How to install drainage off driveway and front of house?

[jordan106]

Hi there,

I am after some advice on what to do to get the stormwater drainage right at our new build. 

I am about to put in a gravel driveway and there will be a ~5-10% grade down toward the garage. I plan to install a series of channel drains at the bottom of the driveway to carry stormwater towards an easement (on the other side of the house). 

My question is, can I run this channel drain (in red in the photo) into the ag pipe that I will use along the front of the house (in blue in the photo) and then to the easement? Or given the volume of water, is it best to run a seperate pvc line from the channel drain to the easement and keep the ag line its own seperate system? I’m not sure what the “standard” approach is here. 

For some reference, the photo below shows the volume of water that was running along the front of the house (where the ag line will go) during a recent storm. The ground is clay so there is puddles for days after rain, hence the need for ag line. 
 

 

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @jordan106 

I never trust ag pipes to stay clear, those corrorgated ribs just scream that they wiul catch silt, even if they are socked. Id go for a PVC pipe for sure You are going to the effort so why not mnake sure you dont need to revisit it in a year or so.

I would also install a Pit at one end of the drain in front of the garage. Just to collect rocks ect and a cleaning point if needed.

Dave

[jordan106]

Hi @Dave-1, thanks for the quickly reply. 

Would you still use ag pipe to get the surface water away from the area in front of the house? I will need to do something and I’d rather not use a series of drainage pits there.

Understood about the pit next to the channel drain, and then running PVC from there. That makes sense to me

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @jordan106 

The only time I have used ag pipe was in an area that was all gravel and pavers, no soil. So there was little chance of it clagging up.  

Fixing water ingress issues in garage step 4 will show you how I have used it.

For capturing the water this works well. For dissapating water I would go for a hard PVC pipe and get it away. You could then do the reverse and have the hard PVC go to an ag pipe and have water soak into the ground. The problem is with teh quantity of water you have had before wont soak into the earth and the water backs up. 

You only need one pit at one end of the garage grill. Then from that pit you head away down hill via PVC pipes or have it connected to a stormwater pipe (useing a plumber for the connection) 

Dave

[EricL]

Hello @jordan106 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about your drainage.

Please note that any plumbing works will need to be carried out by a registered plumber for safety and compliance. 

Just to add to the excellent recommendations that @Dave-1 has suggested, I propose using geo-fabric both above and below the agi-pipe to strain the clay away. I also recommend installing a cement footing for the channel drain so that it will not move or deform when you drive over it. Due to the clay foundation, I suggest a rather large footing for the channel so that it will not shift in the clay.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.  
 

Eric

[jordan106]

Hi @EricL and @Dave-1 ,

Thank you both for the help. As a first time poster to this forum I am very thankful for the help! It is so great to get these tips and tricks from others who have done this before.

To confirm what is being suggested,

1) I use PVC to take the water away from from the channel drain/pit

2) I install ag pipe in geofab and then cover in gravel to allow the water that sits along the front of the house (separate issue to the driveway water) to soak through and be carried away.

Is the below markup correct? Basically 2 x separate drainage systems.

[EricL]

Hello @jordan106 

Please remember to consult your plumber about your plans before you begin digging. Have you considered running the channel drain all the way across your house instead of using two types of drainage? 

Eric

[jordan106]

Hi @EricL 

I could, but I'd rather not need to install ~ 35m of channel drain and would rather keep the drainage below the surface as much as possible. Also, I will likely install a gravel path along the front of the house in time so an ag pipe would work better/be a cheaper alternative than a channel drain.

Cheers,

Jordan

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @jordan106 

A note of caution with the ag pipe plus gravel. I dont think it will drain the quantity of water that you are describing away from the area in front of your house as fast as it needs to. A French drain will have water seap into it and away via an ag pipe. A cahnnel will handle quantities of water in the same space of time.

Dane