Why Driveway Drainage Is Important
When you have a driveway, it’s crucial to think about how water and sediment will drain, especially when it rains. When water cannot drain away from your driveway, this can lead to a variety of issues that might affect your enjoyment of living there and damage any landscaping or gardens that may be on site.
In addition, this buildup is often more likely to allow mosquitoes and pests into the area where it’s built up. If you don’t fix these issues in time, the more costly and challenging they’ll be to solve. Luckily, you can contact joint driveway drain professionals to check your driveway from time to time before any issues arise. Here are reasons why driveway drainage is essential.
Expert tip
If you live in a region that gets heavy snowfall, you need to have a sound drainage system in place to prevent water from piling up on your driveway.
You need a system that works well both during and after snowfalls, and this often means building an underground drainage ditch or tunnel. You should discuss this with your professional contractor before the snow starts falling so he can give you advice about what type of system would work best for your situation.
Why Drainage for Driveways Are Vital
Without proper measures, water can cause damage to surfaces by washing away materials and getting into subgrade soil levels. This causes expansion of the surface holding up your property, leading to cracking or buckling in some cases.
It also washes out base material such as cement, with most porous bases becoming unstable because they are losing their load-bearing capacity due to moisture changes within them.
When base shifting, cracks, lifting, and similar damage occur due to water intrusion, it might be impossible to fix, and so it will require total demolition. However, the problem is often identifiable at an early stage through a visual inspection. Once you’ve found out where there’s a problem, you can always have it fixed.
Types of Driveway Drainage
There are a variety of driveway drain systems that can be installed to help prevent water damage to your home, business, or parking lot. These include:
1. Trench Drains
These are the most basic types of drainage systems. They are usually made from a flexible PVC pipe with a cleanout valve and outlet. The drain is installed at the bottom of the driveway, with the outlet located alongside it. It’s buried below ground level or in an underground trench, so water flows through it before draining out to a nearby public sewer line or storm drain. A trench drain should be installed in every driveway where there is standing water for at least twelve hours each day throughout the entire year.
2. French Drains
French drains are used to prevent water from pooling and flooding your property. These drain pipes are installed in a trench, with the inlet at the bottom of the driveway and the outlet located alongside it.
3. Channel and Basin Drains
Channel drains are narrow, channel-shaped pipes placed in the pavement perpendicular to one another. They collect water similar to how gutters on roofs do. Basin drains are bigger and circular or triangular shaped. If you have paved surfaces with different slope levels, a combination of these two drains will ensure every place is covered with adequate drainage capacity regardless of their position.
4. Dry Wells
A dry well is a porous container that slowly bleeds excess water from the soil. The collecting gravel at the bottom of this containment unit absorbs and retains any runoff, while an overflow pipe directs excess rainwater to a nearby storm drain or sewer system in extreme cases where more than one inch of rainfall has occurred.
To keep the ground dry, one should install a dry well. This is very important because it will prevent water from entering unwanted areas and making things worse. A combination of dry wells and a deep-well pump will ensure excess water is eliminated before it floods your house or whatever area you don’t want to be flooded.
Dealing With Roof Gutters Rainwater
Runoff from roofs is a common problem, and gutters are the most common way to divert this water. Gutters can be installed on the roof to direct water onto the ground. However, this practice means that rainwater will flow through your yard, and it may also cause flooding if it accumulates in a small area.
A better solution would be to install a rainwater harvesting system that will collect the runoff water from your roof and send it into an underground pipe. This way, if you have a paved surface, the water will flow through the pipe and not flood your yard.
The Bottom Line
Driveway drainage is an integral part of a house that protects it from flooding and damages caused by water. This is why you should take it seriously when planning your home improvement. Hire a professional drainage company today to install the system you need.
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