Garden & Landscaping
472 sources in the library on garden & landscaping. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 11 of 12.
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Association of Fencing Industries
The UK fencing trade body's searchable directory of accredited member contractors, manufacturers, stockists and installers. The AFI was formed in 2017 by the merger of the Fencing Contractors Association (FCA) with the European Fencing Industry Association (EFIA), so the FCA no longer exists as a separate body and any note pointing readers at the FCA directory is nine years out of date. AFI also runs a Certified Contractor Scheme, Best Practice Days and Fencex.
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Association of Professional Landscapers
The Association of Professional Landscapers, the trade body for accredited landscape companies that design, build and maintain gardens across the UK, and a government-endorsed TrustMark scheme operator - which is the point that matters for a homeowner, because TrustMark scheme operator status brings a defined complaints and dispute route. The APL describes its vetting as among the toughest inspection processes in the landscaping industry: membership assessment covers business practices, compliance with health and safety legislation, environmental responsibility, financial viability and demonstrated competence in the work itself, and checks that subcontractors are insured and competent. Each member is inspected annually rather than once at joining, so accreditation is not a one-off badge. Use it with BALI (the other main landscaping federation) when checking a contractor: membership of either is a filter, not a guarantee, and should be verified on the body's own directory rather than from a logo on a quotation.
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BALI
The installer-side body for landscaping and hard landscaping work, and the right answer when a note tells a reader to check a paving contractor against a trade body. BALI describes itself as the UK's leading trade association and accreditation body for landscaping professionals, listing 900+ accredited members and 1800+ total members in a searchable directory of designers, contractors, suppliers and training providers that a homeowner can use directly. Members are held to an Association Quality Standard, a Code of Conduct and Terms of Membership, with LISS/CSCS SmartCard qualifications for operatives and ROLO training accreditation. Note for the verifier: bali.org.uk is not yet in scripts/quality/sources.mjs, so a citation to it currently fails the tier check until the domain is added to tier 3.
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British Association of Landscape Industries
What BALI accreditation actually tests, which is the point of asking a landscaper whether they hold it. An applicant contractor must have been trading for at least two years. The application requires ten client references plus two trade references, a copy of the company letterhead, proof of company turnover, employers liability insurance documentation where applicable, a copy of the public liability insurance, and a health and safety policy for companies with more than five employees. Vetting is in two stages: internal vetting, where the documents are reviewed and the referees are actually contacted, and external vetting, where a Vetting Officer visits to check internal processes and carries out site visits to completed work. Approved members gain use of the BALI Accredited logo, entry to the National Landscape Awards and access to BALI's Dispute Resolution Service - that last one being the practical consumer benefit if a job goes wrong. Membership enquiries are answered within about 48 hours. Compare with the APL, which is a TrustMark scheme operator and re-inspects annually.
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British Association of Landscape Industries
BALI describes itself as the leading trade association representing landscape professionals across design, construction, maintenance, supply, training and education. It has over 900 accredited members, from large contracting companies to independent garden designers and local traders, with accredited members in every county of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The directory can be filtered by professional type - designer, contractor, supplier and training provider - and searched by town or postcode, which is how a homeowner should verify a claimed membership rather than trusting a logo on a quotation. Members must meet and continue to meet stringent Terms and Conditions of Membership; the substantive vetting requirements sit on the separate accredited contractor, accredited designer and accredited group pages. Services offered by accredited members span topographical surveys, scaled drawings and planting plans through to landscape build and grounds maintenance, so the directory is also a way to work out which discipline a given job actually needs.
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CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association)
The reference work behind every soakaway, permeable driveway and garden drainage decision in the UK, and the document local authority drainage officers work from. CIRIA C753, The SuDS Manual, published December 2015, 964 pages in PDF, ISBN 978-0-86017-759-3, authors Woods Ballard, Wilson, Udale-Clarke, Illman, Scott, Ashley and Kellagher. It is free to CIRIA members and GBP 25 excluding VAT to non-members, so the full text is behind a login but the catalogue page confirms scope and status. It replaced the 2007 SuDS Manual (C697), and the page states expressly that in delivering SuDS there is a requirement to meet the framework set out by the government non-statutory technical standards, which C753 complements while going further to support cost-effective delivery of multiple benefits. It covers planning, design, construction, management and maintenance of SuDS. Cite it as the technical authority when a note explains why a permeable or drained-to-a-soakaway driveway avoids the planning consequence of an impermeable one.
