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60
During the year the old drains of 153 houses and premises
were tested and examined by your Inspectors, and, as a result,
116 of these were found to bo more or less defective.
The work of reconstructing the drains of 95 houses and
premises, and the repairing of 6 existing drains was supervised
by your Inspectors. This work involved the laying of
2,102 yards of stoneware, and 300 yards of heavy cast iron
coated pipo drains, 200 stoneware gullies, 61 intercepting
traps, 131 w.c, basins, and 60 soil pipes and ventilating shafts
were fixed and 71 manholes were built; the whole necessitating
the application of 262 water tests and 133 smoke tests.
At the end of the year the work of reconstructing the
drains of 21 houses which had been found to be in a defective
condition was in progress.
New drains arc, in all cases, required to be constructed
with salt glazed stoneware, or heavy cast-iron coated pipes,
laid on a solid bed of Portland cement concrete. The drains
are disconnected from the public sewer by means of approved
intercepting traps, and proper means provided for their
efficient ventilation, cleansing and testing. As usual, the
water test was applied to the drains, both before and after
the ground was filled in, and plans were subsequently made
by the Inspectors of each drain re-laid, which, together with
other necessary particulars, arc filed for future reference.
During the year the drains of several houses which were
built only a few years ago were found to be in a defective
condition, and upon examination, it. was discovered that a
large number of the collars had become fractured owing to
the expansion of the cement used for making the joints. This
necessitated the laying of entirely new drains, and under the
circumstances, one could not help but sympathise with the
owners in respect to the expense they were put to. No difficulty
is experienced in making cement joints perfectly water-tight