GB2520679A

GB2520679A - New house service connection chamber

Info

Publication number: GB2520679A
Application number: GB1320892.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hugh Liddle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-11-27
Filing date: 2013-11-27
Publication date: 2015-06-03
Also published as: GB201320892D0; GB201409210D0; GB2520784A

Abstract

A new house service connection chamber comprises a preformed plastic chamber (2, figure 2) with a removable lid (8, figure 2). The chamber creates an accessible void over mains utility services, such as electricity, gas or water, and may allow house service connections to be formed without repeated excavation in the vicinity of live service lines. The chamber may have knock out or break away panels (4, figure 2) in its walls corresponding with the correct depths and locations for service mains and house connections. The chamber may accommodate varying diameters of service mains and may support the load of pedestrian and light vehicular traffic.

Description

Front Line Construction Ltd Patent ApIication for a New House Service Connection Chamber

Description

Background

This invention relates to the safe connection of statutory services on new build housing developments which typically include electricity, gas, water and communications.

On new build housing developments, mains services are installed and made live in advance of dwelling construction, however individual service connections cannot be made until the dwelling house is constructed and made secure.

Mains services are generally located in development footpaths. Presently, in the interests of site presentation and safe access to building plots, mains service tracks are backfilled and the footpaths part constructed prior to dwelling construction. Consequently, it is necessary to excavate to expose the mains services in order to form the connections for each new house.

Excavation in the vicinity of live services is an extremely hazardous operation due to the possibility of damage to the mains from strikes by tools or plant. The consequences of such strikes are injury or death to operatives through electrocution or explosion.

This operation is made even more hazardous by the failure of utility contractors to lay mains services at the correct line or level. This means that the location of cables or pipes can deviate from their intended position thereby increasing the risk of strikes.

To compound matters, the connection of the individual services is done by different bodies at different times. There can be a considerable lapse of time between these operations and in order to maintain safe site conditions, the excavations are generally backfilled to reduce the risk inherent in having open trenches into which vehicles or people can fall. Therefore the same pits can be excavated two or three times. This re-excavation greatly increases the risk of service strikes.

Service strikes present a huge problem to the house building industry. Numerous initiatives based on procedure and working methods have been tried but most fail due to human error, high cost or adverse impact on other activities.

In order to overcome the hazards described above, the invention comprises a preformed plastic chamber which is designed to create an accessible void over mains services by means of a removable lid. Knockout panels in the walls of the chamber provide routes for new service mains at the correct line and level. The invention therefore fulfils two main functions by: * Allowing access to underground mains services without the need for excavation whilst maintaining safe site conditions * Ensuring that the service mains are installed at the correct line and level.

Advantages The invention offers numerous advantages over the accepted industry method, namely by: Preventing the risk of injury or death to operatives engaged in the connection of new services by removing the requirement to excavate in the vicinity of live service mains.

Preventing the risk of injury or death to operatives engaged in future maintenance, construction or repair in the vicinity of mains services by ensuring that they are laid to the correct line and level.

* Allowing individual service connections to be carried out at different times whilst maintaining safe site conditions.

* Ensuring a cost effective method of achieving new service connections.

DescriDtion The invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 Recommended mains positions relative to other Utility Apparatus in Footways Figure 2 Cross section through a development footpath illustrating the invention in situ Figure 3 Sketch illustrating the effect of excavation without the correct datum Figure 4 Plan view of invention in situ Figure 5 Side elevation of invention in situ Figure 6 Isometric view of invention As noted above, the invention fulfils two main tasks.

Firstly, it negates the need to excavate in the vicinity of live services in order to provide a service connection to a new property. This is achieved by forming an accessible void over the point of connection using a preformed plastic chamber. Refer to Figure 6 for an illustration of the chamber.

Utility services to new developments are located within either footpaths or shared surface service strips.

Figure 1 shows the recommended arrangement of Utility apparatus in a new footpath by means of cross section. This detail is adopted in Road and Footpath Construction detail drawings on new developments.

