Category Archives: Manholes

Hynds Streetware Product Range

When it comes to streetware castings, there is one brand name that quickly comes to mind: Hynds.

Hynds Pipe Systems Limited is New Zealand’s premier supplier of water and water-based waste management systems for civil, rural and infrastructure applications. This massive family business has built a name and a strong culture through innovation and partnership, which evidently shows in the quality and durability of their products.

To date, Hynds has a nationwide network of 32 merchant branches and over 40,000 product lines, including a full range of innovative Streetware products.

Hynds Streetware

The brand offers a comprehensive range of spun and precast products that include:

  • Traditional cast iron manhole cover and frame sets
  • Cast iron manhole grates, inspection covers, carriageway covers
  • Stormwater grates
  • Safety grilles
  • Surface boxes
  • Kerb and channel grates

All of their products meet currently recognised Australian Standards AS3996-2006 and European Standards EN 124, as well as the loading requirements specified in Transit NZ’s HN-HO-72 standards.

Hynds’ castings load rated for a wide range of applications, from light duty pedestrians to heavy duty carriageway locations, and extreme heavy duty and trafficable airport runways. For your reference, here are the internally approved load classifications:

Cast iron is traditionally used for manhole covers for its robust and reliable nature. Hynds use Gray (Flake Graphite) Grade T220 cast iron in most of their infrastructure castings, making sure the design and quality meets both municipal and regional specific standard requirements. Currently, they are supplying manhole access covers and frames specifically to the council standards of Napier, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Queenstown and Invercargill regions.

Among its product lines are:

  1. Cast Iron Access Covers (Class B and Class D loads)
    With a 450-500mm clear opening, these access covers easily retrofit into existing concrete manhole tops, with a choice of flat or spigoted frames. There’s also a complementary range of circular manhole grates for these access covers.

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  2. Hytech Manhole Cover and Frame Sets
    NZ’s local authority called for cast iron streetware products to be manufactured to a recognised standard and tested by an independent third party. Hynds responded with its Hytech range, which carry the NZ Standards Mark and accredited by OPUS International Consultants. Each product in the range is load tested to Australian Standard AS3996.

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  3. Cast Iron inspection Covers (Class A load)
    This range consist of light duty, non trafficable inspection covers and frames for grease traps, electrical pits and other areas where regular maintenance is required. The inspection covers can be made watertight and airtight by adding a silicon sealant. It’s locked down with stainless steel allen head screws to prevent theft or unauthorised access.

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  4. Cast Iron Storm Water Grates (Class B to D loads)
    These grates are suited to the standard range of concrete cesspits and sized to suit standard sump range. For 675x450mm sump sets, you can have the option for adding anti-theft brackets and screws.
    This particular range is compatible with all regional council requirements for Whangarei, Bay of Plenty, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill.

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  5. Non Slip Heelguard Grates (Class A and Class D loads)
    Particularly suited for pedestrians and areas with expected heavy foot traffic, this range features non-slip epoxy coating and long-lasting galvanised steel construction. Hynds’ Heelguard grates have a flat-edged frame to ensure ease of use with concrete/asphalt pavers, and are compatible with standard concrete sumps.
    Grate and frames sets are available for trenches and cesspits.

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  6. Manhole Safety Grilles
    Hynds supply two Watercare-approved brands of stormwater and manhole safety grilles: Caliber and Impact. Both can be retrofitted into existing and new manholes, but Impact grilles can be adjusted to suit a wide range of opening sizes.

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  7. Surface Boxes
    A full range of surface boxes made for hydrants, lampholes, pressure sewers, valves and Toby boxes, all of which meet regional and municipal council requirements.

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  8. G.A.T.I.C Range
    Sourced from internationally recognised manufacturers, the products in this range are gas, water and airtight with load ratings from Class B (Pedestrian) to Class F/G (Airports/Ports).The Infilled/Solid Top Covers and Decorative Edged Covers feature machined mating surfaces and decorative edge (on request). It comes in either a single or a multiple-part cover and frame set. There are also options for square, rectangle, tee or cellular frames.Meanwhile, the Xpave Infilled Covers are designed with a deep recess to accommodate thicker pavers as well as to make access points discreet and unobtrusive in pedestrians and trafficable areas. The covers are laser-cut for utmost precision.

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  9. UBER
    Made with Spheroidal Graphite Grade 500/7, the ductile iron access covers in this range are lightweight and robust but 30% lighter than traditional cast iron. Personalisation is the hallmark of this range, with specific council designs already in supply. The system features bolt down security that meet the HN-HO-72 requirements for sewer and stormwater lids.

