my soakaway - how to cover it?

[karaman]

hallo,

have dug a soakaway and filled it with bricks surrounding the sides with wire mesh and damp-proof material. had to dig the thing lower than i first thought.

Question
how do i cover the pit seeing it is about 18" lower than the surrounding soil and keep the surrounding soil from falling in? my thinking is towards a brick surround to solve the soil collapse issue as well as making it easier to cover.
dont want to make the solution permanent as i am waiting for the rainy season to start to see if the thing will work - might have to dig up and make adjustments next year!

any thoughts appreciated

thanks

karaman
the spirit never dies
++++++++++++ View media item 37730 View media item 37730 View media item 37730 View media item 37730

 

[big-all]

different layer just big enough not to fall through the gaps underneath
large slightly smaller even smaller small very small then soil

you soakaway dosnt look very big what is it for ??

 

[karaman]

hallo big-all,

soakaway is for roof runoff for half the house about 20sq m roof (its a small house). it has 220 litre + a 50litre water-butts with holes at the sides so when they fill up the water goes into the pit. idea was to fit hand-pump into big butt for use in my garden but i've given up on that idea as i cant find such a pump.

i dont understand - so cover what is there just now with big bricks then smaller bricks,etc until i cover with earth?

thanks

karaman

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

View media item 37730

 

[geraint]

hallo,

have dug a soakaway and filled it with bricks surrounding the sides with wire mesh and damp-proof material. had to dig the thing lower than i first thought.

Question
how do i cover the pit seeing it is about 18" lower than the surrounding soil and keep the surrounding soil from falling in? my thinking is towards a brick surround to solve the soil collapse issue as well as making it easier to cover.
dont want to make the solution permanent as i am waiting for the rainy season to start to see if the thing will work - might have to dig up and make adjustments next year!

any thoughts appreciated

thanks

karaman
the spirit never dies
++++++++++++ View media item 37730 View media item 37730 View media item 37730 View media item 37730

Nice to see that you have thought about venting it...

 

[big-all]

you need a uniform area with large then smaller then even smaller to allow the water to perculate without clogging

 

[Static]

Urm.. why have you put a damp proof membrane round it? doesnt that kinda defeat the object?

 

[karaman]

membrane was something i had left over from elsewhere (as is everything else in the pit) and is meant to keep the sand from caving in at the sides - poles keep the membrane in place.

still dont know which way the sizes go - so the topmost layer is earth then under that is small rubble under that bigger rubble until bricks on the bottom of the pit or does it start with the small rubble @ the bottom and get bigger on its up to the top?

academic anyway i reckon it wont last and i can start the backbreaking stuff again.

thanks

karaman

 

[theoldun]

Karaman,
Me old heart bleeds for yer son. You appear to be a right trier and grafter, and we have a lot of respect for such people, but it would seem that you do not know whether you are on your head or your ar*e
Bit late to-night but will tell you to-morrow just what you need to do to make soakaway work.
oldun

 

[noseall]

Looks to me like you have buried 'Robbie the robot' or 'Bender' and plan on adding a gravestone or summat!

 

[karaman]

thank you oldun and noseall.

i think i made a mistake, i should've just concreted the sides like an underground swimming-pool without a bottom.

gravestone? - dont give me ideas, got enough silly ones of my own. i think perhaps bricks round the edges and a small v-shaped roof covered with ivy for a perfect home to mosquitos. it all depends on how the current setup will perform given the coming rainy season.

have to go away till weekend and no internet access but am looking forward to your advice regarding my head or my ar*e dont care, i dont know thats why i is askin'

thanks

karaman

 

[theoldun]

Doing it now.
As you are going away, gives me excuse to finish it to-morrow and will post it Friday.
oldun

 

[foxhole]

http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain08.html

 

[dormermike]

Looks to me like you have buried 'Robbie the robot' or 'Bender' and plan on adding a gravestone or summat!

LOL! Brilliant.

 

[TheOriginalTonkaToy]

Wrapping the whole thing in some Terram or similar would have been a good idea - so would using SUDS cells rather than bricks