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CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association)
The standard reference a structural engineer uses to design an embedded retaining wall, which is what a basement dig or a deep terraced garden retaining structure actually needs. CIRIA C760, Guidance on embedded retaining wall design, published February 2017, 471 pages, ISBN 978-0-86017-764-7, authors Gaba, Hardy, Doughty, Powrie and Selemetas. It is paywalled at GBP 170 excluding VAT (GBP 85 for members) with a minimum order of five copies, so only the catalogue page and a PDF excerpt are public. Scope confirmed on the page: selection and design of VERTICAL EMBEDDED retaining walls to satisfy the Eurocodes, covering temporary and permanent cantilever, anchored, single-propped and multi-propped walls embedded in soft soils, stiff clays, other competent soils and soft rocks. The page also states it clarifies areas of ambiguity and common misunderstandings in applying the Eurocodes to embedded retaining walls and sets out an unambiguous method for applying the Observational Method. Note the scope limit: this is not the reference for a low garden gravity or masonry retaining wall.
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Interpave
Interpave's householder guide, April 2012, and the document the Government's own 'Guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens' points to by name. It gives the build-ups. Concrete block permeable paving: blocks usually 80mm, a 2 to 6mm grit laying course 50mm deep also used as joint filling, over a Type 1 or clean permeable sub-base whose thickness is read off a table by soil strength and rainfall region - 250mm (good soil, wetter areas), 500mm (poor soil, wetter), 200mm (good, drier) and 450mm (poor, drier); on clay soils the soil must be assumed to have poor strength. Conventional block paving: blocks usually 50mm on a 30mm sand laying course over Type 1 sub-base 150mm (good soil) or 200mm (poor soil). Rain gardens are shallow depressions about 100mm deep, sized from a table by paving area, with pea gravel wrapped in geotextile or set 150mm below the rootzone. The infiltration test pit is 300mm x 300mm x 300mm deep. The '5m rule' - Building Regulations require soakaways and devices handling significant water to be at least 5 metres from a building, and authorities often apply it to rain gardens and to permeable paving taking roof water from a downpipe, though not to permeable paving draining only itself. Pond liner for water features should be 0.5mm (2000 gauge).
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Interpave
Interpave's summary of where permitted development rights for paving now stand across England, Scotland and Wales. For houses, new or replacement drives and other paving between a house and the street must now meet sustainable drainage requirements: the surface must be permeable, or the water must be redirected to a permeable or porous area within the curtilage, otherwise planning permission is needed. Equivalent restrictions apply to new or replacement paving on industrial, warehouse, office and shop premises unless sustainable drainage criteria are met. The page is the entry point for two free downloads that carry the detail: 'Permitted Paving', aimed at professionals, and 'Paving for Rain - responsible rainwater management around the home', the householder and contractor guide to designing and constructing a domestic driveway that complies. Useful as the trade-body reading of a rule that the GPDO states only in outline, and worth pairing with the Government's 2009 permeable surfacing guidance and with the Class F wording itself.
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Interpave, the Precast Concrete Paving and Kerb Association (British Precast Concrete Federation)
The construction detail behind a permeable driveway build-up, useful wherever a note quotes depths. It sets a 50mm laying course of angular aggregate beneath the blocks, over the permeable sub-base, with an optional upper geotextile above the sub-base and a lower geotextile or an impermeable geomembrane at the formation depending on whether the system infiltrates (System A), is partially drained (System B) or is fully tanked with a controlled outflow (System C). Table 5 gives required permeable sub-base thickness for attenuation storage: with M5-60 rainfall of 20mm and a runoff coefficient of 0.3 that is 140mm for a 1 in 30 year event, 190mm for 1 in 100 year and 240mm for 1 in 100 year plus 20 per cent climate change; for M5-60 of 14mm and 0.3 the equivalents are 90mm, 130mm and 170mm. The thicknesses assume a sub-base voids ratio of 30 per cent and a limited discharge rate of 7 litres per second per hectare on a level site. It also warns against contamination of the sub-base during construction and sets out maintenance to keep the surface porous.
