How do I solve backyard drainage problem?

[Benk]

 

 

 

 

[Jason]

Hi Max (@MaxBan)

Many thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your knowledge. With 12 years of experience as a handyman, I would expect you to have a great deal of knowledge and experience that you could share with our community members. We are looking forward to seeing more of your posts soon, and trust you will get plenty of inspiration and helpful information in return from other members. You have joined a wonderful community of many clever and creative members.

Welcome to Bunnings Workshop. Please let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site.

Jason

[MaxBan]

The Reln Plastic brand storm water grate in my driveway had warped over the past 20 or so years due to  summer heat waves.

This resulting in the slotted lid no longer clicking into the locking tabs on the box drain.

 It created a problem because the ends of the panels tipped up and presented a tripping hazard. see attachment 1

Removing the Box drain and replacing it was not an option because the plastic box is concreted into the drive way.

I checked with Bunnings staff but they did not have a solution to my problem.

So I solved it myself by posting a message on Marketplace Facebook asking, if anyone was tossing out their old BBQ could I have the cast iron grill please for a project I was doing.  Very soon I had 20  of them, free of charge.

I stripped the old BBQ grease off them using paint stripper and hosed off the residue,

Cut them up using an angle grinder fitted with an abrasive disc .

Sprayed painted them with undercoat and top coated that with flat black paint.

Then I rebated the edges of the concrete either side of the drain with a diamond tipped disc fitted to my angle grinder.

And dropped the grills into place. see attachment 2

Being cast iron, the grills are more than capable of supporting the weight of my car as I drive over the drain. 

The weight of the cast iron means the wind can't blow them around.

They are much more easily removed so I can clean leaves and soil out of the box drain than the old slotted plastic lid ever was. 

This project was the ultimate in repurposing a defunct product, it beat recycling hands down.

Problem solved. 

[Benk]

@MaxBan Thanks mate for your input. Would you know what is the min distance away from the house the trench should sit?

My current slab will be higher than the trench, i.e. there will be a gap between the end of the slab and the house wall. This will be covered by a deck so not to worried about it. Should i just stem it and create my trench and what trench would you recommend, just the normal easy drain or something else?

Thanks

BK

[MaxBan]

@Benk 

Keep in mind the end of bottom of the trench nearest the house, has to be higher at that end, than the bottom of the trench where water is to flow through a hole in the kerb then into the gutter.

You can make yourself a water level using your garden hose and about 500mm of clear plastic tube whos external diameter is similar to the internal diameter of the hose.

Take the hose click fitting off one end of the hose and force one end of the clear tube into it about 20mm, if it is a loose fit use electrical tape to seal the fit to make it water tight.

Attach the end that has the clear tube. to a tomato stake (that has the pointed end pointing up) at eye level with electrical tape or similar.

Note. Placing the blunt end of the stake on the ground will stop the point sinking down into the soil giving a false reading.

If you have a plastic ruler, also tape it to the stake mid way along the clear section of tube once again positioning it a eye level

This will assist you to determine whether the water level is rising or falling.

Position the bottom of the tomatoe stake on the bottom of the trench nearest to the house and have someone else slowly turn the tap on to force air out of the hose and adjust the water level in the clear section of the tube so it is rises to mid way along the ruler then tell them to turn off the tap tight.

You can then move  the tomato stake to various sections along  the bottom of the trench to ensure the water level gradually rises in the tube as you make your way in the direction of the kerb.

 Buy a roll of  '100mm slotted plastic aggi-pipe covered with a sock' from Bunnings and poke one end into a hole in the kerb and lay the agi-pipe into the trench rolling it out until you reach the upper end of the trench, cut off excess pipe.

Back fill around the pipe with blue metal just covering it by 10mm.

At the end of the pipe closest to the house, cover that of the pipe end with a PVC plastic bottle which has been cut in half, that will stop any soil from entering the pipe there.

Bear in mind you may want to remove it some time in the future to poke you hose down the pipe down to flush mud out of the whole length of pipe .

I suggest you lay a strip of poly weed mat or similar, on top of the blue metal before covering it with soil.

The weed mat will prevent the blue metal becoming pugged up with soil and grass roots which will increase the efficiency of your drainage system.