Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • Creating a bike wash area in my garden?
  • b230ftw
    Free Member

    I am renovating our back garden and have an area I wash the bike but it doesn’t drain away properly.
    I’d like to set something into the path next the back of the house where the hose is – the big plus point is there is a drain under the area which I can plumb into so it drains away easily.
    Is there anything premade I can buy which I can set into the path? Or any other ideas? Im thinking either a concrete pad with a drain in the middle (like a wet room idea) or maybe some sort of metal grid but not sure where to get the parts I would need.

    Any ideas?

    woodlikesbikes
    Free Member

    Not pre-made, but I liked the one Seth came up with on Berm Peak (on YouTube)

    ferrals
    Free Member

    I was thinking about this – I reckon a gravel bed and soak always, so much mud and shit to clear out I think a drain would block fast

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    alexpalacefan
    Full Member

    Maybe a way to separate out the mud, otherwise you’ll soon have a blocked drain.

    APF

    alexpalacefan
    Full Member

    Also, probably not allowed to discharge mud and cleaning chemicals into a surface-water drain:

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485190/pmho0307bmdx-e-e.pdf

    Do the right thing,

    APf

    Tracey
    Full Member

    Ours is at the top of the garden, large pebbled area and a soakaway below it.

    Been using the same area for years, never gets waterlogged or a build up od sludge

    Yak
    Full Member

    I am going to build one like Tracey’s. Big stone bed and soakaway. It’s on the very large to-do list…. but it will happen unlike in our last house where the garden just developed a mud area from washing.

    lardman
    Free Member

    Hardcore base, dug down to 18inches with a pea shingle (or similar) topping to 6 inches deep.

    Unless there’s solid concrete below that, it’ll drain away fine. Only needs to be about 2ft wide to cope with spray/drips from bikes.

    haloric
    Free Member

    I have one that is a flower bed, made from old railway sleepers.

    For the heavy e-bike there are two small flagstones at just the right distance apart set into the bed amongst the flowers, that it can sit there and be washed, leaning against the post..

    For gravel/road/mtb I have a single centre post rigged with old road handlebars on top, set securely into the bed, which will hold the bike a few inches off the bed, with the cross bar held by the old road bars. I wash them all there, can spin the wheels etc, and the mud and crap is captured by the bed. Have to lift off and flip to do the other side, but other than that is great, no mess, and water the flowers at the same time.

    There is a small bush, a few flowers and a crab apple tree, they don’t seem to mind muc off.

    howsyourdad1
    Free Member

    Here’s mine!

    towzer
    Full Member

    I wash mine on the front strip of grass (as I don’t want mud on the gravel drive), last winter there was so much mud it was swamping/damaging the grass so I started putting down a big sheet of weed membrane , which let the water drain through and I could lift the membrane up and drop the mud off into the flowerbed.

    boombang
    Free Member

    Only thing to watch for is seeds in that mud that then chuck up weeds, especially if you drop onto a flower bed.

    The bike wash area of my friends garden looks like a butterfly garden, it’s great.

    b230ftw
    Free Member

    “ Also, probably not allowed to discharge mud and cleaning chemicals into a surface-water drain:

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/485190/pmho0307bmdx-e-e.pdf

    Do the right thing,”

    As an ex-Environment Officer who has personally prosecuted people for water pollution offences, and now a Technical Specialist for sewer systems I can guarantee you that the drain I want to use is fine.

    b230ftw
    Free Member

    I don’t want a soak away as it’s next to the house and water may make its way into the cellar – and if there is a drain there I may as well use it.

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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