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Interpave, the Precast Concrete Paving and Kerb Association (British Precast Concrete Federation)
The trade association explanation of concrete block permeable paving as a sustainable drainage (SuDS) technique, and the document that sets out why the permitted development rules changed. It records that permitted development rights have already been taken away from new or replacement paving around many existing buildings unless the paving is permeable or retains or infiltrates runoff on the property, which is the background to the 5 square metre front garden rule. It explains that in concrete block permeable paving water passes through enlarged joints formed by spacer nibs and filled with angular aggregate, not sand, and into an underlying permeable sub-base aggregate specifically designed to accommodate storage, unlike a conventional road construction. It covers the statutory framework including the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the National Standards for SuDS, the planning process, long-term performance, costs and adoption, and rates permeable pavements as having two treatment stages with high removal of total suspended solids.
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Property Care Association
The Property Care Association's homeowner hub and searchable directory of PCA member specialists. Lists the service categories the PCA covers and vets against: damp control, invasive weed control, residential ventilation, structural repair, structural waterproofing, timber preservation, ground gas protection, flood protection and recovery, sump and pump maintenance, and sprayed foam evaluation. Specialists can be searched by type as a surveying and contracting company, an independent or freelance surveyor, a spray foam assessor or a ground gas verifier. The PCA describes itself as the trade body for the industry, whose members have the skills to diagnose, report on and repair buildings affected by various sources of dampness, and offers homeowner guidance pages on damp control, timber rot and woodworm, structural repairs and structural waterproofing. Use this to establish which body accredits damp and timber specialists rather than relying on a contractor's own claims.
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The Concrete Society
The Concrete Society's technical note on BS 8500 for external paving. It says designated concrete PAV1 is for house drives and domestic parking and gives the freeze-thaw resistance UK conditions need.
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Timber Decking and Cladding Association
The NHBC-referenced code that fixes decking component sizes, and the source for joist spacing figures. It was produced to meet the installation and performance requirements specified in NHBC home building standards. Section 3.7 gives a recommended processed joist size of 170mm x 44mm or larger installed at 300mm to 600mm centres, and advises increasing the frequency of support joists rather than the thickness; Table 4 gives maximum joist clear spans at 400mm centres. Joists may be cantilevered over a beam by up to 30 per cent of their permissible clear span, and beams may extend beyond a column centreline by up to 30 per cent of clear span (Tables 3.1 and 3.2 give double and single member beam spans). Wall plates or ledger boards must be equal to or greater than the joist size. Timber must be strength class C16 or C24, with preservative treatment to EN 335 Use Class 4 for posts out of ground contact, beams, wall plates and joists (Component Group A), and Use Class 3 or better for stair stringers, deck boards and balustrades (Component Group B). Guarding is designed to BS 6180:2011 with loadings from BS EN 1991-1-1. It notes a distinction in service life expectation for decks less than 600mm high.
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Water UK, with the 10 wastewater companies in England and Wales
The industry guide that explains the build-over consent most garden building and extension notes forget to mention. It was produced by Water UK with the 10 water companies in England and Wales responsible for collecting wastewater, and covers work built over or within 3 metres of a sewer pipe. It distinguishes three pipe types: a private drain, the system within your boundary serving only your property; a public lateral drain, the section connecting your property to the public sewer network located outside the boundary, for example in a neighbour's garden or the highway; and a public sewer, a wastewater pipe joining more than one property. There are just under 450,000km of sewer pipes in England and Wales. The key point for a note is that planning permission, building regulations approval and permitted development rights give no automatic consent to build over or close to a sewer, and conservatories, car ports and porches that escape building regulations still need it. Where a project meets the water companies' agreed standard conditions it will be approved; a company may refuse on site-specific knowledge only if it tells you within 14 days of receiving the application. A project that does not meet the conditions normally needs a formal build-over agreement with the wastewater company. Building over or near a clean water main is generally strictly forbidden. Sewer locations can be traced via an inspection or manhole cover, the property's legal documentation, the water company (which may charge) or www.digdatconnect.com.
