Soakaway Crates - Standard

Soakaway crates for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

Soakaway Crates, or water cells as they are sometimes referred to as, are now the most commonly used method of building a soakaway for both domestic housing and commercial applications offering you a smarter way to manage your rainwater.

The soakaway crates innovative design can offer a significant saving in the amount of excavation, soil transport and installation time and they are quick and easy to install without the need for any heavy machinery. 

We sell Rainsmart soakaway crate modules. Our crates are available either fully assembled or flat-packed to save valuable space on-site and there is a wide variety of design options to suit all types of different site requirements so whether you need 1 cubic metre soakaway set to install in your back garden or a larger soakaway for your commercial project we can certainly help. In addition to the Rainsmart systems, we also stock Rain Bloc and Polypipe Polystorm Soakaway crate systems.

Our Rainsmart standard soakaway crate comes with a 24.2 tonne vertical load or if you are looking for a heavy option visit our soakaway crates heavy page with vertical loading of up to 65 tonne. Our Rain Bloc system comes with a 60 tonne vertical load.

Soakaway Crates & Sets

You can purchase our Soakaway Crates individually or in sets of 1 cubic metre - these sets come with sufficient geotextile membrane to wrap all of the outward faces of the soakaway. We stock Rainsmart soakaway crates in a variety of different size and layout options. The modular structure provides flexibility and if desired can allow you to create alternative sizes and shapes to fit in tight spots.

Rainsmart products are strong, easy to install, eco-friendly and very long-lasting and can be used in a variety of applications. With a void ratio of 95% these systems are vastly superior to the old style rubble soakaways and ensures a large contact area for quick infiltration while allowing more water to be stored in less space.

Additionally, our Rainsmart Ellipse soakaway crates come with a 24-tonne vertical crush load and market-leading 18-tonne lateral load offering a heavy loading capacity to allow installation under gardens, driveways or car parks. If you want something a little more heavy-duty our 65 tonne heavy will do just the job offering a vertical load of 65 tonnes. 

Soakaway Applications

Our soakaway crates can be used in a variety of applications including: 

  • Underground stormwater management - to reduce flooding
  • Infiltration - allowing stormwater held in your tank to seep back into the ground slowly over a period of time
  • Attenuation - discharge water from crates slowly to avoid downstream flooding and erosion of waterways
  • Rainwater recycling - pumps the rainwater back out of the crate system for use in irrigation and reuse
  • Grass swales - linear grass-covered gullies which take surface water overland from the drained surface to a storage or discharge system, typically using road verges
  • Road drainage - enhancement in both quality and quantity of road runoff
  • Bioretention basins - using a channel (like a swale) stormwater can be slowed and treated to desired levels by the placement of check dams
  • Sportsfield drainage - assist with flooding and recycling by removing water and storing it underground for future use
  • Channel drainage - create a linear shallow open channel to funnel stormwater
  • Carpark stormwater tanks
  • Septic and leach drains
  • Trench soakaway

Rainsmart Soakaway Systems

Rainsmart Soakaway systems are an innovative, superbly engineered range of products used in the collection and controlled discharge of stormwater. With a team led by professionals from the civil engineering and environmental fields, Rainsmart have developed a range of long-lasting, robust and eco-friendly products that provide ground-breaking solutions to the rainwater management problems presented by urban developments.

With load ratings of up to 85 tonnes vertically and an industry-leading 18 tonnes laterally, Rainsmart systems are suitable for all types of applications including infiltration (soakaways), attenuation (controlled discharge), and retention (rainwater recycling).

You can learn more about each of these different types of stormwater management in our Soakaways Guides & Tips Section.

Flat-Packed Soakaways

The one problem that soakaway crates traditionally present both to merchants and installers is on-site storage and distribution. Crates are bulky items that take up a lot of space, so often installers will order them just prior to installation in order to save valuable space on site. Rainsmart’s innovative soakaway systems are available in a flat pack option for easy assembly on site.

Assembly is a simple process – the only tool required is a rubber mallet which we include with each cubic metre set. Simple instructions are included and you can view a short instructional video here. One person should be able to assemble a one cubic metre set in 12 to 15 minutes.

Soakaway Crate Sizes

We have a number of different sizes of soakaway crate - we offer shallow crates as an option if a shallow dig soakaway is needed. So if your property is in an area where the water table is higher than normal this could be perfect. 

The clever design of Rainsmart soakaway crates allows you to stack them all on a shallow, single layer whilst still holding the same amount of stormwater as a standard layout 1 cubic metre soakaway. 

This type of soakaway is also popular for those excavating by hand – this is a laborious and potentially dangerous scenario when installing a standard shape soakaway without mechanical means.

