The Grate Outside Your Laundry: Overflow Relief Gullies Explained
That small grate in the ground near your laundry or kitchen is what keeps sewage out of your house.
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What it does
An overflow relief gully is a fitting connected to the sewer with a loose grate on top. If the sewer blocks downstream, sewage rises in the pipes. The gully is set lower than the floor wastes and toilets inside, so the grate pops up and sewage spills outside instead of into your home.
Why it gets buried
In older Springvale homes, paths, concrete, decking and garden beds have often been added around the gully over the years. If the ground is raised above the grate, or the grate is cemented down, it cannot do its job.
The rules
The grate must sit above the surrounding ground and below the lowest fixture inside the house. Surface water must not drain into it, as that sends rainwater into the sewer.
Signs of trouble
- water or sewage around the grate
- a sewer smell near the laundry
- the grate lifted out of place
These usually mean a blockage further down the line. Call a plumber.
Looking after it
Keep the grate visible and clear of soil, mulch and pot plants. Do not put bricks on it. If it is buried under concrete, we can raise it to the right height.
Why it matters for older homes
Older homes with root-prone clay sewers are more likely to block. A working gully means a blockage is messy outside rather than catastrophic inside.
Units and townhouses
In unit blocks, each unit may have its own gully, or there may be one gully serving several units. If your gully is shared, a blockage further down can show up there first. Tell the owners corporation or agent if you see water around it.
What not to put in it
Do not empty mop buckets with grease, paint, chemicals or garden waste into the gully. It goes straight to the sewer.
Springvale ground and pipes
Springvale sits on a mix of sandy loam and heavier clay, and much of the suburb was built in the 1950s and 1960s with earthenware sewer pipes and galvanised or early copper water pipe. Clay joints shift over time and let roots in, rusting galvanised pipe slowly narrows and leaks, and drains under subdivided blocks are often shared between homes. We use drain cameras, locators and pressure tests to see exactly what is going on before anyone digs.
Related services
- Emergency plumbing
- Blocked drains
- Hot water
- Gas fitting
- Hot water replacement
- Heat pumps
- Leaking taps
- Burst pipes
- Toilets
- Leak detection
- Pipe relining
- Stormwater
- Bathrooms and kitchens
- Commercial plumbing
- Grease traps
- Backflow testing
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