap in it or your garage will smell like the neighbourhood toilet :sick:

 

[CheshireCBR]

You will need a P trap for your drain in the garage if you want a floor drain or you could plumb a cheep sink and if there is a gutter down pipe near by run the pipe work down into that, like others have said there are loads of connections for the plastic pipes available from the likes of wicks, if it is cast or clay piping there are connectors that can join then, as for cutting then you are best hireing a "still saw" type, the ones they use for the roads with a diamond blade.

One more thing and please dont take this as teaching granny to suck eggs, but remember water will only flow down hill, I have seen too many drainage systems put in by so called professional's that has forced the waist to try and go up hill

 

[danb]

dig down and find the pipe. make the cuts with a stihl saw and diamond blade as said before. the easiest fittings if you havent done drainage before are called band seals which will make fitting alot easier as you wont have to trace the cut pipe back to lever into the other type of collars. then youll want a p trap to deal with the smell and as said in previous post make sure to check for fall on the pipe and you'll be ok. when filling back in round the pipe work use sand or gravel which ever is handy to make sure they dont get damaged which they do easy.
band seals will be a bit dearer than normal collars but will make life 10x easier for you without the chance of disrupting the main drain too much. they are also readily available for plastic, clay and old cast aswell as converting from one to the other.
if the original is plastic pipe it is possible to use a hand saw to make the cuts just clear round a little bit where your making the cut and it will be a bit easier.
i have just recently done the same sort of thing for my dads garden, plumbing in a man hole and drain for the pond with drainage added for a sink and toilet in the garage.

any more questions and ill be glad to help you out.

 

[danb]

forgot to mention, use normal collars apart from connecting into the main run. just use a rasp or file to chamfer the ends of pipes to prevent damaging the seals pushing collars on and use a bit of washing up liquid for lube and they will slide on a bit easier.

 

[Andyhull]

What are you looking at draining?
If it's just water wort (etc) then dig down and build a trough into the base and put covers over it.
Direct this outside and dig a 1ft x 1ft x 1ft hole and fill with gravel and use this as a land drain, perfectly legal and you won't have to connect into the drains avoiding the risks involved!

 

[cnelsonplumber]

If you are going to install a soak away dont forget it will need to be at least 5 m away from the property to be legal.

You have some good advice in the posts above, but if you need more then send me a sketch of the approximate installation with some dimensions on. I will mark it up with the bits to use, where to get them from, how much to pay and some useful tips on how to join them together.

Infact, if I get chance and there is enough interest, I will write a "how to make a lateral connection onto a drain".

One thing to remember is if you are using rubber couplers (QAC 4000 or similar old clay to pvc), be really careful as you need to align the new and old then back fill carefully to avoid blockages specially if there are solids running down from above the new junction. Much better to use rigid couplers and remove the centres to make them into slip couplers.

:

 

[markpeace]

Thanks for the advice guys - I'm mulling still, but this gives me a better orientation to what I'm looking at.
M

 

[wezil]

Hi as an ex Thames Water man this is technically an illegal connection!!! Also if you have a blockage on the line guess where the flows going to end up!!!! I've seen it come up in many peoples conservatories,kitchens,cellars etc,you name it!! this is not nice to say the least, so be carefull!! They charge a lot to sort it out as well!! And if it's a surface water line (guttering etc) this might flow into a river, so environmental health will string you up if they catch you!! Surface water marked SW on the lid foul water marked FW (both only sometimes)!! Lift the lid to check FW lids are usually heavier, but rarely smell as bad as you expect!!