The drive and patio have smart drain/manhole covers which fit flush into the surface and carry inserts to make them “disappear” into their surroundings.
I thought to open them there would be a key, but no….
If you see in the photo at each side there is a cover that you prize up with a screwdriver (per Nck) – then T-bar handle pops up. There is one each side of the cover – so mystery solved – that’s how you lift them off for maintenance.
We had a torrential downpour of rain on June 17 2020 and very quickly about 5-8mm of water gathered on the concealed dining room roof.
The outlet drain was blocked with twigs and leaves.
I realised there was a problem because the drain over the family room had a huge plume of water coming from it, and this now did not.
I was about to strip off and climb out of the bathroom window, full of trepidation to try and clear it. Then we came up with this solution which just about managed to reach.
From the lawn you can now see daylight through the drain, which one could not before
Patio depth being sorted – the type 1 hardcore is down
Garden being levelled using top soil taken from the driveway excavations at the front
Slot drains very clever – drain into the soaraway via junctions of the roof drains
Slot drains are going in
In order that we can get the patio and path levels right up close to “level threshold” we have to fit these rather clever “slot drains” against the house walls, just below DPC level. The idea that any water run-off gathering there drops down the slot and is carried away. It’ll be interesting to watch those go in.
House Project 