SVI DRAINBLOCK BAGS™ are used to decommission a swimming pool at a school in New Barnet, London.

Steve Vick International (SVI) is a leading specialist and UK manufacturer of pipe sealant products and techniques. One notably established SVI product is the DRAINBLOCK BAG™. The system implemented allows a disused lateral to be sealed-off using expanding polyurethane resin foam, remotely if needed. Once cured the bag seals the lateral at the point where it joins the downstream drain or sewer. The bags are available to purchase in kit form, are easy to use and fully approved by WRc.

Recently x28 kits were purchased by Ashe Construction for use on a school renovation project in New Barnet. One of the objectives of the project was to decommission a swimming pool to facilitate the build of new classrooms. The consulting engineer on the project considered the SVI DRAINBLOCK BAG™ system to be the most suitable and reliable method of sealing the redundant drainage network.

The kits were received on site and included everything the contractors needed to carryout the sealing operation. The bags were prepared and then inserted into each individual drainage pipe, immediately beginning the curing process.

At full expansion the foam started to seep through the bags and adhere to the inner walls of the drainage pipe; forming a permanent plug against water in around 30 minutes.

Ashe Construction Site Manager, Julien Leslie, confirmed that the “DRAINBLOCK BAGS™ were very easy to use and the instructions were simple to follow. The sealing operation was straightforward and completed successfully”.

The technology behind DRAINBLOCK BAG™ has recently been adapted to produce – RATBLOCK™ – an effective and permanent solution to the problem of vermin entering disused drains and sewers.  The product combines metal plates and expanding foam to block off the entrance and exit to pipes, preventing the passage of odour, water and vermin.