Hubbell, the makers of the Polycast trench drain product line, has been busy at improving its product lines.  The manufacturer recently introduced four new ornamental cast iron grating products which fit their Polycast 500 deck drains and Polycast 600 pre-sloped trench drains.  In addition to these, they have also begun offering a heavy duty ADA compliant ductile iron grate that can be used with their 700 Series product line to achieve a class F load rating.  These new grates are a welcomed addition to their current full selection of standard commercial grating options.

The main difference between the Polycast 600 and Polycast 700 series products is a frame.  Both systems utilize the same polymer concrete pre-sloped channels, the same end caps and installation hardware.  However, when a 700 frame (cast iron or HDPE) is used with a 600 series channel, the system is instantly transformed into a 700 series channel which is capable of much higher load ratings when using a cast iron grate.  For instance, a standard Polycast 600 channel with a ductile iron grate (DG0641D) is capable of class D loading, which should be able to withstand an eighteen-wheeled tractor with trailer.  When that same channel/grate combination utilizes the DG0700aa cast iron frame, the system is able to withstand the 747 jumbo jet at your local international airport, which requires a class F loading.  If you use the high density polyethylene frame (DG0700PE) in this scenario, the load class changes to class E, which is appropriate for fork truck traffic.

A recent addition to Polycast’s grating options is the DG0675HD ductile iron grate.  This product, shown above, is ADA compliant and heavy duty enough to be used in heavy load applications.  Though it is a slotted grate, it doesn’t look as industrial as standard slotted grates.  And, while not technically heel-proof, the narrow openings of this grate make it very “heel-friendly”.  The longitudinal slots help define this grate as ADA or wheelchair compliant, I feel that this grates slots give it a sleeker look which make it a more attractive option for residential drainage applications.  When used with one of the 700 series frames, the system gains both strength and aesthetics which make it an ideal selection for commercial and streetscape applications.

For applications which require a higher degree of aesthetics, ADA compliancy and higher load ratings, Polycast has their new decorative cast iron product line.  They have joined the ranks of manufacturers such as, NDS, Iron Age Designs, Zurn and Polydrain (ABT) that have decorative cast iron grating offerings.  Finally!!!  In the world of pre-sloped, commercial grate trench drain products, Iron Age is the leader in ornamental trench grating (who, by the way, make most of ABT’s decorative grates).  Zurn has a small, and somewhat boring collection of decorative grates that they sell at a premium.  NDS developed a handful of economically priced products which have not really been promoted as well as I feel they should be.  Now, “better late than never”, Polycast has developed four grates which are appealing to the eye and handsomely priced.  Let’s take a look-see.

The photo above shows the Abbott (DG0693) and the Spiral (DG0694).  The Abbott is geometrically floral and harkens to an earlier time when mosaics and repeating geometric patterns dominated architecture.  It is a solid bodied grate that will stand the tests of time.  The Spiral pattern is a more eloquent pattern that is reminiscent of ancient Greece.  The thin top webbing is supported underneath with a structural mesh.

Above are two more Polycast decorative grating options:  Patriot and Cobblestone.  The Patriot (DG0692) is my favorite of all the Polycast patterns.  It displays the “stars and stripes” theme which is a common revolutionary war era design.  I expect to see this used in the historic districts of Boston and Philadelphia.  Likewise, the Cobblestone design (DG0695) is an old style pattern suitable for a stone driveway or fieldstone house.  Both grates are rugged and offer an added component of grace to the streetscape or estate where they are used.

There is another important point to bring up about these grates.  They fit exclusively in the Polycast 600 and 700 series trench drains.  This is important because I feel that the Polycast system is the best polymer concrete, pre-sloped channel drain on the market.  There are plenty of other commercial grade drain products in the same class.  But, in my humble opinion, the patented installation hardware and longer channel lengths of Polycast make it the easiest to install while offering the best value for the money.

For cut sheets and literature on the grating product discussed here, download the available drawings embedded throughout the article.  If you’d like a quote on a Polycast trench drain system, contact Trench Drain Systems (TDS) at 866-570-2333 or visit them on the web at www.trenchdrain.biz.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Kansas City again and review the use of trench drain at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Earlier in the year, I visited Kaufman Stadium, the sister stadium and home of the Kansas City Royals.  At that time, we discussed slot drains and radius drains used to help evacuate surface water.  At Arrowhead Stadium, some of these same systems were used.  However, I saw greater variety of products and applications.  In addition, I was able to see some problems encountered with existing products.

To get a good idea of the breadth of products used at the stadium, I took an opportunity to get an “inside look” and go to a football game.  The Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.  The Chiefs were using a substitute QB and had some offensive issues.  The Steelers had offensive issues of their own, just coming off a bye week and being a little rusty.  Both defenses played well leading to a low scoring game with a high turn-over.  In the end, Steelers outlasted the Chiefs in the 13-9 routing of the home team.

