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Please see attached photos of the sewerage inspection point outside my house. Its concrete pad is badly damaged and was wondering whether I can add a cover to the inspection point as opposed to replacing the concrete pad?
Kind regards
Dave
Hello @DavidPullinger
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about covering your sewer inspection point.
One issue that worries me is that the inspection top is at the same level as your driveway. Putting anything on top of the sewerage cap becomes a potential trip hazard because anything over it makes it taller than your driveway. In the interest of safety, I recommend rebuilding the concrete pad but with a much thicker and larger footprint. In this manner, should anything accidentally drive over it the pad will not break apart.
Unfortunately, you never know when you or the council will need to use the sewerage inspection point. In order to disguise the sewerage cap, I suggest painting it so that it blends in with the driveway.
Let me call on our experienced members @Jewelleryrescue and @TedBear for their recommendations.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Hi @DavidPullinger and @EricL
That slab was reenforced with steel approx 50mm thick concrete pad floating in loose sand which is ok for paths but next to a drive way well trucks or cars could be hitting it and will do that damage. I would want to lower that pipe level with drive way if possible or slope cement up to it I would want to fill that whole triangle with min 100mm concrete with drilled in reo ( Purple) to surrounding concrete so slabs always stay level together,
The triangle slab sounds hard but not really a ozito rotary hammer drill will quickly make side holes for reo(purple lines) and just level concrete to cement edges . Cant hurt to add foam expansion joint along egdes poke the reo through it into concrete. (Blue line ) Add more reo mesh (red) Brown 100mm min outer cement formwork. On a construction site we would cemset (glue ) the reo into the drive way but I use friction fit domestic (tap them gently in to concrete surrounds)
While your at it extend your drive way wider all the way might fit an extra car I cant see surrounds to advise on that matter
David I suspect any low cover over it would be run over eventually by some ones car . a taller column would be easier to see when reversing but also hit by car on occasions one in 4 years? As it is close to drive way.
@EricL why isnt that pipe smashed up too? Steel lid but whats underneath? Broken and cracked a possibility. how does it survive and not concrete, Steel pipes?
Hello @Jewelleryrescue
There could be any number of reasons the sewerage cap has not broken off. The soil around it might have compacted to the point that it supports the body of the sewerage cap. It might be assembled with an angle underground thereby redirecting the force applied to it. It could also be set in concrete at a much lower level that we are not aware of. Perhaps it's an old fitting that's welded onto a cast iron pipe.
Eric
You best dig around your pipe clearing the broken concrete and inspecting the pipe for damage too just as a precaution.
Can I please advise to tape that area off or put a big bucket over the pipe to help people avid driving or tripping on your exposed pipe
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