Soakaway

The Polybed Drainage System:
A sustainable high-performance alternative to traditional methods

Septic tanks and sewage treatment

• ideal for use in restricted areas
• extremely lightweight
• delivered as complete ready-to-use units
• quick installation
• minimises disruption
• eliminates need for gravel and heavy machinery
• can be routed around established garden features

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Case Study
Polybed products – a proven solution

Polybed is not solely for commercial use. Its versatility and ease of installation makes it a popular choice with private clients too.

When Forest Group director Chris Price and his wife Sue encountered on-going problems with their septic tank, they turned to Polybed for a solution.

The Prices' bungalow is beautifully situated high in the Cotswold Hills, but access to the rear of the property is extremely restricted. There is no vehicular entry and the only external way in to the back garden is via a narrow stepped passageway to the side of the building.

Having no mains drainage, the family were dependent upon an ageing septic tank - unfortunately located in the lowest part of the back garden - for waste and sewage disposal. The tank overflowed on a regular basis as the filter field had become clogged over many years of use.

The restricted access for heavy machinery made replacing the tank impractical. As the basic structure was sound, Chris installed a unit to convert the septic tank into a small package treatment plant. He then created a more effective filter field under his lawn using Polybed.

21 units of 3mlength Polybed were laid in a network of 600mmdeep, 300mmwide trenches dug by hand. A covering of geotextile permeable fabricwas used to protect the units fromsoil and, tominimisemess, each trench was backfilled with the earth fromthe next and the turf immediately replaced.

The Prices are delighted with the result. “The whole project took just 3 days, and the majority of the time was taken up with digging the trenches”, said Chris. “It only took a couple of minutes to install each Polybed length. Unfortunately I was suffering from rheumatism that week so Sue had to help with the carrying. We were amazed how light the units were and how quickly they were installed. Within a very short space of time the lawn was back to normal and you wouldn’t know we’d had anything done at all.”

Protects the environment; saves time and money

How?

reduces your carbon footprint:
• manufactured using 100% recycled materials
• eliminates the need for the quarrying and transportation of aggregate – 1 x 3m length of Polybed equates to a quarter tonne of gravel
• reduces site traffic – 1 truckload of Polybed is equivalent to 8 trucks of gravel
• minimises the need for soil cart-away

convenient and easy to handle:
• lightweight and flexible
• supplied in pre-assembled units, easily joined with a rapid click fit connection
• requires no specialist skills
• ideal for use in restricted areas
• ease of installation reduces Health and Safety risks

cost-effective:
• up to 4 times quicker to install
• requires less labour and plant
• reduces transportation costs
• minimises stone and gravel usage

delivers quality performance:
• controlled infiltration
• consistent void ratio in excess of 30%
• high flow capacity