Are Manholes in the home illegal?

[crystaljt1]

Please help, I have a manhole in my bedroom. Are these illegal? I know nothing about them but assumed they were only meant to be outside?? Can waste come up through this manhole? Its a small room in a ground floor flat. Surely this is not right???

[LoftyLottie]

Are you sure it is a manhole for waste water. Could it be an access for an electric wiring system so that repairs can be done, etc.?

[crystaljt1]

Its definitely a manhole. I had a blockage in my bathroom on 2 occasion with waste coming in and overflowing, this waste did not belong to my home. Plumbers had come out and looked and confirmed that this was a manhole. They seemed surprised at this

[4getmenot]

No not illegal. Often you will find Internal Manholes where extensions have been put on. Its not against the law to build over them but really to stop having to dig up the floor if future problems occur the people that did extension should have allowed an access hatch

[4getmenot]

alot of people have them in conservatories

[Martiens]

You should contact your local council and ask them how this might affect your health?

[KARL]

I doubt that the correct term is a manhole - i.e. large enough for someone to physically enter a chamber below the cover at floor level. This is more likely to be a rodding point, i.e. for the purposes of clearing a blockage or simply for inspection/check/test purposes. Much depends on how the thing is covered or capped off - if it is a sealed cover then the normal state (closed) renders it as good as non-existent until opened. Under such circumstances it is no worse than, say, a shower drain with a trap on it or even less obtrusive if it has a sealed cover that is fixed in place. If the cover is fixed in place then nothing should be able to come through, neither liquid nor gases. If merely sitting there by gravity then potentially (in extreme circumstances) the cover could be lifted off by a surcharged (i.e. full to overflowing) pipeline.