Help! 2" clay waste pipe? wasn't expecting that!

[adzuturn]

So I'm a lot of the way through a big rebuild of a 3 bedroom victorian semi. This forum has definitely proved useful for a few things so thanks everybody. Currently Im hand digging a trench down the side of the house to the pavement for a new poly water main. Going down to 750mm like a good boy, and on my way there Ive come across a red clay drainage pipe that I was not expecting. I have a shared waste with my neighbour, and it heads from mine over to his and down his path. The pipe i have found is about a 2" bore and about 600mm down hugging the side of the house among what you could veeeery loosely call the foundations (bricks and clay)

Does anyone know what this is? Ive never come across 2" clay waste pipe before and its freaked me out that Ive gone and put my shovel right through it.

I know it isn't ground water as I know where all of mine and my adjoined neighbours goes, and it isn't any of my gulleys as they all go into our main 4" waste system.

So I'm hoping its something nice and redundant, and i can just carry on putting my shovel right through it.

Many thanks in advance

 

[chappers]

What does it look like inside, as in does it look like anything has run through it recently and also since you have broken into it has anything else come down it.
Negative answers would indicate it is redundant, however the converse would indicate that you need to repair

 

[adzuturn]

Both negative. Jammed my finger up it for want of a better description and it was mostly full of wet grey sediment. Im suspecting from a little research that it could be the rain water waste from the rear of the house as i only share the front gutter with my neighbour. The rear now goes into the foul water sewers through a newer installed gully. As far as i'm aware this didn't used to be the setup.

 

[r896neo]

Could be an old land drain/ dispersal drain? 2'' external diameter is not something ive ever seen though? I've seen old land drain types that were maybe 3 1/2'' diameter?

You certain its clay?

 

[TheVictorian]

I had something similar that just took the water from the roof of my bay.

 

[adzuturn]

Deffinately clay. It's about 2" internal diameter, so yeah maybe somewhere about 3 to 3 1/2 external. I haven't had anything come down it but we've had no rain since I discovered it. I'm not too worried, it's headed under my house and all the wastes and Gulley's are accounted for. Like you said, probably an old land drain. Thought I'd check, didn't want a sink hole opening up in my living room in a few years.

 

[KenGMac]

adzuturn, hi.

As a suggestion? how about you Google land drain pipes, or Field drain pipes?

There are dozens of different designs of the pipes, they are generally rounded on top, with a flat base, there tends to be a rounded transition between the circular top and the flat bottom section.

As above, the design varies violently over the Country.

A pipe of this Diameter is not a Waste pipe, solids will block it up rapidly.

Likewise, if the pipe was a rain water drain, leaf detritus would block it fast.

Your description of the pipe being full of wet grey sediment is entirely completely consistent with a field or a land drain.

As to the position of the drain, close to the external wall, indicates that the original builders had a good grasp of external ground water and how to keep it away from the foundations and the below floor area of the property.

Ken.