🖼️
The project:
Our local streets don't currently have any curb and guttering, so when it rains heavily or constantly, the lawns become saturated quite quickly which leads to localised flooding.
As our front yard and its paved pathway slopes towards the house, stormwater simply gushes towards the front porch and gardens, taking everything in its path with it.
Consequently, we needed to trap this water and effectively redirect it into stormwater drains. The pathway already had a simple grate drain installed about 20 years ago, but it was not done correctly and the water simply backed up and pooled. The LHS of the yard is where the biggest slope in the lawn is, so a new drain system was needed to capture the surface water, including the flooding that always came through from next doors driveway, which is inadequately drained.
- Materials:
Everhard EasyDRAIN Polymer Grate and Channel x3
Everhard EasyDRAIN Grate and Tee
Everhard EasyDRAIN End Cap x3 (2 were drilled out)
Everhard EasyDRAIN Leaf Dome x2
Holman 90mm x 3m PVC Stormwater Pipe
Holman 90mm 90° Female / Female PVC Stormwater Elbow x2
Holman 90mm PVC Stormwater Slip Coupling x2
PVC Cement
Bag of Cement
- Tools:
Gloves
Spade
Trench Spade
Mattock
Grinder and Hacksaw (to cut PVC piping)
Bucket
- Step 1:
Planning should always be the first step.
Created a rough sketch of the piping and drainage layout. This allowed the right amount of drain and plumbing materials to be sourced from Bunnings.
- Step 2:
Removed lawn and dug out the soil adjacent to the garage to uncover the existing stormwater piping that next doors driveway uses. This piping needed to be tapped into.
We cut and removed the old PVC piping, then replaced it with one section of new EasyDRAIN Grate and Channel. Added an adapter to connect the pipe with the new channel, then sealed.
- Step 3:
Removed lawn and dug a long L-shape trench adjacent to the porch, fence and gate.
The white/green pipe that can be seen to the left, is the existing stormwater pipe that comes from the pathway drain located in front of the porch, which then runs through the front garden and was simply draining on to the lawn. That pipe needed to be extended, buried and also connected to the new EasyDRAIN, to complete a better overall drainage system.
- Step 4:
Laid, extended and connected the new 90mm PVC piping under the lawn, then backfilled with soil.
Laid and connected the new EasyDRAIN channels together along the fence/gate frontage. Added an EasyDRAIN channel Tee-piece and adapters to connect everything, then sealed.
Some cement was added along the sides of the EasyDRAIN channels to secure in place, plus a little extra added near front of the garage drain section because surface water was washing the soil directly into the drain channel.
- Step 5:
Backfilled the soil, replaced the lawn pieces and quickly watered in.
Job done and it works a treat, with no more flooding going down the side of the house.
On to next D.I.Y. project which entails a stepped pathway.