Soakaway crates for heavier soils are also available if there has been an issue with soil permeability. In normal permeable soils, rainwater held in the soakaway infiltrates back into the surrounding soil, recharging underground aquifers and providing moisture for the surrounding vegetation. In heavier (less permeable) soils the rate of infiltration is much slower – the clay-based soil particles form a barrier that holds the stormwater for longer within the upper reaches of the ground.

Rainsmart Heavy Soil Soakaways are designed to give a much greater soil contact area – up to four times that of a normal one cubic metre soakaway. This is achieved by creating a table shaped structure, utilising a flat 30mm water storage cell above a standard soakaway cube. This increased surface area allows rainwater to permeate the soil over a larger expanse, reducing the chance of saturation in the area immediately surrounding the base soakaway crate structure.

For any soakaway installation, we always recommend seeking advice from your local authority planning officer. If you have any doubt as to whether your soil is suitable for a soakaway a simple soil percolation test would be advisable.

What Size Should My Soakaway Be?

The design of a soakaway depends on a number of factors, such as catchment area, consequences of flooding, permeability and foundation design which are different at each site. That said, the most common and popular size for a domestic installation is 1 cubic metre. This is what the majority of local authorities have accepted during specifications when draining roof areas of approximately 50 square metres (when under normal conditions).

If in doubt, we would recommend that you should get them designed by a civil engineering consultant and seek approval from your local planning authority as often soakaways will need to be designed with a specific storm intensity and duration. If you have this information then we can help create an exact design for your need - just drop us a message or give us a call. 

Once you know the size that the system needs to be, either width, length and depth or in cubic metres then we can calculate the number of crates that are needed to make this volume. We have a variety of crates and with a modular system we can be very flexible in sizing up a system which will work for you and your project. 

Some of our most popular combinations can be seen below:

Size of Soakaway Required   (Cubic Metres) Number of Rainsmart Ellipse Shallow Crates Required Number of Rainsmart Ellipse Double Crates Required Number of Rainsmart Ellipse Triple Crates Required Number of Rainsmart 65 Tonne Heavy Shallow Crates Required Number of Rainsmart 65 Tonne Heavy Double Crates Required
0.5m³ (500 litres) 4 2 2 4 2
1.0m³ (1000 litres) 8 4 3 8 4
1.5m³ (1500 litres) 12 5 4 12 6
2.0m³ (2000 litres) 16 8 6 16 8
3.0m³ (3000 litres) 24 12 9 24 12
4.0m³ (4000 litres) 32 16 11 32 16
5.0m³ (5000 litres) 40 20 14 40 20

Soakaway Inspection & Cleaning

Pre-filters

Installing a pre-filter before a soakaway is always a precaution that we would advise you to consider. Whilst geotextile membrane prevents soil from the surrounding area being washed into the soakaway, there is always the possibility that the stormwater pipe itself will carry silt and other debris washed in from the roof and gutters. A good silt filter trap or catchpit chamber is easy to maintain and will certainly prolong the life of the soakaway.

Linear Inspection Channels

Using our Rainsmart systems you can also create a linear inspection channel which isolates silt and debris upon entry and stops it from entering the main system. Find out more on our inspection and cleaning pages.

Installing Your Soakaway Crates

If your not sure how to correctly install a soakaway system then we have got you covered. Our guide explains the best way to go about installation from excavating your hole, preparing the base and installing your crates. Find out how to install your crates using our best practice guide

Designing a Crate System for Attenuation

If you are looking to source crates for a geocellular attenuation tank then we offer a number of impermeable membranes that can help including a shoebox design which is used to wrap around geocellular attenuation units and is usually supplied in two fabricated pieces. The first is the base while the second is for the top with a small overlap down the sides. The two pieces effectively make a ‘shoebox’. Get in contact to find out more.

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  1. Rainsmart Soakaway Set Flat-Packed - Heavy 1 Cubic Metre
    Out of Stock

    ON BACK ORDER - Please contact us for availability and alternatives

    1. Code STM02M3F
    2. Brand Rainsmart
    £225.50 £270.60
  2. Rainsmart Soakaway Set Assembled - Heavy 1 Cubic Metre
    Out of Stock

    ON BACK ORDER - Please contact us for availability and alternatives

    1. Code STM02M3
    2. Brand Rainsmart
    £247.50 £297.00
  3. Rainsmart Shallow Soakaway Set Assembled - Heavy 1 Cubic Metre
    Out of Stock

    ON BACK ORDER - Please contact us for availability and alternatives

    1. Code STM01M3
    2. Brand Rainsmart
    £286.00 £343.20
  4. Rainsmart Soakaway Set Flat-Packed - Heavy 1 Cubic Metre
    Out of Stock

    ON BACK ORDER - Please contact us for availability and alternatives

    1. Code STM01M3F
    2. Brand Rainsmart
    £264.00 £316.80
  5. Rainsmart Ellipse Soakaway Crate Assembled
    1. Code 90004
    2. Brand Rainsmart
    £61.47 £73.76
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