The Barn and Outhouses Renovation Project

Most properties located in rural areas are not connected to mains drainage, requiring the land owner to find an alternative method for the removal of their sewage. This was the case for the owner of one such renovation project in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. The project saw the conversion of a barn and outbuilding into both holiday and long-term rental accommodation, alongside a picturesque thatched cottage.

The Owner’s Selection Criteria

The owner of the property had to first make a decision as to which sewage treatment plant they would like to install. A local installer to the site, Independent Drainage in Dorset, recommended a Diamond DMS3 wastewater treatment plant, based on the owners needs and site requirements. They suggested the Diamond because:

• It tailors to the number of rooms at the whole site with potential for more, accommodating up to 11+ people.
• It is registered as exempt for the need for an environmental permit by the Environment Agency (EA) with BS EN 12566-3 2014.
• It guarantees a process performance to a 95 percentile standard of 20 mg/l Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), 30mg/l Suspended Solids and 20mg/l Ammoniacal Nitrogen with no odour.*
• It is installed completely below ground, creating low visual impact to the charming property.
• It would be out of sight and out of mind – just what their customer wanted!

*subject to correct installation, consistent influent conditions and regular plant maintenance as per the manufacturers’ instructions.

The Simple Installation

The installation of a Diamond sewage treatment plant is simple. In this instance, it took less than three days in total with a small team required, providing very little disruption to the lives of the inhabitants. Unusually, the tank installation was designated to below a concrete courtyard rather than in a garden.

Dameon Brunn from Independent Drainage recalls, “Usually, we would connect the pipework beneath a grassy area, yet due to pre-existing pipework, this wasn’t possible. This made little difference to the installation time however, with the tank in the ground in a matter of hours. The connection of the pipework was carried out later than expected due to the delay of the British weather, which of course can never be helped!”

Project Success

To create minimal visual impact, the top level was concreted over to restore the courtyard to its original appearance, with access to the plant still possible via a flush lid to the landscape.