How to Find a Quality Drainage System & Improve It

What is a proper drainage system?

If properly installed, drains & drainage systems should keep water away from your roof and foundation, reducing soil erosion and foundation damage. So, what things make up a proper drainage system?

Durability

Drainage systems are exposed to the elements and should therefore be made of weather-resistant materials. It must also be made of a material that has a reasonable life span.

Maintenance

Proper maintenance extends the life of your drainage system. A regular maintenance and repair routine reduces the likelihood of your drainage system developing leaks. Inspections also show you what needs to be changed. Using low-maintenance materials such as copper and installing gutter guards are good ways to reduce the amount of maintenance required.

Sizing

The house drainage system must have adequate headroom to accommodate unexpected downpours without affecting functionality. Gutters must be adequately sized based on the roof slope, normal rainfall in the area, and other variables. It must also have matching downspouts.

Proper Installation

A well-designed drainage system will not function well unless it is installed by a qualified installation. Drainage systems are comprised of numerous components, including gutters, downspouts, and various related accessories, all of which are meant to direct precipitation away from your property. Proper installation procedures can assure consistent performance over the life of the drainage system, therefore selecting an expert drainage system contractor is just as critical as selecting the right materials and accessories. If this isn’t done correctly, things like your sink not working for long can start to happen.

Drainage System Design

One of the most important components of drainage system design is directing water away from your home or business. If the water is not directed away from the property, it can cause irreversible damage. This is why it is critical to ensure that the design is correctly implemented.

Another part of efficient drainage system design is making sure that all drains are at the optimum height to avoid flooding or other surface hazards. Furthermore, drainage system design is critical for the optimal operation of your septic tank. An incorrectly designed drainage system can overload and back up the tank, causing significant problems such as the poisoning of your property’s water supply.

How can a poor drainage system be improved?

Adequate soil drainage is essential for healthy plant growth. Some plants, known as hydrophytes, or water-loving plants, have evolved biologically to flourish in saturated soils. Hydrophytes feature numerous air passages that allow gases to freely circulate throughout the plant. The vast majority of garden and landscape plants do not fall under this category.

Poor soil drainage will result in waterlogged, saturated soils, which will have a negative impact on plant growth. Saturated soils diminish the availability of oxygen to roots and the plant’s ability to absorb water through its roots. Waterlogged soils also reduce plant tolerance to diseases.

Soil Drainage

Soils are made up of a variety of sands, silts, and clays. Sand is the coarsest soil texture, clay is the finest soil texture, and silt is located between sand and clay. Loams are soils with equal proportions of sands, silts, and clays, and plants thrive in them. Very sandy soils can be overly drained, resulting in soil that does not store enough plant-available water. Clayey soils, on the other hand, trap water so firmly that it is difficult for plants to extract it; clayey soils become saturated extremely rapidly because they do not drain properly. Poorly drained soils can also be formed of fine silts or silts and clays.

Improving Drainages

Some landscape and garden plants, such as willows, arborvitae, and the honey locust, do better than others on poorly drained soils. To increase drainage, soil conditioners such as organic matter can be added. The most significant soil amendment is organic matter, which should be integrated as deeply as feasible. Aside from adding organic matter, there are various approaches to alleviate soil drainage issues:

• Subsurface tile drains should be installed. Tile drains are perforated pipe sections buried 12 to 18 inches below the soil surface. Excess soil water is collected and directed away from plant roots by these pipes. Tile drain supplies are available at home improvement stores and on the internet.
• In tree and shrub planting holes, install vertical drains. The drains, which can be dug with a post-hole digger or soil auger, are filled with gravel, allowing water to drain vertically below the root zone while supporting the soil walls.
• Plant in elevated beds of dirt. Soil can be mounded up to a depth of around 9 to 12 inches to keep a portion of the plant roots above the surrounding poorly drained soil. Water will drain away from the raised soil bed as well.

Relining

There also many relining benefits you can learn about here.

Maintenance

The most successful strategy for a healthy system is preventative measures