The Water, Gas and Electricity mains are generally laid following the construction of the road but before the permanent construction of the footpath.

Figure 2 illustrates the relationship between the footpath construction (Fig 2-1), the service mains and the preformed chamber (Fig 2-2) The chamber is placed on a prepared formation 850mm below the level of the top of the kerb log (Fig 2-3) and set level from front to back and at a gradient corresponding with the footpath side to side.

The walls of the preformed chamber contain knock out panels shown hatched on the drawing (Fig 2-4). The chamber can be installed by one of two methods: Placing the chamber on the formation, breaking out the circular knock out panels and feeding the mains through the holes or * Breaking out the full height knock out panels and placing the chamber over pre-laid mains onto the formation.

The first option is preferable in order to ensure the correct line and level of the services however the second provides the flexibility to allow use of the chamber on a site where mains have already been laid.

Once the chamber has been laid on the formation, the services can be laid.

The chamber is designed to accommodate all of the commonly used cable and pipe scenarios in that: * It is of sufficient depth to accommodate differing bed and surround depths according to the service diameters * Concentric knock out panels are incorporated to allow different service diameters.

(Fig 2-5) * Spare knock out panels are included to allow for additional services -i.e parallel mains.

Once the services have been installed, the service track is carefully backfilled. The sloping walls (Fig 2-6) provide additional strength by spreading load over the surface area of the walls as well as the flange footing (Fig 2-7). This flange footing allows free draining of the chamber during the construction process.

A preformed lid (Fig 2-8) is placed in a recess on the top of the chamber.

The lid and chamber are designed to withstand the load of a temporary footpath construction and foot traffic, thereby allowing safe access over service excavations.

The temporary footpath construction may be removed and access to the service mains gained via the removable lid.

The preformed chamber lid has hand hold cut outs to aid removal and replacement (Fig 2-9) The service connections are achieved by feeding the dwelling service pipes or cables into the chamber through the knock out panels on the walls perpendicular to the mains.

The chamber can be manufactured in a variety of sizes to suit the arrangement of specific plots and distances between house service pipes or cables.

The second function of the invention is to ensure that service mains are laid to the correct line and level.

It is the responsibility of those laying the mains to ensure that they are laid at the correct deptfl and in the correct position relative to the road kerb, however this can be difficult at the early stages of construction.

In practice, the existing ground levels on the footpath solum can vary greatly from the intended design levels. The Utility Contractor would not generally be contracted to reduce these levels and would therefore commence his excavations from the existing ground levels.

This can lead to the main service being laid at the wrong level.

By way of example, Figure 3 illustrates where a contractor has installed an electricity main by digging a track 600mm deep from the existing ground level where the excavation should have been 600mm deep from the finished level. This has the effect of leaving the cable higher than it should be and therefore vulnerable to an inadvertent strike.

The road kerb foundation (Fig 2-1) should be used to determine line and level at this stage, however due to site conditions and commercial pressures those installing the services may not refer to this datum often, if at all. In addition, those responsible for checking the quality of work may find it difficult to determine if they have been installed correctly or not.

The invention provides a means of ensuring correct installation by utilising the road kerb as a datum. When installed level, the chamber provides a predetermined route between plots for the service installer to work to, thereby preventing the deviation in line and level which leads to service strikes.

Claims

SClaims 1. A new house service connection chamber comprising a preformed plastic chamber with a removable lid, designed to create an accessible void over mains utility services for the purpose of forming safe house service connections.
2. A new house service connection chamber according to claim 1 which prevents the need for excavation in the vicinity of live services in order to carry out house service connections.
3. A new house service connection chamber which according to preceding claims features knock out panels in its walls corresponding with the correct depths and locations for service mains and house connections.
4. A new house service connection chamber which according to preceding claims ensures that new mains services are laid to the correct line and level.
5. A new house service connection chamber which according to preceding claims accommodates varying diameters of service main.
6. A new house service connection chamber which according to preceding claims supports the load of footpath construction and pedestrian I light vehicular traffic.