Arrowhead Stadium has recently gone through a remodeling, adding a new press area, a founder’s plaza, and a hall of fame.   I was impressed with the changes I saw, having been an employee of the Chiefs organization some 35 years earlier.   Upon entering the stadium, I headed down to the stairs on my way to the field.  At the base of the stairs, I noted Zurn Stainless steel perforated grating used in a Z886 channel.  It was fitting that the drain was at the base of the stairs, which would be a collecting point for the rain and melting snow tracked into the stadium from the barrage of pedestrian traffic.

I also want to point out that due to the high pedestrian traffic at sports venues, drain grating is most always heel-proof, or at least ADA.  That is to say, the open area which makes up the holes of the grate is less than 3/8″ in width.  Also, you will see an effort by the architect to specify a slip resistant surface on the grating.  In the case of the Zurn Grate, the perforations included some raised dimples which made a gripping action for the soles of a wet shoe.   The particular Zurn Grate style is the Z886-PSC.

Making my way to the field, I was able to inspect the field perimeter drain.  This drain runs around the field and about 10 feet from the wall stand.  This particular drain had galvanized steel perforated grating in meter lengths as is common with the European style products such as Polydrain, MEA or ACO drain.  All three of these channel systems are basically identical.  I suspect that this particular product was the PolyDrain system due to the lack of brand identification on the grating.  MEA and ACO drain tend to put identifying marks on their grates.

The evolution of sports broadcasting has had an effect on the trench drain of this stadium and, I suspect, other stadiums.  Originally when this drain was installed, I’m sure the designers envisioned that the loads seen by this grating would be football players, coaches, security personnel and maybe a golf cart of some sort.  Now-a-days, there is constant wheel loads from television camera mobile scaffolding going over the drain grates.  This causes the resultant bellying-out of the typically weak grating.  This is made evident in the photo above.  The groundskeeper of this field would be wise to replace these grates with an ADA cast iron grate or reinforced Perforated grating when they schedule the next maintenance on these drains.

The Founder’s plaza is a grand court at the business entrance and ticket booth at Arrowhead Stadium.  Here, they have a fountain, an ornate hardscape, and memorial paver stone courtyard which requires quite a bit of drainage.   Earlier in the year, I was called by an engineer from a local contracting company, George Shaw Construction, to discuss the replacement of grates that were failing at the Founder’s Plaza.  At the time, the engineer was considering a stone based, reinforced polymer concrete grating called Jonite.  This product proved to be too costly for the Chiefs organization, who decided to live with the broken grates – at least for the time being.

Upon arrival to the Founder’s Plaza, I quickly located the problem trench grating (See below).  I had seen this product earlier in the year in the general admission section of the adjoining baseball stadium, Kaufman Stadium.  When I first viewed this grate, I suspected it was custom because I saw no markings.  But here at Arrowhead Stadium, I was able to pick the grate up and view it in detail.  The grate was an 8″ wide by 24” long galvanized cast iron product made by a boutique foundry out of California named Ironsmith.   The grating pattern, Olympian (9045-8), is meant for pedestrian loads only.

After examination of a broken grate, it was clear to see the root of the failure.  The recess of the trench which held the grate was designed to be one inch deep.  The Ironsmith grate showed a one inch thickness, required to bring the grate flush with the adjacent hardscape.  The grating design incorporated 1/4″ thick corner and edge pads (sometimes called pedestals) which are used to stabilize the grate within the track and prevent rocking.  The actual rail body of the grate was only 3/4 inch thick.  The grate cross bars, attached to the edge rails, are around 3/8” thick.  The pedestals are intended to be ground, if needed, to help facilitate stability.  In this case, however, the pedestals acted as suspension points along the weakest axis of the grate.  At first glance, one would think the strength of the grate would be a function of the multiple 1 inch thick cast iron support member spanning the 8″ dimension.  In fact, the Ironsmith Olympian design is only as strong as the two 3/4″ edge rails that spans 12 inches between any two adjacent pedestals.  This is a weak grate design and can be easily fail under light loads.  No wonder so many of these grates were found broken.

Elsewhere in this same plaza, other types of trench drains were used.  Around the fountain, designers used a trench drain with a slot drain extension rather than a standard grate.  These drain sections were 40 inches in length (one meter), typical of European style products such as MEA and ACO drain.  Both of these manufacturers have a galvanized steel slot extension which is used in place of a grate.  This allows the water to be drained into a 3/8” wide continuous slot that is well hidden from view.   The slots are ADA compliant, as well, but watch out for cigarette butts clogging the slots!!!  They only drain as well as they are cleaned.

One last example of trench drainage is along a sidewalk curb.  This particular product is manufactured by ACO drain as shown by the brand mark.  The grate, Type 494, is plastic and ADA compliant.  It is resting in their K100S channel which is made of polymer concrete and utilizing a galvanized steel edging.  This pre-sloped system is made in the European tradition and is pretty much identical to MEA’s Z1000 channel.

