Trench drains are always a great option when it comes to draining outdoor areas and driveways of Central California residences, industrial establishments, and commercial properties. When designed and built correctly, not only does it provide a more efficient way to manage excess water in certain areas of your property; it can also be a great way to improve the aesthetics of your landscaping. Unfortunately, not all Central California residents, business owners, and industrial complex managers are fully aware of such systems. It would be best to learn more about this type of landscape drainage system and how you can use it in your own property.
An Overview of our California Trench Drains
Trench drains, in their simplest form, are nothing more than man-made channels that are used to convey excess water from one area of a given property to another area. It is one of the simplest forms of drainage systems that have been around for many years. Generally speaking, a trench is a long albeit narrow ditch. It is wide enough to convey as much water as possible from one area to another, but it should not be too wide that people and machines may no longer be able to use the space occupied by the trench drain.
This drainage system is typically used on driveways and sidewalks as well as areas directly under a roof edge that doesn’t have gutters or any other area where water has the tendency to collect. On that note, you can always look at a trench drain to be a lot similar to the gutter in your roof. Of course, the only difference is that trench drains are located in the ground.
Some Central and Northern California residents also employ trench drains to help protect some parts of their property that may be at risk of soil erosion. This is especially true for those who may live in meticulously-landscaped properties where erosion is always an issue that can negatively impact the overall aesthetics of the property.
There are also those who use trench drains as an adjunct to their existing sump pump systems. In such cases, the trench drain can easily channel water away from low-lying areas especially near the foundation of the house. The same system can also divert water that may collect from a certain area of the property into one’s rain garden.
Types of Trench Drains
Picking the right trench drain for your property can be challenging, especially if you’re not familiar with the different types that are available in the Central California area.
Cast-in-Place
You may already be familiar about this type of trench drain, but may not really know that it is called as such. Cast-in-place trench drains are considered to be the granddaddy of this type of drainage system. You dig a channel, put wood as a molding frame, and then pour the concrete mix that will form the channel. Everything is done right at the site of installation. This is very labor-intensive and can be a very costly project, not to mention time-consuming.
Former Systems
A step up from the cast-in-place type of trench drain is the former systems trench drain. The only difference here is that instead of using wood as casting frame, the trench drain installer will be using lightweight expanded polystyrene that has been pre-cut in the installer’s shop. This greatly reduces the amount of time to complete the project since there’s no need to build and lay down wood materials into the dug channel for the installer to pour the concrete mix.
Precast Concrete
This type of trench drain is a substantial improvement over the first two systems since the concrete trench drain is already prefabricated at the installer’s factory. You dig the channel and the prefabricated or precast concrete trench drains are installed right away. There is no need to make a concrete mix, pour it into the mold, and wait for it to dry and cure before you can even begin using it. Precast concrete trench drains substantially reduce material and labor costs.
Linear or Modular Systems
Considered as the “in thing”, linear or modular systems are a combination of precast concrete systems and former systems. Linear systems are typically made of steel, polymer concrete, structural plastic or even fiberglass. Cast iron trench drains are generally used on parking decks, truck loading docks, and above-grade applications. Fiberglass trench drains are used in parking lots, water treatment plants, and airport hangars. Polymer concrete types are typically employed in highways, bus depots, airports, military bases, service stations, and warehouses. Stainless steel trench drains are often seen in cafeterias, restaurants, commercial plants, and even bottling plants.
Advantages of a Trench Drain
Trench drains offer a number of advantages over other types of drainage systems. These can include the following.
- They are a lot easier to install, especially those types of trench drains that already come prefabricated. Additionally, the depth of excavation is not really that great so it should be relatively easy to dig.
- Trench drains provide a neater, more aesthetically pleasing linear appearance in your property.
- These provide continuous drainage of excess water from certain areas of the home.
- The shallower nature of the excavation will not negatively impact the performance of other utilities.
- Maintaining a trench drain is relatively easy and quick since the system is located near the surface of the ground. Moreover, the system is designed in such a way that debris will never collect anywhere along the length of the trench drain.
- The bottom section of the trench drain is generally shaped in such a way that the velocity of water being channeled away is increased especially in low-flow conditions. This feature also allows such drainage systems for self-cleaning.
- Precast trench drains especially those that utilize polymers can also help provide for a more sanitary management of runoff water and other liquids. The closed cell structure of these polymers can help prevent the colonization of bacteria. The same structure can also prevent the leakage of pollutants like fuel into the ground.
Trench drains are always a good way to manage excess water on ground surfaces. And if you happen to live in Central California, you know that you’ll need such a system to work for you. Extreme Industrial Coatings is California’s premier trench drain contractor.