Rainwater Soakaway Drainage and wastage systems and plumbing help, advice and answers

[littletoe46]

I've got to install a soakaway for the rainwater off my house. I've got a pretty good idea as to what is reqiuired , but have a couple of queries.
Do I need to get Building regs approval ?
Is it necessary to fit a "gully" where the down pipe enters the ground? if not how do I connect the 3" downpipe into the new soilpipe?
I've read that lining the pit with a weed protective sheeting is a good idea --- could this affect the operation of the soakaway ?
What is the minimum fall for the pipe - I've seen various figures on different websites ?
Any other general advice /hints will be appreciated.

[stoneyboy]

littletoe46,
Do I need to get Building regs approval ? not if the soakaway is serving an existing building.
Is it necessary to fit a "gully" where the down pipe enters the ground? its a good idea this will catch leaves and other debris which will block your soakaway.
I've read that lining the pit with a weed protective sheeting is a good idea? seems like an unnecessary complication.
What is the minimum fall for the pipe. aim for 1 in 20.
end

[elwood]

Hi

If you need to collect any surface water then a gullies fine,
but if your just collecting roof water then you need a 4" plastic drainage pipe with a rain water adaptor to take you from 3" to 4".

Lay the pipe with a slight fall so the water dont gush in during heavy down falls.

Soakaways these days can be pretty high tec,

But you need to be a minimum of 5 meters from your house
dig a hole
fill with CLEAN stone to about .500mm from the top.
lay your pipe about .300mm in to the hole on top off the clean stone
top up with some more clean stone cover the pipe .200mm
cover every with geo tech type material.
top soil up to level.

If your soakaways new you will need to inform BC and he will
request a permeable test.

Bye

[blenkhorn]

If you are going to have to get a digger in anyway for the pit, why not fit a rainwater harvester and turn the rain into an assett? It scores points when you come to sell your house and saves 50% on your water bills.

Type 'rainwater harvester' into google and a list of companies comes up.