A musician-friendly club in the heart of Kings Cross, the Lafayette opened its doors in early 2020 before being swiftly closed due to lockdown. After successfully re-opening in 2021, it has become well-known on the UK music scene, hosting hundreds of music shows and performances from household name bands.
When the 600-capacity venue was refurbished, a kitchen was installed in the basement, and WCs were installed on the floor above, along with a cleaner’s cupboard. All waste water from these areas was formerly drained into a bespoke pumping system in the corner of the pot wash area, which then pumped the waste up to ground level and away to the main drain.
A soil inlet that was slightly submerged into the lower section of the chamber was preventing waste water from completely draining into the pit, whilst a 100mm inlet pipe was too close to one of the submersible pumps in the pit, preventing it from eliminating all paper waste. This caused clogging and blockages and became a general inconvenience to an otherwise excellent venue.
Surrey-based PumpServ, a national pump solutions maintenance company, was approached to evaluate the issue and suggest a solution. One option was to lower the chamber floor, but this would involve breaking out the concrete oversite. With concerns about the proximity of the Regent Canal and potential ground water ingress, PumpServ offered an alternative solution which would require the existing pumps to be swapped out. After a call to the technical team at Saniflo and a subsequent site inspection, the floor-standing Sanicubic 2 Pro lifting station was recommended for the job.
David Knight, business development manager for PumpServ, was delighted with the simplicity of the solution;
“The Saniflo Sanicubic Pro 2 has taken away the headache of blocked facilities for the Lafayette nightclub. Incoming pipework from the WC and shower in the Green Room and the small kitchen was too low at the point of entry to the pump station. The position of the two submersible pumps was restricting black waste and paper waste flow and these were building up at the point of entry. Occasionally the inflow would surcharge back to the kitchen floor drains causing a flood. With twin pumps – for failsafe operation –the sealed unit simply slotted into the space without any need for civils work and has eliminated the risk of overflow. The 110mm inlets, positioned at 140mm (floor height to centre of inlet), enabled a better fall for the swift discharge of incoming waste.”
The Saniflo commercial range has been designed for practical situations where waste needs to be lifted away safely and efficiently and the installation of this Sanicubic 2 Pro in the Lafayette nightclub illustrates perfectly the use for a Saniflo lifting station.
