Reliable drainage of the soil protects all construction sites from the negative effects of moisture and guarantees a good harvest with proper crop care. To achieve such results, you need to make your own drainage system at your summer cottage or use the services of professionals, even at the stage of building a house or at least before planting plants in the ground.
Types and arrangement of drainage systems
Specialists distinguish two types of drainage communications:
- Closed type (deep). Located below the groundwater level and is able to remove large amounts of moisture from the site. It is mounted from special plastic pipes with perforation. Communication is a branching of drains in the soil throughout the site. And according to the law of communicating vessels, all the water eventually ends up in a special receiver. This can be either a closed tank for further use of liquid in the household, or a large drainage pit.
- Open type (surface system). It is also called stormwater. Here, the channels are flush with the upper point of the soil on the site. The main objective of such a system is to collect and quickly drain rain / melt water from the site.
In turn, surface drainage is also classified according to the principle of the device:
- Linear. Designed to deal with large volumes of moisture. Such a system is mounted from sequentially interconnected trays (gutters) and protective upper gratings.
- Point. Here, the main role in collecting and discharging water is played by storm water tanks equipped with a special protective grill. Water first accumulates in them, and then goes through pipes to the final collection / discharge point.
It is advisable to install sand traps in the storm water inlets in order to avoid blockage of the drainage system.
Criteria for choosing a drainage for giving
Before arranging a drainage system from a house / cottage, it is important to determine its type. The following criteria influence your choice:
- amount of water on the site - soil type and groundwater volume;
- material from which drainage elements are made.
For a high groundwater level and a wetland with clay / loamy soil, a closed drainage system will be the best solution. Water will flow down the sleeves toward the receiver. Also, a closed system is ideal for sites located in the low point of the village. One way or another, all the ground water flows here, which must be qualitatively removed.
An open drainage system is suitable for removing rainwater from a building or at a low groundwater level in the country.
As for the materials of the elements of open drainage communication, the basic principle works - the higher the load on the system, the stronger they should be. For private use at low loads, polymer trays and grids can be used. For medium and intense loads, it is desirable to give preference to concrete or cast-iron elements.
For a closed system, plastic perforated pipes with a cross section of 63 or 110 mm are purchased (depending on the volume of underground water). To protect the communication from silting, it is better to take pipes directly in the filter from geotextile or coconut fiber.
Design and preparatory work
Before starting work, it is important to prepare a system design. Having a drawing on hand, it will be easier later to navigate in communication during repair / maintenance work. The project includes the following items:
- The location of the water receiver. She is assigned the lowest side of the site.
- The location of the storm water inlets and / or the length of the storm trays / underground pipes.
- Be sure to put on the drawing gutters along the entrance gate and around the perimeter of the pool (if any).
- Location points of revision, rotary and overflow wells (for a closed system).
If it is planned to insert a storm sewer into the city highway, it is necessary to obtain the appropriate permission from the regulatory authorities.
Independent installation of a drainage system in the country
It is not difficult to make a drainage system in the country with your own hands. The main thing is to stock up on the right material and drawings.
Surface linear drainage
For an open linear drainage system, the work is performed in the following sequence:
- According to the project, trenches are prepared. Their depth should be equal to the height of the trays plus 10 cm per sand cushion. The widths of the channels also make them somewhat larger - plus 15-20 cm to the cross section of the gutter on each side.
- The bottom of the trench is covered with a layer of sand and carefully rammed. At this stage, it is desirable to observe a slope of 5-8 mm per meter of the length of the collector.
- Gutters are laid, sequentially connecting them together. All joints are coated with sealant.
- The stacked trays are covered with fine gravel on both sides.
- The finished system is covered with protective grilles.
If cast iron or concrete gutters are laid in the ground, in addition to the sand cushion, a layer of concrete mortar 10 cm thick is poured. This should be taken into account when digging trenches. Instead of crushed stone sprinkling, a concrete mixture is also used.
Deep drainage
Closed-type drainage system requires more effort from the master.
- They find out the depth of groundwater and prepare trenches 20 cm deeper than this level. To avoid working in water, it is best to do this in the autumn months (October-November).
- During the digging of the channels, a slope of 6-8 mm per each linear meter of the system must be observed.
- The bottom of the prepared trenches is closed with a sand pad of 10-15 cm and well tamped.
- Install revision, swivel and overflow wells. With their help in the future it will be possible to track the work of communication.
- If pipes without a geotextile filter, first lay the geotextile so that its edges remain free by 30 cm on each side.
- A fine fraction crushed stone is laid on the textile. Crushed stone can be slightly tamped, but with caution. In order not to damage the filter textile, since its thickness is only 0.7 mm.
- Drain pipes are mounted on the rubble, interconnected by special couplings.
- The top and sides of the pipes are covered with gravel and wrapped with a geo-cloth.
- The system is closed with soil, but not rammed. Later, the earth will settle itself under the influence of underground moisture and rainfall.
If pipes with a geotextile filter are used in the installation of the system, they can be laid immediately on a cushion of sand and gravel. From above, such drains are sprinkled with gravel and covered with soil.
In order for the deep drainage system to work properly, once every 4-6 years it is necessary to flush or clean it. In the first case, special installations for supplying water under high pressure are used. Cleaning is carried out using a pneumatic tool with a cleaning nozzle.
Timely drainage at the cottage or in a country house prevents subsidence, destruction of the stone foundation and the negative impact of the fungus on the building.
