In the front garden of our house we have 2 3ft by 2ft man hole covers and 3 rodding eyes / access hatches.

The previous home owners had planted bushes and shrubs around them and we have found them as trying to tidy up the garden. Some of them are quite unsightly.

Is there any way to find out what they are all for? If they need to be kept? And if they need to remain the same size?

It was suggested by our gas fitter that some may be redundant for old gas pipes to the propertty.

The manhole cover or the rodding points? Have you lifted the manhole cover? In most instances they’ll be for your drains. Run some water in the various sinks, flush the toilet etc and you should see it going through the manhole.

This post needs some pictures! Show us your manhole 😆

There’s a reason he’s a gas fitter….
The best way is to get them open and have a look what’s going on. Inlet size, number of, outlet size. Then flush a toilet etc etc. You can get tracing dye also which goes a fluorescent green.

Man holes = drains makes sense I’d guess one will be for the kitchen and the other for the bathroom drains.

I had the covers off both but could only see muck in the bottom of them. I guess I’m gonna have to get in and clear the muck to see what is actually at the bottom.

1 rodding eye is right next to one of the man holes which strikes me as odd – why have a big access and a little access right next to one another?

because of where your extension is i bet you the previous owners had to put a corner in to divert the pipe – and that will be your rodding eye point surely ?

(based on the fact i live near by and know how his house is – not any info in the original post)

The fact that they’re full of muck may mean they are not live. Rodding eyes can be placed at the end of a run with branches off it so the entire length of the main run is accessible.

How deep are they? THe rodding eye will be because there’s a bend; it might not be or the same pipe that goes to that manhole next to it.

Since TR has mentioned an extension, can you find the planning permission for it at the Council? That will have a drawing showing any drains that were moved.

Extension is more than 10 years old, don’t know how long the council will keep hold of the plans for. I tried looking online but the extension was done before the online system was introduced.

Corner could be a possibility t_r but the sink drain that you would think that would have been required for goes diagonally back under the house to the original drain at the back of the house where the kitchen used to be.

No the rodding eye will not be because there’s a bend. It can be for various reasons.
Can you get hold of a set of rods?

fwiw – you cant get my rods till monday….

I may be able to borrow some rods but the man I know who I think has some in not about for a couple of weeks.

Edit Well Monday it would seem

You’ll have to speak nicely to Mrs t-r am nae aboot till next week