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.

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.

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.

It had been 10 years since I had been to a professional baseball game and even longer since I had been to a game in my hometown of Kansas City, Missouri.  Back in the mid-1970′s, I worked as an usher at Royal Stadium – as it was called then –  with a bunch of my high school friends.  Those were the days of George Brett, John Mayberry, Freddie Patek, Willie Wilson and Amos Otis, to name a few.  It was a great place to spend the warm summer evenings and make a little extra money.  I thought it was the best job in the world.  Go figure, they actually paid me to go to baseball games and work on the club level.  Now back after 30 years, I can see how the place had changed.  The stadium, now called Kauffman Stadium, had recently undergone a well deserved facelift.  A new museum, new seating, new scoreboard and new restaurants are all part of the new landscape.  I was impressed.

I was in Kansas City on business, but it would have to wait.  The Oakland A’s, an old rival of the Kansas City Royals, were in town for a match-up.  I remember seeing the Kansas City A’s play in Municipal stadium back in the 1960′s when owner, Charlie Finley, was in his glory.  The A’s – Kansas City rivalry was initiated the moment Charlie “O” sent the A’s packing for their new home in California.   Of course, this was pre “Moneyball” days for the A’s, but still very much a circus with Finley as the ringleader.  I was looking forward to seeing these two teams slug it out and hoped to walk away with a small portion of revenge.

The warm day was perfect for baseball.  The sun was shining and people were smiling.  We went with some family members and sat a few rows behind the home team dugout.  It just happened to be “Cap Day,” so we were all rewarded with a baseball cap upon entering the stadium.   The Royals Franchise had recently acquired Jeff Francouer and brought in a rookie outfielder, Eric Hosmer.  Both Francouer and Hosmer had hits in the game.  For Hosmer, it was his first major league hit.  The game was exciting.  The score was 3 to 3 in the eighth inning.  The Royals loaded the bases in the ninth inning and won on a sacrifice fly.

Then the game was over.  We hadn’t noticed that it was evening already.  People lingered in the stadium, chatting in a friendly, mid-western kind of way. We watched the light dance in the scoreboard fountains, a delightful end to a wonderful day.  And, though I was unfamiliar with the current team players, it didn’t matter.  This was baseball as it is meant to be.

All of this does lead up to the topic of trench drain.  The only thing that could make this evening more complete, more perfect, was to find a couple of interesting trench drain examples to explore.  The first example was seen near the general admission section of the park, near the Hall of Fame Building.  This particular area is not protected from rain by any sort of roof or canopy, so it gets a fair bit of direct rain water.  There I found a heel-proof cast iron grate that had been arranged to form part of a radius drain.  (See below)  The grate was 8 inches wide and 24 inches long. It was in a painted steel frame (now rusting) and showed no visible locking devices.  It did not display a manufacturer’s marking and, to make things more interesting, was galvanized.   I stood looking at the grate for a while trying to determine the source.  My conclusion…..it had to be a custom product from a local foundry.

Heel-proof cast iron grates are becoming more popular in applications with a high concentration of “professional” pedestrian traffic and light vehicle traffic.  In the trench drain world, “professional pedestrian traffic” refers to situations where women wearing high heeled shoes with small diameters may be walking.  Usually, professional office workers, (lawyers, product managers, engineers, physicians) fit this description.  This type of grate became vogue in an effort to minimize lawsuits associated with tripping hazards.  (Side note:  I’m not suggesting that there isn’t a large amount of professional women strolling the general admission section of a Royals game on a Saturday night.)

The fact that the grate was used in a radius trench drain is not surprising.  The “illusion” can be used on large sweeping radiuses while using a standard grate.  You only need to be able to bend the angle iron railing to the curvature required and install the straight grates.  If your desired radius is 75 feet or greater, you should have no problem making this work since the spacing between the grates will mask the lack of radii.  On radiuses of 60 feet or less, I generally recommend using a grate that has been manufactured to display the proper curvature and non-parallel ends.  From my experience, few radius grates exist that aren’t decorative and are designed for a specific radius.  For more information on this topic visit www.ironagegrate.com.

I learned a little bit more about these grates a month after I visited the stadium.  There was a situation in the stadium next door, Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs football team, where they wanted to replace some grating that was breaking.  An engineer from a local construction company called me to discuss a situation in which the fork trucks delivering supplies to stadium concession stands where driving over 8 inch wide galvanized cast iron grates,  causing them to pop up from the trench frame and eventually break.  The company was hoping to replace all the grates with a custom reinforced stone grating manufactured by Jonite.  In our discussions, it was mentioned that the problem grates were 1 inch thick, were made specifically without a manufacturer’s identification and were later galvanized. The grate was purchased by the plumbing contractor on the job, and I assume it was from a mid-west foundry.  My guess:  we are talking about the same grate.

