Help with drainage problem.

terri_and_jj

Yes and No.

It's true If you have a very minor slope, the water will move, but moves slowly

But too slow allows debris to collect and cause blockage. You need enough slope to move water somewhat rapid, so you keep the drain clear or debris

Bondo

Ayuh,....

If this was the drainage Pipe we're talking about, I'd Agree 100%....
But,...
That statement is in answering his question about the actual Patio Surface....
I gotta believe that if Debris collects,.... He'll be Sweeping it Off......

terri_and_jj

You Sir, are correct. my bad.

Although if he can slope the patio about 45 degrees he will probably never have to sweep it at all ( but he may want to take the wheels off the gas grill first)

Bondo

Ayuh,.......

Actually,..... My thinking is,....
If there's enough fall from the existing,+ unmovable points,...
To the Trench,....
He shouldn't need Any drainage piping at All......

tiny

Just dig a dry well and be done with it!!

weatheredwood

I don't think a dry well will cut it. Too much water falls off the roof into this area. Gutters are out of the question because they clog up too much. I'm going with a slight slope on the drain line. It has to drain. Even a trap will drain at dead level if the inlet is higher than the outlet. I can't slope the patio towards the patio because it will flood my yard. I already have a flooding problem in that area.

Mr Chips

could you solve this problem by digging an extra deep base, filling most with compacted fine stone, then a thin layer of compacted sand, and setting the patio block on this. that way the water goes downbelow the surface and dissapates that way. kinda like a dry well under the patio

weatheredwood

Thanks for the reply. The only problem is that I live in Florida and we have a lot of clay in my area. It hasn't rained in about a week a half and the ground is still wet when I dig about a foot and a half down. I'm worried about the foundation of the structures. I would rather get the water out of there. The pipe is going to be pretty low by the time it hits the gully. I might have to dig a swale instead.

Randell Tarin

Why don't you consider a French Drain. The slope will all be subterranean and therefore avoid the "trap" you would create by an obvious above-ground trench. I placed one at the base of a stone retaining wall that runs up-hill from my patio.

You will need to exacvate the slope as indicated, but the backfill the trench with course (1"-2" or larger) gravel. With a good base in the bottom of the trench you lay a perforated pipe wrapped in landscape fabric. This pipe should be sloped. Cover the wrapped pipe with more gravel. On top of this, lay another layer of fabric. You can re-place your stone on a bed of sand. The water will permeate the sand, filter through the gravel and into the perforated pipe and out.

This worked for me. I live in East Texas with a sand, red-clay mix.

Water is going to go where it wants to go. It will always seek the lowest point. You just have to be a little bit smarter.

weatheredwood

It ended up being really deep at the gully. I only sloped the pipe a half inch for every 5 feet. I couldn't dig a swale, so I decided to run the pipe to the road. It was an additional 45 feet of pipe. I couldn't run the last 45 feet with any slope at all. I just left it completely level. It drains perfectly fine. I tried to inundate it to no avail. I poured a few 5 gallon buckets of water down the main basin and had a garden hose tied to another inlet.

call811beforeyoudig

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