Channel Drainage
Channel drainage takes surface water off a driveway, patio or garage threshold before it pools at a doorway. Runs come in 1m lengths with galvanised or plastic grates, plus the blocks, outlets and end caps to build a full channel drainage system. Water from a downpipe can discharge straight into the run.
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Choosing Channel Drainage
Frequently Asked Questions
A plastic grate is fine for a footpath, patio or doorway threshold where only people cross it. Where a car runs over the channel — a driveway or garage entrance — use a galvanised or ductile grate rated for vehicle loading. A plastic grate under a car will flex, crack and eventually collapse into the channel.
Only where the property is on a combined sewer, which is common on older housing but not on newer estates. Where the system is separate, connecting a rainwater downpipe into a foul drain is not permitted and overloads the sewer in heavy rain. Check which system you are on before you connect anything new.
As a general guide, a pipe under a garden or footpath is laid with at least 600mm of cover, and at least 900mm under a driveway or anywhere vehicles run. Shallower runs need protection such as a concrete surround. Depths, falls and bedding are covered by the Building Regulations, so confirm with building control before you backfill.
Granular material — pea shingle or similar — laid to an even bed so the pipe is supported along its whole length rather than bridging between high spots. Backfill in layers around and over it before any heavier material goes in. Pipe laid straight onto lumpy dug material is what cracks later under load.