i am not a mechanically inclined person but i am in the process of building a small drainage ditch on the side of my house, 27.3 cubic feet or 41 ft longx 8in deep x 12 in wide. its a high flow area where my whole concrete patio/driveway drains off into. so i plan on lining it with fabric lining then filling it in with limestone or whatever i can use that is the cheapest. i have already graded the drain, slope is correct. I have not attempted to build a drainage ditch before. im not too concerned with cosmetics, and sod/grass doesnt grow in the area so i have no problem with just a rock filled drain. Any suggestions? Any problems with this plan?
Thank you so much for your help,
Will

How much water are you trying to move? That's really the key here.

If you only need the drain for light runoff, then a gravel filled drain of the size you have will probably work. However, if you need this drain for some serious water then what you describe will easily overflow. To move more water yet keep the look of a run of gravel, you could dig deeper and install a 4" perforated pipe as a French drain. Still cover it with gravel as above so it will look the same.

you can get the perforated pipe covered with a permable fabric that lets water through, but not dirt.available at most big box stores.

thanks for your responses, during a big storm it can be a considerable amount of water but most of the time it is light...so i should be able to get permeable fabric covering a perofrated pipe at say lowes or home depot? and are the perforations all the way around or just on one side of the pipe? if on one side of the pipe, the perforated side should face down, correct?

The older style drain pipe (SCH 20) used to have the holes in one side about 30% and they went centered toward the bottom of the trench.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_24141-...ge%2Bpipe&facetInfo=

The coil drain pipe now is perforated completely around. Sort of like a weeping tile. You need something to prevent the dirt from clogging the slits in the pipe.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_24139-...ge%2Bpipe&facetInfo=

They make a "sock" which fits completely around the coil pipe. Either style will do but both need a dirt filter or barrier.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_154746...ollar%7C1&facetInfo=

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redoverfarm,

And the good news is the pipe is fairly inexpensive.

what if i wrapped the pipe in landscape fabric?
thanks

quote:

Originally posted by willstaiger:
what if i wrapped the pipe in landscape fabric?
thanks

You could do that, but the socks are made to fit the pipe. The purpose of wrapping the pipe is to keep mud and dirt from clogging the slots in the pipe, so any kind of wrap that lets water through and keeps dirt away will work. You could also do it more 'old school' where you dig your trench, lay in a layer of gravel, install the perforated pipe and cover the sides and top with more gravel. The gravel does the same thing as the sock by holding dirt back while letting water through.

thanks again for your help, it will make things much much easier

one more question, i have not priced gravel vs limestone as of yet. do you happen to know which is cheaper? more effective?
thanks again