Hiring Contractors For Home Improvements

Construction Tips: What to Do if Concrete Has Entered a Drain

11 December 2018

Tim Graham

Constructing a new home is a big job which involves many different teams of people working in unison. Unfortunately, sometimes things can go wrong. Something that might occur on your construction site is the disposal of wet concrete into a drain. When this occurs, the concrete will set within the drain and create a blockage which could result in flooding and hazardous waste being washed back up onto the surface. Below is a guide of the steps you should take if you discover that concrete is being poured into a drain.

Stop pouring the concrete 

While this might sound obvious, it is worth stating here. News that something is going badly wrong can cause site managers to panic. In that panic, your mind might be racing at a million miles an hour, and you may not consider what you need to do to prevent the problem from getting any worse. As soon as you realise that concrete is entering a drain, you need to raise the alarm. Ideally, someone should race to the concrete contractor's cab and request that he stops operations. While this is going on, another runner should be sent to the plumbing team, so they can offer assistance.

Take steps to prevent liquid concrete from entering the drain

Once the concrete contractor has stopped pouring concrete, it is likely there will still be a quantity of the material on the ground which is slowly heading towards the drain. Your next step is to prevent this liquid concrete from entering the drain. You can do this by building a wall of sandbags around the drain entrance.

Contact an emergency drain cleaning company

Once you have contained the scene, you should make contact with an emergency drain cleaning company and ask them to attend your construction site. If the drain cleaning company can attack the concrete before it has fully set, it will have a much better chance of success. The drain cleaning contractor will use power key washers and acids to dissolve any concrete which is blocking the drain.

Carry out a post-incident assessment

Once the drain is clear, it is important that you bring together all parties to establish the exact cause of the incident and how similar events can be avoided in the future. Ideally, you should produce a timeline of events and steps which can be taken to mitigate the risk of concrete entering a drain.

If you would like to find out more information, you should contact a drain cleaning company today.

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