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Cadent Gas
The exact trench a homeowner or builder must dig if they take the self-excavation option on a gas alteration, which is how the cost is reduced. Customers may only excavate on their own private land, Cadent excavates public highways, roads and footpaths, and self-excavation is not available to owners of flats, maisonettes or other shared residency buildings. The trench runs from the property wall at the new meter position and terminates 1m from the existing live gas service pipe inside the boundary. Dimensions: depth 425mm (17 inches), width between 200 and 300mm, bottom level and free of sharp or stony material, and in stony ground dig a further 75mm (3 inches) and backfill with fine material such as sand or stone dust to bed the pipe. Separation: gas pipes must be laid a minimum of 300mm (12 inches) from electricity cables and 250mm (10 inches) from other services. Changes of direction must be at 90 degrees with enough room for the bend: minimum bend radius 0.3m for 20mm pipe, 0.4m for 25mm, 0.5m for 32mm and 1.0m for 63mm. Gas marker tape must be laid a minimum of 75mm above the duct during backfill. Safe digging must follow HSE HSG47, Avoiding danger from underground services, and Cadent surveys the site first so no excavation should start before that.
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Cadent Gas
What is and is not allowed over a gas easement, and what to do after a strike. Normal cultivation including ploughing to a maximum depth of 0.5m is permitted without further reference; anything deeper, including sinking fence and gate posts to a depth greater than 0.5m, requires contacting Cadent first, as does storing material above the pipeline or planting trees and shrubs on the easement. Enquiries go through the LinesearchbeforeUdig online service, which returns results within minutes from a grid reference or postcode and issues asset plans plus the Specification for Safe Working in the vicinity of Cadent assets; where the work is close, a Cadent technician visits site to locate and mark out the pipeline. Emergency procedure after damage: call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999, remove and extinguish potential ignition sources, evacuate all personnel from the area and ensure nobody approaches the asset. Specific higher-risk activities that always need Cadent's own guidance and safe working distances include explosives and blasting, piling, boring, construction, demolition and deep excavation.
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Electrical Safety First
The consumer charity's garden electrics advice, and the source for the RCD rule that a garden lighting, pond or shed supply note must carry. It states that a residual current device should be used with all outdoor electrical equipment, and that if one is not built into the fusebox a plug-in RCD should be used, because without it cutting through a lead while mowing the lawn could kill. It warns not to use electrical equipment outdoors until the ground is dry, even where there is only dew, and to switch off and unplug items before cleaning, adjusting or checking them, and to store tools in a dry place such as a shed or garage and check for damage or water ingress before use. Extension leads, cable reels and connectors must be suitable for outdoor use, weather-resistant with moulded connections to stop moisture seeping in and correctly rated for the equipment; cable reels must be fully unwound and fitted with a thermal cut-out. On water features it says a mains-supplied garden pump should be bought from a reputable retailer, protected by an RCD that is tested at least every three months, and installed to the manufacturer's instructions, with cables and connectors protected against accidental damage. It also warns to take care digging in case electric cables, gas pipes or water services are buried.
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Electricity North West
Before breaking ground, check the location of underground services on network plans and then follow safe digging techniques. Underground services are commonly found in roads, footpaths, on sites and across open land; always assume they are present and treat any cable as live. Service cables and pipes are routinely confused, and the specific trap named is that black plastic covered electricity cable looks like plastic water pipe. Network plans are obtained through LinesearchbeforeUdig. The reference safe-digging document is HSE HSG47, Avoiding danger from underground services, which should be read before commencing work on site.