Arrowhead stadium displayed a nice assortment of trench drain products.  At this venue, the exposed grating was heel-proof and ADA compliant due to the high volume of pedestrian traffic.  Product manufacturers included Zurn, ACO, Ironsmith and possibly Polydrain.  I was able to view design flaws of a product made by Ironsmith and see some significant deformation of grating that was under-rated for the application.

If you would like to discuss any of the above products, contact us at Trench Drain Systems (TDS).  We specialize in all aspects of trench drains, channel drains and trench grating products.  Call us toll-free 866-570-2333 to speak to one of our sales specialists.  Or, visit our website www.trenchdrain.biz.

Fiberglass has become a popular grating option for trench drain.  As the price of stainless steel increases, fiberglass is filling the material gap because of its resistance to corrosion, its high strength, and its easy fabrication.  Also, more people are turning to fiberglass as a alternative grating because it has little secondary scrap value and is less likely than is cast iron to be stolen for recycling.

In general, there are two methods used to form fiberglass grating:  molded and pultruded.  The molded fiberglass forming method is usually used for making mesh grating and involves a jig that is the size of the desired final product.  Fiberglass thread is arranged and stretched within the mesh shaped wall recesses of the jig before adding a polymer bonding material.  If desired, an abrasive sand-sized material can be applied to the surface at this time to form a non-slip surface.

Molded fiberglass is made in large sheets (4′ x 8′) that are cut to size to make trench grating.  The load capabilities of mesh grating will be a function of the grate’s thickness and the open area that the grate will span.  Generally speaking, molded fiberglass is used for pedestrian and some light traffic applications.  It doesn’t have properties that would allow it to be a drop-in replacement for heavy duty cast iron.  However, a 12″ wide grate of 1.5″ thick molded fiberglass mesh (1.5″ x 1.5″) has the strength to hold a 2830 pound/sq. ft. load.  (See above.)

Fiberglass grating made from the “pultrusion” method (pulling + extrusion) is strong enough to be used in structural applications.  This forming method involves pulling fiberglass reinforcing through an extrusion die, which simultaneously applies binders, heat and protective coatings to the bar or rod-shaped component.  When this method is used for making I-beams, it can rival the functionality of conventional steel.   In the case of grating, pultruded bar grating has potential to replace cast iron grating of the same dimension, though not at the same price.  To manufacture pultruded grating, fiberglass bar stock is cut to size and fabricated into large sheets with a frequent cross-member supports.  The cross members impart a weakness to the grating.  While the grate is strong on its own merits, and the cross members help to concentrate that strength, if a vehicle’s wheels turn too abruptly while on the grating the cross members can be weakened and compromise the grate’s overall strength This can be an issue in some high traffic applications.

For most common trench drain applications, fiberglass grating isn’t required.  Galvanized steel and cast iron grating are the materials of choice when load capabilities are the main grating requirement.  When corrosion resistance becomes the most important design criteria, the materials of choice are stainless steel, high density polyethylene and fiberglass.  Thereafter, the cost and specific details of the application will dictate which material is best to specify.

Polymer concrete trench drain systems are one of the most common pre-fabricated trench drain systems available in the marketplace.  Each manufacturer offers a fiberglass grating option for their channels.  Hubbell, the manufacturer of the Polycast brand, offers two fiberglass grates that fit their Polycast 500 and 600 polymer concrete channels.  Both grates are bar grating made in the “pultrusion” method and have an added slip resistant top coating.  The difference between these two grates is only in the bar spacing.  The standard fiberglass bar grate, DG0644, has bar spacing on 3/4″ centers which allows it to be used in light automotive applications (Class B).  A heavy duty version of this grate, DG0644SP, uses the same fiberglass bar sections at a 3/8″ spacing.  This tighter bar spacing provides added strength which enables this grating to handle heavier loads (Class C).

For all fiberglass grating, a special locking mechanism is required to keep it secure in the trench drain channel.  This locking device, shown below, is made of stainless steel.  It works by strapping the cross-members of the grate to a center toggle attached to the channel.  Attachment to the cross member keeps the locking device below the surface of the grate and out of the way of traffic above.

Trench Drain Systems (TDS) manufactures a molded fiberglass grate to fit the Polycast and Dura Slope trench drain product lines.  This grating, 4 foot long and 3/4″ thick, has a slip resistant top surface.  And, while it is strong enough to handle light automobile traffic, it is meant for residential use only.  Since it is made from a molded fiberglass, it isn’t designed to be locked down to the channel.  Its uses are best in corrosive or frequent clean-out applications that see only foot traffic, such as kennels or small maintenance facilities.

There are many manufacturers of trench drain.  Trench Drain Systems handles most of them.  Custom fiberglass grating is also available through Trench Drain Systems.  For further information on fiberglass grating and how it can be used in your trench drain application, contact Trench Drain Systems at 866-570-2333.  Or, email us at sales@trenchdrain.biz.