Building Services Engineering 5th Edition Handbook

232 Below-ground drainage
Manhole: the main access point for an operative wearing breathing apparatus to climb down
steps to any depth; a 1 m deep manhole is 450 mm 2 , and a 1.5 m deep manhole has dimensions
of 1200 mm × 750 mm or 1050 mm diameter, and a cover 600 mm 2 .
Gulley: ground-level connection point for various waste pipes and the below-ground 100 mm
diameter drain providing a water trap against sewer gas and allowing debris removal and
rodding access; it may have a sealed lid or open grating.
The first access point close to the building is either a gulley, a removable WC or a shallow
access chamber just after the base of the internal drainage stack. It is not necessary to fit access
points at every change in drain direction, but pipe junctions are made with access chambers.
The maximum spacings between access points are 12 m from the start of the drain to the
first access, 22 m from a rodding eye to a shallow access chamber, 45 m from a rodding eye
to an access chamber or manhole and 90 m between manholes. Figure 9.3 demonstrates a
typical housing estate drain layout. Careful integration with the surface-water drainage system
is necessary as falls to the sewers are preconditioned by the sewer inverts, and the two
drains may run within the same trenches and cross each other where branch connections
are made.
Pipe diameters for surface-water pipework are based on the flow loads discharging from each
down pipe. Those for foul drains are found from the discharge units in each stack. Flows in
underground drains are found by totalling calculated flow rates along the route of the collecting
drain run. Discharge units are converted into flow rate using Fig. 9.4. Pipe sizes and fluid velocities
can be read on Fig. 9.5 from the calculated flow rate and desired gradient as appropriate to the
maximum allowable fall available on the site.
Site boundary
House
type B
House
type B
Sewer
House
type A
House
type A
Symbols
WC
Discharge stack
Shallow access
Gulley
Drain
Access
chamber
Rodding eye
Manhole
9.3 Typical site layout showing access.