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Electricity North West
The consultation trigger distances for any work near overhead lines: you must consult the line operator if working within 15 metres of overhead lines on steel towers, within nine metres of a wood pole, or beneath an overhead power line. Distances are measured at ground level from a point estimated by eye to be vertically under the outermost conductor at the tower or pole. Treat every overhead line as live; some electricity lines look like communication cables and some poles carry both, so never assume a line is telephone. Never raise poles or other long objects towards a line as a sighting or measuring aid. Where work will encroach, request a site visit: the operator's representative recommends a minimum clearance distance, advises on meeting HSE guidance note GS6, confirms in writing any arrangement to switch the line out, and establishes whether shrouding, sheathing or cable protection is needed. Network plans are requested by email at PlanRequest@enwl.co.uk. GS6 (Avoidance of danger from overhead electric power lines) is the reference guide, ISBN 0717613488, free from the HSE website.
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Energy Saving Trust
The new plug in solar category, legal to use in Great Britain since 27 August 2026 where the device meets the relevant standards, with Northern Ireland pending regulation. UK compliant devices are capped at a maximum output of around 800W, which EST's research puts at around 700 kWh a year. A compliant system costs from around £450 installed, against around £7,600 for an average rooftop array. Savings are around £100 a year for a household at home all day and around £70 for one out during the day. The modelling assumptions are stated: an 800W system in Manchester, south facing at 30 degrees from horizontal with no shading, 2,500 kWh annual household electricity use, which is Ofgem's typical domestic consumption value, and electricity at 24.7p per kWh. Individual panels are typically 400 to 500W. Last updated 2 September 2026.
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Freshwater Habitats Trust
A side-by-side comparison table of six pond lining methods, useful wherever a note weighs butyl against the alternatives. No liner, relying on natural hydrology and geology, costs nothing, gives an unlimited lifespan and a natural substrate, but depends on the soil holding water (dig test holes first) and can be spoilt by poor groundwater quality. Puddled clay withstands livestock trampling and can be repaired, but needs a large amount of material, is expensive and labour intensive, needs experienced contractors and is liable to crack in dry conditions. Sodium bentonite boosts the water-retaining properties of soil but is unsuitable for small ponds and needs a rotovator to incorporate. A geosynthetic clay liner self-seals around small punctures, takes soil on top and has no size limit, but is very heavy and is affected by low pH, high iron, high soluble calcium or high salinity. A flexible synthetic liner such as butyl rubber or plastic is flexible with no size limit, but has a limited lifespan, degrades in light, is easily damaged, gives an unnatural substrate that affects vegetation structure, needs underlay and overlay, cannot be laid in cold conditions, and repairing it effectively means starting from scratch. Concrete withstands trampling but needs a huge quantity of material and is prone to cracks and leaks.
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Freshwater Habitats Trust (formerly Pond Conservation)
The conservation charity guide that supplies the design rules a pond note should quote, several of which contradict common practice. Fill the pond with rainwater rather than tap water, because tap water is high in dissolved nutrients and drives algae; a water butt and downpipe are recommended as the supply. Shallow water is the key to wildlife value, and the greatest variety of animals and plants live in shallow water, so wide shallow margins matter more than depth. Unless you are keeping fish the deepest area need only be modest, and if you do want deeper water the surface area should be 5 to 10 times the maximum depth or the pond is likely to suffer deoxygenation. Fish need filters and eat the wildlife, so a separate fish pond is suggested. To size a flexible liner the sheet must measure (length plus 2 depths plus 30cm) by (width plus 2 depths plus 30cm). It opens with water safety advice, noting that a pond covered in duckweed can look like a solid surface to a young child.
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HomeOwners Alliance
Costs and the permitted development envelope for a garden room. Modular buildings £2,000 to £30,000; bespoke £800 to £1,600 per m2. Professional construction typically takes 4 to 6 weeks, with a small shed sized room in one to two weeks. To stay within permitted development the building must be single storey with eaves no higher than 2.5m and an overall height no more than 4m for a dual pitched roof or 3m for any other roof, dropping to a 2.5m maximum height anywhere within 2m of a boundary, with no veranda, balcony or raised platform over 0.3m. Occasional use of a sofa bed is fine, but regular sleeping or a self contained annexe needs planning permission and building regulations approval.
