Water Drainage

Because Houston so very flat, sump pumps or sump systems must often be used to pump water out of areas that are lower than the areas that the water is being drained into. To make water drainage like this work, we must build a sump as a basin, usually made from brick or concrete. Structures like sump basins are very vulnerable to being clogged by debris, so they have to be frequently maintained to ensure proper water drainage. This involves inspecting and cleaning these catch basins, cleaning downspouts, and checking and replacing power connections when necessary.

Because water drainage systems are typically unattractive, they have to be hidden from public view. It is therefore mandatory that you hire a landscape professional to build your drainage system in order to make sure it will protect your yard from Houston climate extremes without diminishing the presentation power of the landscape design.

Drainage Aspects:
Before we install your water drainage system, we have to go over the many preliminaries that are involved in planning and installing it. This is no simple matter, and nothing you ever want to try on your own. It involves working with municipalities and subcontractors—neither of whom is very skilled at directly communicating in a clear manner with homeowners.

Considerations during Planning and Installation: Water Drainage Plans
The total landscape water drainage on your property is called a watershed. It includes all the slopes, the speed of water runoff, and the porosity of the soil. It also includes dividing line between each drainage surface area such as roof, deck and lawn areas.

Your landscape architect will see to it that you receive a property watershed analysis by a drainage expert that will identify these different areas and recommend the appropriate fixtures and pipe size for the landscape drainage system.

Permitting
Many municipalities require the submittal of a drainage plan with regulations concerning minimum pipe size. Other jurisdictions also require an engineered landscape water drainage plan with submitted runoff equations. Exterior Worlds will handle both services for you when so required.

Tree preservation
When we install a water drainage system, we will hand-dig trenches around trees in order to minimize any damage to them. We also tunnel underneath them with either compressed air or water in order to temporarily expose tree roots without tearing them.

City utilities
We make it top priority to locate city utility lines prior to installing water drainage systems. We know how expensive it can be to repair fiber optic lines, gas lines and other utilities. We find them first and make certain they do not get cut during drain installation.

Types of Landscape Drains:
Once permits and plans are taken care of, subcontractors are brought in to handle the physical aspects of water drainage installation. There are many different drain styles we can install on your property.

Gutter downspout tie-ins
Downspout tie-ins carry water gutters to the water drainage system. They are made from plastic, metal or brass and often have a side cleanout with a see-through grate that can be easily inspected for clogs.

Catch basins, or yard drains
Catch tie into a PVC main drain line instead and carry water out through the landscape drainage system. They are can be placed beneath downspouts when it is undesirable or not possible to tie into the gutter.

Channel drains
Channel drains are very narrow and are normally used between main structures and paving or at the edge of patios and decks.

French drains
French drains are small ditches filled with undersized rocks or gravel. They take water away from saturated soil.

Deck drains
Deck drains are built in patios, decks and walkways so that water drainage either slopes toward the drain or into the landscape bed. They are often built with special, decorative drain covers made of metal, brass or stone. Deck drains are smaller in size than catch basins and are only intended to drain patio surface areas.