The second example of trench drain was found in the street that ran in front of the two stadiums. This drain, shown in the photo to the right, actually appears to be a slot drain.  A slot drain can be thought of as an underground drainage pipe that has a slot shaped extension rising from the pipe to be flush with the ground surface above.  The slot forming material can be made from a number of materials and the slot can be a multitude of widths.  The overriding characteristic in all slot drains is the narrow geometry of the slot width in comparison to the underlying conduit. Now I’m not 100 % sure of my guess on this identification. If anyone reading this article can help identify this product, I’d be grateful.

No matter.  I’m familiar with a couple of slot drain products.  The first that comes to mind is the Zurn Z888 family of products.  They have slot drains ranging from 4″ diameter pipe with a 3/4″ slot extension to 36″ diameter conduits with 3″ wide slot extensions.  These products are made of HDPE and come in standard 4 foot lengths.  The slot riser in each Z888 product is formed into the conduit body.  Material options for the riser neck are available in the event you need a ductile iron or stainless steel slot in the finished floor.

A number of the polymer concrete trench drain manufacturers make 3/4″ galvanized steel slot extensions that can be placed on their trench drain channels to simulate the slot drain opening.  These products have the added advantage of being part of a pre-sloped drainage system.  A slot drain, on the other hand, is a non-sloped product by its very nature.  However, if the drainage surface has a natural grade, the underlying pipe will also be sloped.

A number of slot drain making components that allow you to convert standard drainage pipe to a slot drain are on the market.  I’ve seen a polymer concrete “slot riser” made by ABT that is inserted into a longitudinal cut along the length of a 6″ diameter schedule 40 pipe.  Another manufacturer uses the same “slot riser” technique with larger diameter pipe.  If I recall correctly, this product is made from galvanized steel, as well.

Regarding the slot drain shown here, I felt the use of expanded metal mesh for the grating was significant.  This irremovable mesh was part of the neck.  A trench drain would need a removable grate for occasional cleaning.  An immovable grate suggests that there is a large conduit below that would not require constant maintenance.  The 2 inch wide slot also leads me to believe that a large pipe lies underneath the 6 inch long neck.  And, if you saw the streets at this stadium, it is apparent that this is the sole method of storm drainage in this location.  There has to be a BIG pipe connected to this slot.  I just wish I knew for sure.

Writing this article, as was previous blogs, was thought provoking and educational.  It required that I put my thoughts about these topics in order, that I gathered meaningful and factual information to share, and that I communicated in a way that is easy for all to understand.  In the process, I realized that I was silly in high school for thinking the best job in the world was working for the Royals.  As it turns out, NOW I have the best job in the world.  Where else would I be able to travel the world, meet interesting people, see interesting cultures, study drainage systems and products, and then write about a topic I like?  If you have a topic you want me to discuss in a future blog article, send me your request at michael@trenchdrain.biz.  If you have specific questions regarding trench drain products, installation, or recommendations, don’t hesitate to contact us at by email at sales@trenchdrain.biz or by phone at 610-638-1221.  Thanks for visiting this site!

Lately we have been traveling to the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo where we have access to an uncle’s beach house. The drive is eight hours of mountainous terrain that takes you through the heart of their coffee growing region. Along the way, we occasionally stop at roadside luncheonettes for coffee and a piece of cheese bread. In 2008, we made a stop at one such location that just happened to be installing a trench drain. This drain ran along their sidewalk and out into the parking lot where it met with the gasoline pumps. At this time, I took photographs of the construction and filed them away, not really thinking I would be seeing them again.

Almost exactly one year later, I found myself at the same luncheonette to refuel our vehicle and have coffee. I realized when my wife and I arrived that we had been to this location before. This time, the trench construction was completed. I took more photographs to give my readers a before and after view of a trench drain installation that is very different than our approach in the United States.

In Brazil, they have a very different set of circumstances governing their construction industry. First of all, their high unemployment gives rise to low labor costs. Because of low labor costs, there is a tendency to use “man power” rather than “machine power”. For instance, in projects where I would use a backhoe to excavate a small section of ground, they would have a tendency to dig with hand tools. Also, as labor is cheap, there is less of a reliance of pre-manufactured or pre-formed construction materials. Sidewalks and parking lots are often made with tile or paving stone rather than concrete. If concrete is used in small quantities, the cement, sand and gravel is brought to the site and the concrete is batched and mixed by hand. Only on large construction projects is a ready-mixed concrete product brought to the site. 

