When I think of sharing the importance of a gully, I am taken back some years now to a story I would not wish on anyone, one that is etched in my memory because I could not believe what I actually saw.
Back in my early apprentice days, we were out on an early morning job preparing water and drainage pipes for a kitchen that was due to go in that day. We got a phone call from a lady in distress telling us her house was flooding with sewerage. We finished up what we had to do at the current job we were located at and hurried to come to aid of this lady. As we were hustling along, she called us several times to see where we were. Now, unlike the emergency services we didn’t have access to flashing lights or unlimited speed limits, but upon our arrival I understood why it was she wanted us to hurry. As we approached the front door to our horror there was sewerage flowing out the front door. It had come up through all her bathrooms and seeped all through the home. It was heart breaking to see the damage it had caused and the smell was not pleasant. You’re probably thinking how could this happen? That was our question exactly, when we asked where the gully was, the occupants unfortunately had no idea what it was or where it was. After some investigation we found it buried under some gravel that had been laid down the side of the house. If the gully was not buried the sewer would have then overflowed outside the home. Unfortunately, the flood of sewer was excessive as the actual blockage was located somewhere along the main sewer line so in turn the sewage that was entering their home was from all houses upstream. This was an extreme case, however it highlighted the importance of our customers knowing where their gullies are so this kind of situation can be prevented.
Below I have placed a picture of a gully. These should be 75mm above ground level and 150mm below finished floor level for them to work correctly. They also should have a grate on top to allow for the over flow of sewer should there be a blockage in your sewer line. They are normally located outside a bathroom, kitchen or laundry depending on how your drainage system is run.
So if your situated on the Gold Coast in places such as Robina, Helensvale, Burleigh or Currumbin and you don’t know where your gully is, get in touch with us we can assist you in locating it. If you think it may be buried, please get in touch so a situation like this does not happen to you.
