This section contains information about the drains at Bridge Cottage. Lovely!
Generally in the Highlands there are very few main sewer systems provided by the Water authorities. This means that most houses, especially older ones have either cesspits or septic tanks. Bridge Cottage has a septic tank.
As part of the renovation I have added an extra en-suite bathroom and moved the old soil stack and toilet connections. This means that various parts of the existing drainage system have to be replaced and upgraded. Luckily, the septic tank does not, and the old, concrete rendered tank is doing a sterling job.
Modifications to a house's foul drainage system must comply with Building Regulations. It is critical that before I back fill any new drains the Building Control Officer in Portree must come and inspect the system and sign it off. If there are any faults they will force me to make additional changes. If I fail to inform the Building Control Officer of any changes to the drains he will not sign the completion certificate for the house. This stage is therefore very important.
Click image to see a bigger picture.
This picture shows the existing drains at the back of the house dug up ready for replacement. I will be installing a new manhole at this point to help solve any future blockages that may occur, as there are no rodding points or inspection chambers at all in the existing system.
Here the drains have been completed and back filled. Building Control in Portree found no issues, which is good.
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