Ann Boardman, Head of Marketing and Product Development at Saniflo UK, says that the growing trend of homeowners maximising their garden space with structures such as offices and gyms represents an opportunity for installers to grow their businesses.

Many buildings, commercial and residential, rely on a combination of macerators, pumps, and lifting stations for their drainage requirements. Think historic listed buildings and multi-purpose tower blocks, plus lofts, basements, cellars, and other rooms that are converted into usable bathrooms, cloakrooms, en-suites, laundry rooms, kitchens, and cleaners’ cupboards. Many of these could not operate without macerators, pumps, and lifting stations.

As the trend for additional usable space grows, homeowners increasingly want drainage for kitchens, bathrooms, and cloakrooms in their garden structures. There are two options. 

The first, is messy, time consuming, and costly excavation work to fit drainage. The second, is quick, easy, and affordable, and involves using the correct combination of products to suit the purpose. In this second case, all that is required is a water supply to reach the wet facilities. Macerators and pumps do the rest.

Innovation in macerator, pump, and lifting station technology is advancing all the time, and there’s a greater array of products to choose from than ever before. The best models are quiet with failsafe features that guarantee continuity of usage. 

For situations where the building sits below the level of the manhole or mains drains at the house, opt for products that can be installed underground with multiple connection points to efficiently pump waste from a full bathroom, kitchen, and utility room through discharge pipes of 40 or 50mm diameter. This is often more cost-effective alternative than laying soil pipes from the garden room back to the house. Alternatively, if it’s better to site a pump inside the building, choose products that can take waste from multiple appliances and pump it along the length of the garden to the manhole. 

In some cases, a septic tank, a waste processing plant, or a waste collection unit might be used for the waste. This opens up the possibility of using WCs with an in-built macerator. These do not require a cistern and can be used in small spaces, such as for a WC in a glamping pod, shepherd’s hut, or small garden room. 

If any kind of WC is being installed, then a macerator is required and, if it’s a pump that just needs to take grey water waste (from a sink, shower, or washing machine, for example), there are specific products for this purpose too. Today there are products that work well in the smallest and trickiest spaces that require plumbing.

A hand basin can be plumbed into some WC with macerator units to create a cloakroom style facility. However, if a full bathroom with a shower is required, then a more powerful product with extra connection points will be needed. Look for products that are easy to install, economical to run, and quietly pump away waste water from a basin, WC, and even high output power showers. It should fit behind a cupboard or cistern and have a removable lid for ease of maintenance. 

In some circumstances, a user may just want to take grey water waste away – for example, a sink in a garden room designed as a hairdressing salon. Choose pumps that are purpose-designed for small commercial applications with working temperatures up to 35°c. 

Some models can work with temperatures up to 75°c, so can cope easily with the warm water used in a salon. The pump can be plumbed into a cupboard underneath the basin or directly to the basin. Go for pumps that automatically activate when the water level reaches 95mm to ensure there is never a high level of residue standing water in the unit. 

Be sure to opt for products that come with robust guarantees and that are made in Europe. Choose manufacturers that offer robust technical support and customer service. A good manufacturer will be happy to help you specify the perfect products for the job.

So, next time you have a customer who wants to create additional usable space, don’t be put off at the prospect of drainage complications. Just pick up the phone and speak to a reputable supplier and explore the vast possibilities offered by pumps, macerators, and lifting stations.