Commercial Drainage Systems

In Houston, storm drainage issues are very serious due to our flat topography, dense clay soils, and heavily-forested lots compacted by years of construction which have increased impenetrable surfaces. These factors have caused more streets and properties to become flooded during the hardest rainfalls. Exterior Worlds understands these challenges that commercial real estate owners face. Our experience translates into devising and installing commercial drainage systems that work for you.

Commercial drainage systems benefit your greenscapes, sidewalks, driveways, planters, retaining walls and foundations. They are also a useful tool on a construction site during the building phase.

Drainage systems also have an overall positive impact on your commercial landscape maintenance program. A proper landscape drainage system is essential for the care of your lawn areas as it carries water off of your property quickly, thus encouraging healthy grass. Because of the timely removal of standing water, they allow your maintenance crew, such as we offer, to perform their regular lawn service duties. Since these systems drain water from low-lying areas, they prevent standing water that encourages mosquito proliferation, drowns your green plant material and causes slippery surfaces that are a danger to your clients.

Along with commercial drainage systems, irrigation systems are the workhorses of your landscape design, helping your plants to thrive and keeping your grounds safe and dry. The design and location of these two systems should be incorporated with the rest of the landscape design and made to work in concert with each other. Landscape designers or landscape architects can develop a big-picture plan so that the hardware of both systems is invisible as much as possible.

Some local restrictions may govern minimum pipe sizes, flow rates, engineered drainage plans, calculations, temporary drainage systems and as/built plans to address the region’s flooding problems. If you hire a drainage contractor who is unfamiliar with these demands, you may find yourself stuck in a murky swamp that can cost thousands to remedy.

When installing commercial drainage systems, we believe it is important to consider tree preservation. Pressurized water or compressed air can be used to dig deep trenches and expose roots, which minimizes damage. Another method is to dig trenches by hand around trees to limit damage to the root systems.

Typical drainage systems for commercial properties may use the following elements:

• Gutter downspout tie-ins. Downspout tie-ins take water from the gutters to the landscape drainage system. Made of plastic, metal or brass.
• Catch basins, or yard drains. Catch basins are situated beneath downspouts when it is undesirable or not possible to tie into the gutter.
• French drainage. Designed to take water away from saturated soil, French drains are small ditches filled with undersized rocks or gravel.
• Channel drains. These strip drains are long and narrow. Used at the edge of sidewalks and parking lots or between structures and pavement.

Exterior Worlds’ goal is to help you achieve your investment objectives by preserving your asset for long-term appreciation. We are large enough to satisfy the most demanding commercial landscaping needs, yet small enough to deliver customized service for each client.

Since 1987, Exterior Worlds has provided high-end commercial and residential landscape design and services for the greater Houston area. Call 713.827.2255 to discuss drainage systems for your property.