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HomeOwners Alliance
Costs, tax and value for a residential annexe. A new detached granny flat costs around £90,000 on average per Checkatrade, varying with size, specification and site. On council tax, an annexe occupied by a relative or by a resident of the main house can attract a 50% discount, to be confirmed with the local council. On value, building an annexe can raise the property's worth by 20% to 30% per Checkatrade, depending on size, finish and location. Also covers when planning permission and building regulations are triggered by self contained accommodation.
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Northern Powergrid
Practical safety services a builder can actually book. Northern Powergrid installs shrouding on overhead lines where work will take place close to them, and offers a fast-track service for a fee under which the shrouding is completed within two working days, which matters when scaffolding or roof work is already programmed. Overgrown trees and plants near overhead lines are treated as a safety hazard and vegetation can be reported for trimming free of charge. The company also runs a live power cut map giving real-time restoration updates and a route to report a power cut.
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Northumbrian Water
The ownership map that decides who pays for a drainage problem. The homeowner owns private drains within the property boundary, including all internal plumbing, gutters, downpipes, gullies, soil stacks, manhole covers and underground pipework serving only that property; private sewage treatment works and septic tanks; shared drains serving flats, such as Tyneside flats or a block within a single boundary, which stay in the owners' shared ownership; and surface water sewers that do not connect to a public sewer, for example draining to a watercourse or soakaway. Northumbrian Water owns all public sewers, usually under roads and footpaths, and most shared sewers where drains from several neighbouring properties join before reaching the public sewer. Since 1 October 2011, under the Private Sewer Transfer Regulations 2011, most existing shared private sewers and lateral drains outside property boundaries transferred to the water company, so a pipe shared with neighbours or running beyond the boundary is often theirs; properties built after 2011 generally stay with the homeowner or developer. The local authority owns highway gullies and drains, the grated openings at the road edge. Reporting line 0345 717 1100.
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Royal Horticultural Society
RHS advice on identifying and controlling hedge and field bindweed in gardens. It explains that both species regrow from small fragments of root, so digging must remove every piece, and that established roots can reach as deep as 4m.
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Royal Horticultural Society
RHS practical planting spec, the horticultural counterpart to BS 8545. Dig the hole the same depth as the rootball but three times as wide - depth is the common mistake, width is what matters. Set the tree so the point where the roots meet the trunk (the root flare) is level with the soil surface; planting proud or deep is the main cause of establishment failure. Firm the backfill to remove air pockets. Mulch with organic matter 5 to 8cm (2 to 3in) deep, leaving a 10cm (4in) mulch-free gap around the trunk base so the bark does not rot. Where staking is needed, drive the stake in at 45 degrees and keep it for two to three years, checking and gradually loosening the tie each year. Water regularly for at least a year or two, especially in dry spells. Autumn to spring is the best planting window, provided the ground is not waterlogged or frozen; containerised trees planted outside that window need noticeably more aftercare.
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Royal Horticultural Society
RHS specification for staking, which decides whether a new tree roots or rocks loose. The stake must go at least 40cm (16in) into the soil. The tie sits low, 40 to 50cm above ground or roughly one third of the tree's height, so the top of the trunk can still flex and thicken. A single angled stake goes in at 45 degrees with the rounded end facing into the prevailing wind. Use ties with spacers - rubber or plastic for durability, hessian where a biodegradable tie is wanted - and knot the tie or fit a rubber spacer so the trunk cannot chafe against the stake. Most trees need staking for between eighteen months and three years; semi-mature specimens may need longer. Remove a young stake by rocking it out by hand; saw an older one off at ground level rather than pulling it and tearing established roots. For larger trees, guying uses tensioned wires to angled stakes ringing the tree with rubber hose buffers, and underground ground anchors secure the rootball by buried wire loops - dearer, but invisible in an ornamental garden.
