Wife is giving me grief over the soil pipe and it’s glaring visibility. I’ve tried two big pots with alternatingly flowering clematis and climber roses etc but they need a shed load of attention and I’m not around enough to do it.

So i want to go through the patio, then the concrete path down to soil.

Anyone done similar, know of any pitfalls (i presume breaking the pipe would be a disaster), or offer any advice?

Pics?

Does it run horizontally along the wall at the minute then go in the ground? I can’t quite picture what you’re trying to achieve?

Don’t quite understand what you mean. Are you trying to bury the whole length of the pipe I.e parallel to the wall and run it to the main sewer?

Regardless; excavation next to foundations:
It will depend on numerous factors not limited to the age of the property, depth and type of foundations and generally size of excavation.

Generally in a situation when a property is built on a tradition concrete strip footing provided that the excavation does not undermine the base of the footing or expose a significant length of the side of the footing it is likely that you will not structurally compromise the integrity of your foundations.

Ideally it’s worth digging a trial pit and identifying the depth and shape of your foundation. You can then either ensure your trench is excavated at a level above the base of the foundation formation level such that you won’t undermine the soil the the foundation sits on.

If you are digging a trench I would recommend excavation in sections, laid that section of pipe, back fill and compact prior to excavation of the next section of trench.

If it’s a single small hole you are digging then you can pretty much do what you like.

Trying to upload pics but V slow. The big vertical soil pipe that all the pipes from the toilets and sinks etc go into. I want to hide this.

how are you going to hide a vertical pipe?

Can’t see how you plan to bury the vertical section…that will always be visible even if you bury a horizontal run at ground level.

I’d be tempted to cut out a section of patio/path to create a flower bed, anything growing and climbing up the pipe/trellis would then be much lower maintenance. (than pots)

You could box the pipe in with trellis.

Jeez photo bucket is cat on this phone.

I’m not burying the pipe, i want to plant some climbing plants near the base of the pipe and train them up a trellis to hide the pipe.

Pots at the bottom are no go as i can’t look after them enough, so was wondering about going through the patio to soil.

Moved to the laptop:

Hiding this, the clematis and rose are sorry looking things in the concrete bowl things.

I’d move house ….failing that take the slabs and stones away build a raised bed and fill with good top soil. Tap close by you could set up an irrigation system to keep moist when not there or train your wife to water it in your absence

With your outside tap close by any soil will end up a mud bath if you go to ground level.

All becomes clear 🙂

Easiest solution, seeing as you are right by the tap, would be one of those timer kits and a soaker hose.

If you dig a flower bed, you would only need to break through the patio/concrete path so you wouldn’t be digging deep alongside the foundations.

The other thing is I’m sure a plumber could tidy up all that pipework and duplicate runs, plus change the white pipe for black. The two pipes that come out together could probably converge inside the house. And paint the pipe? One of those paints flecked with other colours.

Cheers all.

I do have a plan to paint the pipe so it fades into the background a bit more.

Not too keen on the automatic system, I’d prefer something simple that the kids can’t break.

I don’t want to build a raised bed as I’d be worried about the damp proof course.

So a 12″ x 12″ hole is ok and the house probably won’t fall down?

Result! I plan to take a masonary drill rather than a sledge hammer to break stuff up, any other surgical/delicate methods you can suggest?

Your wife is bothered about an external pipe necessary for the upstairs bathroom to function?
The same as all the other houses in the street?
Blimey!
Possible paint the pipe so it blends in a bit, but otherwise, leave it.

yes, yes she is.

It’s been 8 years now and every year about this time she complains. I can’t give the plants a bit longer to grow.

New or extended patio? 😆

build a big tall about 600mm deep planter and plant a tall bamboo preferably several mature ones about 2m tall that should cover 2,600 of the wall + plant some smaller ones of the same species try a black stemed one. (Consider painting the white pipes black…)

Well I actually agree with her. As a plumber I think its a mess.
Needs painting obviously but could be tidied-up and simplified a lot.
Do you have two bathrooms next door to each other?

It’s been 8 years now and every year about this time she complains. I can’t give the plants a bit longer to grow.

Buy some fake ivy then. That pile of stuff currently ‘masking’ the scene is considerably more troublesome to the eyes than, as has been said, something that every other house in the street has.

T1000 tried that, couldn’t water fast enough.

Mellow yellow – yes, main and ensuite. Estate was thrown up by people wearing spurs and Stetsons. Inside is pretty much fixed and now want to make the outside a place i can chill.

If plant maintenance is the problem, the best option is to fake it….

Consider Fake planter with fake hedge, bamboo, laurel etc if the planter is tall say 600 then a fake plant should be able to extend up to 2 -2.5 m

Pebbledash the soil pipe?

The soil pipe is fine but the white stuff is a mess.

Looks like whoever installed it wanted to use up a mixed bag of fittings so did it the most convoluted way possible.

i presume breaking the pipe would be a disaster

A very “sh*tty” job 😉

8″ concrete path is pretty tricky to drill through isn’t it.

Will have to hire a proper drill next weekend (all hire places shut about 30 minutes before I decided I was getting virtually no-where with my drill.

I wouldn’t plant anything that close to the foundations, do you want roots growing through the foundations? Do you want the roots to suck the water out and cause shrinkage (if you are on clay)…..

The black pipes look ok, but them white ones look like something you’d put in a hamster cage. Would getting a plumber in to tidy that up cost you much?

The trellis and pots you have there at the moment actually draw attention to it even more. Would your new idea be much better? Try sorting out the piping first then disguise what’s let.

It’s not the foundations I’d be worried about if I were digging there, it’s the soil pipe, which will be above the foundation. It will be a clay pipe, and could turn nearly horizontal just under the slab you’re aiming a drill through. It should be a bit deeper, but if it was put in by the same person who did the white pipes, it could even be cast into the slab! Do you know where it goes, eg, where and how deep is the manhole it goes to?

If you dig a hole to plant in, you still need to get water to it. It’s surrounded by slabs, which are probably not very permeable and should slope away from the house, and no more rain will fall on the hole than falls on the pots. Maybe you could divert the rainwater downpipe just round the corner of the house? Otherwise, I think you’d be doing a lot of work and risk of breaking the underground sewer pipe, for not much benefit.