When access to traditional gravitational plumbing is unavailable SFA Saniflo has the solution in the form of macerators, greywater pumps and lifting stations that pump the waste from bathrooms kitchens and laundries to the main sewer system.

Lack of access to traditional plumbing can be encountered during redevelopments and refurbishments, whilst building tiny homes and granny flats or when building in unusual locations.

“With our products, we make it possible to pump wastewater up instead of it having to gravitate down. This makes it possible for architects and design specifiers to actually position fixtures somewhere where they wouldn’t have access to conventional draining connections,” Technical Manager for SFA Saniflo Australia and New Zealand Gregory Waters says.

“It opens up the realm of possibilities as to the design scope in the actual building…it’s not just a mechanical product, it’s about a solution”.

National Business Development Manager for SFA Saniflo Australia Nick Moore explains that if someone wants to add an ensuite to a house without access to traditional plumbing they can connect a toilet, basin, shower and bath to one small pump which would generally be positioned behind the toilet.

“When the waste comes into a macerator it macerates, it dilacerates and changes that waste into a slurry. Now you don’t need a 100mm drainpipe to get rid of that waste so it only discharges in a 20mm PVC pressure pipe,” he says. The client can then use their ceiling space to transfer that waste to where there is an existing drain elsewhere.

In a kitchenette situation, on the other hand, SFA’s small grey water pump can sit underneath the sink and can drop down underneath the tiles and through walls to connect to the main plumbing.

SFA’s products have also proved particularly useful in converting unused office spaces (which have increased in the post-covid landscape) into housing. SFA’s products provide flexibility for setting up wet rooms where there is no direct access to gravitational plumbing.

The pumps can be used in eco-friendly projects such as a self-sustainable tiny house project in Melbourne. Nick says the man behind the project grows his own food and any of the waste generated from his gardening and cooking drops in through a SFA Sanicubic system where it’s macerated and pumped back up into a treatment plant. The treated water is then used to irrigate his vegetables and produce.

Near Rotorua New Zealand, SFA products were part of solving “a potential environmental disaster” where older waterfront properties were relying on ageing septic tanks that were starting to rust out and fracture. The council had a solution with new bio treatment systems but the systems had to be at the top end of the properties for yearly maintenance and servicing access.

“Their conundrum was how do we get waste water back up to these new environmental treatment systems,” Greg recalls.

The solution was to install Sanifos 280 Inground pump stations to transfer the waste up to the bio treatment systems where it would be discharged to the newly laid sewer mains.

With such a diversity of uses for SFA products, educating people about the products is key. Nick and Greg say while the pumps may not look pretty at the architectural shows, those attending often have a lightbulb moment when they realise ‘oh, we could have used this!’’

Listen to the full podcast here.

This podcast was brought to you in association with Saniflo, proud sponsors of the Talking Architecture & Design Podcast.