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Royal Horticultural Society
Identification, spread and disposal of Japanese knotweed on a renovation site. Stems are bamboo like with reddish purple speckling, conspicuous nodes and hollow centres, usually reaching about 2m (6 and a half feet) by late summer; leaves are spade shaped with flat bases, about 14cm (5 and a half inches) long, set in a zig zag along the stem, with creamy white flower clusters in late summer and early autumn. Rhizomes are thick and woody with an orange layer under the dark brown skin, commonly extending 1m (3 and a third feet) or more down, and a fragment as small as 1cm can grow into a new plant, so digging and careless disposal are the main spread routes; rhizomes can lie dormant in soil for many years. It is listed on Schedule 9 Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so planting or causing it to grow in the wild is an offence carrying fines and imprisonment, and it and any soil containing it are controlled waste under the Environmental Protection Act duty of care regulations, requiring the Environment Agency to be informed, a registered waste carrier, an authorised disposal site and waste transfer permits. On sale and purchase, its presence must be declared on the TA6 form and lenders typically require a professional eradication management plan with a transferable insurance backed guarantee, usually supplied by the seller before completion. Glyphosate based weedkiller is the practical chemical control for a home gardener.
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Royal Horticultural Society
Defines the six garden soil types and gives the particle size boundaries used to classify them: clay less than 0.002mm, silt 0.002 to 0.05mm, sand 0.05 to 2mm, and stones larger than 2mm. Characterises the behaviour of each: clay soils are heavy, high in nutrients, wet and cold in winter and baked dry in summer; sandy soils are light, dry, warm, low in nutrients and often acidic. Useful for judging shrinkable clay, drainage and planting near a new extension or foundation.
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Scottish Water
Two separate distances that both bind a build near a water main, with published tables. Access Distance, the legally supported clearance kept in every direction so the main can be repaired, maintained or renewed, measured from the outside of the pipe, with no buildings, structures or development permitted inside it: up to 180mm internal diameter, 3m; over 180mm up to 14 inch/350mm, 4.5m; over 350mm up to 18 inch/450mm, 6m; over 450mm up to 24 inch/600mm, 8m; over 600mm, minimum 10m depending on site conditions. Those minima assume a pipe invert up to 2 metres deep and may increase with depth, difficult topography or a main deeper than 2m; in constrained urban situations NJUG guidelines apply in pavements for small diameter distribution mains, larger mains in constrained urban roads need a risk assessment and method statement, and strategic mains over 600mm need detailed design referencing the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Pipeline Design Manual. Stand-off Distance is separate: the minimum distance habited property should sit from the main so a burst does not damage it, based on the crater size at the main's operating pressure: 2 bar 2.5m, 4 bar 5.0m, 6 bar 7.5m, 8 bar 10m, 10 bar 12m, 12 bar 14.5m, 14 bar 17m, 16 bar 19.5m, 18 bar 22m. Stand-off distances may be increased where the main is high pressure or deeper than 2m to invert, or where the property is at increased flood or damage risk if the main fails.
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Thames Water
Surface water drainage is charged as part of the wastewater bill and covers rainwater running off the roof, driveway or garden into the public sewer. Where surface water instead goes to a soakaway or a nearby stream and the property is not connected to the public sewer for surface water, a rebate can be claimed. The homeowner test given is to follow where the gutters lead: if there is a manhole cover close by, the surface water probably drains into a sewer. The bill states whether a surface water drainage charge is being made or a rebate is already applied. A successful rebate can be backdated up to six years, even if the customer has lived at the property longer. Relevant to anyone fitting a soakaway, a permeable driveway or a rainwater harvesting system, because the drainage change can also reduce a standing charge.