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  10. Di-Hinged Carriageway Covers
    Manufactured in France for high intensity traffic environments, these ductile iron-hinged access cover system exceeds expectations in terms of strength, performance, stability and protection against water ingress.The range features 360-degree EPDM sealing rubber for non-rock stability, cover locks that open at 90 degrees and personalisation options.
    There are four models in this range: MAESTRO, TWINO, MAXIMO and SOLO. The first three models are load rated to 400kN, while SOLO is designed to suit higher loadings up to 900kN in industrial settings.

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  11. Ductile Iron Stormwater Grates and Frames (Class D240)
    Designed with improved hydraulic capture, higher loadings, cycle friendliness and greater aesthetic appeal in mind, these stormwater system features side-locking frames and anti-theft hinge and bolt. It fits standard concrete sumps.

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  12. Stormwater Kerb and Channel Grates (Class C260)
    Manufactured in France, Hynds stormwater grates are cycle friendly and meet special requirements associated with smaller subdivision streetscapes.

For the full product specifications and information, see the Streetware product catalogue.

New Manhole Connections For Subdivisions

If you are tasked with the drainage in a subdivision, then one of the many drainage tasks will be the installation of new manholes or creating new connections to existing manholes.  The rules and regulations regarding the installation of new manholes will differ from region to region and so if you have FIFO’d (Fly in Fly Out) or are on a job outside of your normal regional council, it will pay to check what the local council regulations are and be familiar with them before embarking on your project.

For small to medium sized developments, new manholes are usually required on Council pipes where a new connection is the same size pipe as the existing pipeline it is connecting to. As well as this, new manholes can also be required if there is a change in the horizontal direction or grade in the pipe, if there are poor ground conditions which hinder the construction of ramped connections difficult (this can be assessed by engaging a Geotechnician as a geotechnical report will be required), if your 150mm diameter pipe serves more than 2 properties or is at the end of 150mm diameter pipe that is further than 50 metres from the next manhole.

Often when preparing to submit quotes for new manholes the following items can be classed as exclusions:

  • Soil Removal (To be spread on site)
  • Any finishing works
  • Removal of spoil
  • Hard-rock breaking
  • Building Works
  • Traffic Control
  • Subsoil or Retaining Wall Drainage
  • Concrete and Landscaping reinstatement works
  • CAD Drawings (Hand drawn to be provided on site)
  • All excavation limited to 800mm unless stated otherwise
  • Removal of existing services (Tanks, pipework, manholes etc.)
  • Limited to filling of trenches to 200mm above drainage, does not include any finishing works such as concreting, trench fill to required levels.

However, this list is not a full and final, and depending on the job site it may be pertinent to include some of the above in order to offer full service for your clients.

If you are working within the confines of the Auckland Supercity and you need to extend or modify the public water and/or wastewater networks, you will need to gain approval from both Auckland Council and Watercare before any work starts. Outside of Auckland the approval will need to be gained from the local borough or city council and the relevant waste water service.

The usual process for obtaining consent before embarking on the drainage works will be for you to apply and obtain resource consent from the council and then apply to the waste water service for a network extension. Some councils will allow you to apply directly to them for an engineering plan approval after obtaining the resource consent.

Before submitting any applications, it is wise to consult with a civil engineer to discuss your requirements and to ensure that all extensions or modifications to the water or wastewater network comply to the local waste water services engineering standards.

When planning the positioning of the manhole connections keep in mind that where you deem a suitable location for the manholes may influence your pipe alignment.

Generally, there is a minimum clearance required of 1.0m from the outside diameter of the manhole riser to any structures or boundaries which needs to be provided to facilitate maintenance and rescue. The local council may determine other specific requirements subject to the individual site characteristics.

The placement of the manholes needs to be with the view of minimising any interference with future building.

The structure of manholes has been engineered and developed over the years and there are many rules and regulations as to the designs acceptable for implementation.

All manholes in New Zealand need to be designed to support all existing and any predicted future dead loads. Design live loads for reinforced concrete manholes and cast iron covers shall be HN-HO-72 for motorways and arterial roads, HN for local streets and driveways, and 20kN wheel load for non-trafficable areas.

Manholes are required to be able to support lateral earth pressure, hydrostatic pressure and any expected high eccentric lateral pressure due to live load or surcharge load. You will also need to consider the manhole foundations which need a design that accommodates the bearing pressure and at no time exceeds the safe bearing capacity of the soil.

Reinforced concrete pipes produced to AS/NZS 4058:2007 can be used as manhole risers provided that the load class of the pipes is adequate to carry the service loads on the manhole. Use of pipes with oval reinforcement is not acceptable at any time or at any site.

Most Manhole work (unless classified private) is considered as Public work. In Auckland drain layers must be Auckland city and Watercare registered to be allowed to work on public systems. Both of which Drainage NZ are. We carry all the required certifications and qualifications to accommodate and size public work. Drainage NZ can assist you in the design, application and consenting stages including manhole installations and involved drainage.