Owners of suburban areas with clay soil or located in lowlands often face such a problem as flooding by rain or melt water. In order to protect the plantings and foundations of the house and all kinds of farm buildings, drainage systems are arranged on such plots. The simplest and cheapest type of such networks are drainage ditches.
Definition
The principle of operation of any drainage ditch is extremely simple. The water accumulated as a result of melting snow or continuous downpours flows into such a trench, laid with a slope, and is discharged outside the site. There are two main types of such ditches:
The first type of trenches is laid from the overlying territory. Ditches are arranged around the perimeter of the site, along the fences.
Benefits of using
By laying a drainage ditch on the site, you can get rid, for example, of problems such as:
the formation of puddles and dirt;
death of garden and garden plants due to the extinction of the roots;
rotting of various kinds of wooden structures, for example, the legs of benches and tables;
destruction of the foundation of the house and outbuildings;
deterioration of the health of the owners of the site due to high humidity.
Actually, the process of creating a drainage ditch is nothing complicated. It is not required to hire workers and rent special equipment for laying such a drainage system. The construction of ditches for the owners of suburban areas is literally a penny.
disadvantages
The main disadvantage of drainage networks of this variety is considered not too high efficiency compared, for example, with a deep drainage system. Ditches are usually equipped only in those areas that are not flooded during heavy rains or in spring.
Also, a certain disadvantage of drainage systems of this type is that they are able to spoil the appearance of the allotment. In most cases, the owners of suburban areas have to mask such ditches, for example, by planting ornamental plants.
SNiP requirements for drainage ditches
Such networks, in spite of their constructive simplicity, should be equipped on sites, including with their own hands, of course, in compliance with all the required technologies. The requirements for drainage systems of this type are as follows:
at a private facility, the slope of the ditch should be approximately 2 cm per 1 m 2 , at an industrial facility - 3-5 cm;
the width of the ditch should be about 50 cm, the depth should be at least 70 cm;
slopes equip at an angle of 30 degrees.
Norms of SNiP during the design of the ditch must be observed in terms of the actual drainage. It is not allowed to lay such drains:
Also, according to the regulations, it is forbidden to lay drainage ditches in those places where groundwater lies closer than 2 m to the surface of the earth. In this case, there is a likelihood of contamination by the drains of the drinking vein. Sometimes in such areas drainage ditches are nevertheless laid. However, in this case, it is mandatory to rely on their bottom to mount special plastic receiving trays.
How to make a drainage ditch: choosing a place to lay
First of all, the owner of a suburban area, who decided to make this type of drainage, of course, should decide on the place of its arrangement. To hire engineers for this and perform any complex actions is not required. In order to determine the optimal location for laying the ditch, you just have to wait for the first heavy rain.
Observing the streams flowing down the site, the location of the drainage can be determined with high accuracy. In order not to forget how the water moves along the allotment, you can simply set landmark sticks in the place where the streams form.
Receiver
It is impossible to divert water to lakes and fish ponds, ordinary ravines, and to wetlands, as we have found. If it is impossible to remove water just outside the allotment, in addition to the ditch itself, a receiving well will have to be equipped on its territory. The design of the containers of this type are extremely simple, and if necessary it will be possible to mount them also with your own hands.
The advantage of arranging receivers, among other things, will most likely be the possibility of water accumulation. It will subsequently be expedient to use it for irrigation of garden and garden crops. If desired, the wastewater receiver can even be designed as a decorative pond. In this case, it will also become a decoration of the site.
What tools will be required
For independent laying of the ditch, it will be necessary to prepare, of course, first of all, a bayonet shovel. Also, to perform work in this case, you will need a garden car. To fill the earth with it, you need a shovel. As already mentioned, the construction level will also be needed for the construction of the ditch.
In addition, the owner of the suburban area before laying the drainage trench will have to prepare:
- pegs landmarks;
- cord;
- roulette.
How to ditch
After a place for a drainage system of this type is selected, you can proceed with actually arranging it. Previously, using the pegs on the site mark the line of the ditch. Then, between the pegs, they pull the cord and begin to actually carry out excavation work.
Such drainage trenches are usually dug up, of course, using a well-sharpened bayonet shovel. The land is dumped along the edges of the ditch. As it accumulates, it is collected with a shovel and taken out in a wheelbarrow so that it does not fall to the bottom of the trench. Digging a ditch, they constantly monitor the level of the slope of its bottom using the building level.
The upper fertile soil layer removed during the digging process, of course, is not necessary to be taken out of the site. It can be mixed, for example, with manure or compost and used in the garden. At the end of digging, the bottom of the ditch should be laid with crushed stone and this material should be compacted. Pour crushed stone into the trench should be a sufficiently thick layer. Subsequently, this material will trap all kinds of debris in the ditch.
Receiver Installation
Wells of this type can be plastic or concrete. Equip them, of course, at the lowest point of the paved ditch. A pit is dug up under the well. Next, an acquired finished plastic structure or concrete rings is installed in the pit. The diameter of the pit should be slightly larger than the dimensions of the tank mounted in it. Between the walls of the pit and the actual well itself, subsequently you need to fill up the sand.
Rings in the pit can be lowered without the use of special equipment. In this case:
As the earth is removed, the ring under its own weight will fall down. Too voluminous and deep the receiver, of course, is optional. The main thing is to ensure that the well has enough volume to receive all the water flowing from the site.
You can also just pour crushed stone at the bottom of the pit with a thick layer and concrete its walls. Arrangements for such a receiver will cost the least. Indeed, in this case, the owners of the site will not have to pay for the finished plastic container or rings.
To equip such a well is in the sun. Indeed, for the irrigation of most garden crops it is supposed to use only warm water.
How to strengthen the walls of the ditch
Of course, on the site for the removal of storm or melt water, you can also lay just an earthen trench. However, such a ditch will fulfill its task, most likely, only for a couple - three of the coming years. Subsequently, its walls will necessarily crumble and it will have to be cleaned.
Restoring the drainage ditch is almost as labor-intensive as arranging it. Therefore, many summer residents prefer to further strengthen such trenches. This can be done, for example, using ordinary stones collected in the vicinity. It is supposed to install such material in this case by the method of dry masonry with dressing. Stones in this case are best used large enough. Small ones can subsequently crumble to the bottom of the trench.
Also, the drainage ditch can be strengthened using a special plastic geogrid. Such a device will not be difficult to buy, for example, in a hardware store or order online.
Another good way to strengthen drainage ditches in areas is to sod. In this case, pieces of the turf cut somewhere on the site of the turf are laid on the walls of the trench, mounted on thin wooden pegs.
How to disguise
So that the ditch does not spoil the appearance of the site, it can be stylized, for example, under a natural stream. In this case, rounded river pebbles of different sizes should be laid out along the edge of the walls of the trench reinforced with stones. Also, at the edges of the ditch, various kinds of marsh and moisture-loving plants — reeds, hops, arizemas, wingflies, etc., should be planted in places.
The receiver in such a system, of course, will be best decorated in the style of a pond. Around the well, it will be necessary to lay the same pebbles and plant marsh plants.
If the ditch passes along the edge of the site, it can also be masked by planting small ornamental shrubs. This can be, for example, cinquefoil, cistus, cassiopeia, etc. The advantage of this masking method is, among other things, that the roots of the bushes will additionally strengthen the walls of the ditch. However, when using ornamental plants in spring or autumn, owners of a suburban area will have to perform such a procedure as cleaning the drainage ditch from fallen leaves. Otherwise, the efficiency of the drainage system may decrease significantly after a few years.