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University of Sheffield
Modelled hydrological and microclimate results for retrofitting SuDS into an existing urban catchment on the River Don in Sheffield. Runoff for each scenario was modelled in MUSIC against four storms: a 30 year 60 minute design storm, a 100 year 60 minute design storm, the 04/10/2008 Sheffield storm at a 1.38 year return period, and the 13/06/2007 storm at a 15.97 year return period that preceded the June 2007 Sheffield floods. Findings: SuDS reduced both total runoff volume and peak flow rate from the site across the storms; the flood channel scenario gave greater flow reduction than the street-based scenario for almost all storms, cutting both total volume and attenuating the peak. Microclimate modelling in ENVI-met over a 12 hour summer day showed SuDS scenarios reduced local average air temperatures by up to 1C compared with the as-is case, including late in the day when the urban heat island is strongest, with evening relative humidity below 70 per cent at all sites. The practical caveat: the best-performing scenario needed a greater land area and could not be implemented incrementally, which is why SuDS have to be designed in early rather than added late.
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ACO Technologies
HexDrain B 125 is a polypropylene channel to BS EN 1433 Load Class B 125, for domestic drives and small private car parks. Overall channel depth 100 mm. Supplied with a corrosion resistant black composite HeelGuard grating using 8 mm slots, held by the Drainlock bar-less locking device with an anti-shunt feature. Accessories: 110 mm diameter vertical outlet connector part 11285, roddable foul air trap 110 mm part 11191, closing endcap part 11085 and sump part 11385 with silt bucket.
- supplier figure RN-K53NA0
ACO Technologies
HexDrain is a recycled polypropylene channel drain rated Load Class A 15 to BS EN 1433, suitable for pedestrian domestic use on paths, patios and cycleways. Overall channel depth 80 mm, which makes it the shallow option where dig depth is limited. Channels clip together and the range includes corner units, outlets, an accessory bag (part 19287) and a sump unit (part 19558). ACO state that fitting a B 125 grating to a HexDrain channel does not raise the system rating, which stays at A 15 because it is set by the channel body; HexDrain B 125 is the product for light vehicles.
- supplier figure RN-O8RP5Z
ACO Technologies
RainDrain is made from ACO high strength polymer concrete rather than plastic, and is rated up to Load Class A 15 for domestic use; RainDrain B 125 is the version for cars or frequent loading. Channels interlock. A Brickslot grating variant is available in B 125 for driveways where a slot rather than a visible grating is wanted. ACO note two-person handling for the polymer concrete bodies.
- supplier figure RN-8EK2SV
BG Electrical (Luceco)
Manufacturer data for a weatherproof 13 amp double socket. The rating is IP66, weatherproof and dustproof, and the manufacturer states this rating applies with the plug in place and the cover closed, which is the qualification that matters: an outdoor socket in use with the lid propped open is not achieving IP66. This is the specification to check before running a garden circuit.
- supplier figure RN-OMFONB
Brett Martin
PVC-U underground drainage from 110 mm to 400 mm diameter, made to BS EN 1401-1 with BBA certificate 87/1898 for the 110 mm PVC-U pipe. Plain ended pipe wall thicknesses: B4001 110 mm x 3 m and B4011 110 mm x 6 m are 3.2 mm; B6001 160 mm x 3 m and B6011 160 mm x 6 m are 4.1 mm; the SN8 160 mm versions B6001 SN8 and B6011 SN8 are 4.7 mm. Socketed pipe socket depths: 70 mm at 110 mm, 95 mm at 160 mm, 110 mm at 200 mm. Both 110 mm and 160 mm ranges come in SN4 and SN8 stiffness. Gradient guidance: for flows under 1 l/s, pipes not exceeding 100 mm nominal bore at gradients not flatter than 1:40 have proved satisfactory; where peak flow exceeds 1 l/s a 100 mm bore may be laid at not flatter than 1:80 provided at least one WC is connected; a 150 mm bore may be laid at not flatter than 1:150 provided at least five WCs are connected. With a high standard of design and workmanship, 1:130 at 100 mm and 1:200 at 150 mm have been used successfully. The guide states that increasing pipe diameter to compensate for insufficient fall is not a satisfactory solution because it reduces velocity and depth of flow and encourages deposits. Also covers bedding materials, trench preparation, ground load protection and inspection chamber assemblies.