In the case of a trench drain installation, this has big implications. There is no pre-cast concrete trench drain that is made off-site and dropped into place. There is no polymer concrete pre-sloped channel with locking cast iron grates to set in place with concrete. These products don’t even exist. Ready-mix concrete is cost prohibitive or difficult to justify on these projects. And, trench drain bar grating is often made by a metal fabrication company or made on site by a craftsman using local materials, such as rebar. However, cast iron and aluminum castings are available in specialty stores.

In this particular installation, the trench was to be used for drainage and for running a utility line. Paving stones were removed from the sidewalk and areas in the parking lot. The ground was hand dug to a 2 foot depth. Luckily in this part of Brazil the weathering of the soil is deep; the earth is predominantly sandy clay which can be hand dug easily when dry.

Three courses of 100mm wide x 200mm tall concrete block were laid for the walls of the trench. A frame for the grate was mortared to the top of the block. Portions of the block wall were cut away to accommodate placement of the frame anchors. The anchors were then mortared into place. To ensure a proper spacing between the two frame sections, a template was built which emulated the grate. This template was placed between the frames while it was being installed on top of the block wall. To make certain that the grate wasn’t going to fit too tightly, a metal spacer bar was used with the template to guarantee a little extra room.

Throughout the trench, a metal support that ran between the trench walls and about 10 inches off the trench floor was installed every 3 meters. This support was used to carry the utility pipes that ran from the luncheonette to the gasoline pumps. After the frame installation, the trench walls were layered with ½” of waterproof mortar. The floor of the trench was then lined with a few inches of concrete. Bar grating, made off-site, was put in place. Soil was back-filled behind the trench walls and tamped into place. Paving stone was replaced in the sidewalk areas. Alongside the trench in the parking area, a ½ meter concrete border was installed to give additional support to the trench.

The process used in Brazil for this trench installation was much more labor intensive than we would use in the United States. We probably would have had a backhoe dig the trench. Gravel would have been poured in the trench and compacted into place. A former system, such as EconoDrain, would have been installed to form the trench shape, and a ready-mix concrete truck would have been brought in to supply the concrete. The Brazilian project probably took 1 - 2 months to perform. In the US, this same project would have been a week, at most.

Send your comments or questions about this article to Michael@trenchdrain.biz.

A driveway that slopes into a garage can direct storm water toward the house. Trench drain can be used to remedy this drainage problem by helping to redirect water away from the garage or living space. However, a big contributor to the water problem can also be downspout water. Driveways often have downspouts that drain roof water directly onto the pavement. If the driveway doesn’t slope away from the house or allow for adequate drainage, water pooling or flooding can occur. This article is about how simple catch basins can help to re-route downspout water.

Nobody likes a wet basement. The first line of defense in keeping your basement dry is to keep water away from your foundation. The most common source of water will be storm water which falls on your roofs and hardscapes. Take that water and re-direct it away from your foundation by using drainage pipe and catch basins. This is going to require that you first develop a drainage plan. For this plan, you need to determine which point sources of water you have and where you want to re-route them using drainage pipe. To minimize digging, use a single “artery” through which all the other downspouts and yard basins connect. In some cases, you may find it more efficient to use two different drainage sites (i.e. front yard site and back yard site). Devise a plan that minimizes digging and disturbing your shrubs and landscape.

Taking your downspout directly into a drainage pipe is a common and economical method. This involves first digging a trench and laying drainage pipe to a lower drainage point. In some communities, the drainage pipe can run underground to the street where it exits from a hole drilled in the curb. Then hook your downspout directly into the pipe for immediate redirection of your roof water.

If you want to include surface water in your drainage plan, consider using a catch basin under your downspout. If situated properly, the catch basin can collect water that pools in your yard as well as water from your downspout. Catch basins can also be made to be an attractive addition to your garden down spout. In the examples shown below, the catch basins (9” x 9”) were set in concrete for stability. These basins were part of a larger “gray water” plan which directed all the downspout water to a 1300 gallon reservoir which could later be used for an irrigation system. The overflow from the holding tank travels through perforated pipe prior to draining into a ravine.

Basins have a variety of sizes and outlet configurations which should be a consideration when designing your system. Basin selection will be a function of the anticipated water volume, piping depth and water source layout. Catch basin grating selection is broad. You will have color, style, application and material options that will depend on the cost and aesthetics desired on the project. Plastic grating is, by far, the least expensive option and is available in a number of colors. Smaller basins can also be fit with brass or chrome grates, which are both attractive and costly. Cast iron grates are surprisingly affordable and available in a variety of styles for 12” x 12” basins and some small round drains. For help in material selection, call Trench Drain Systems at 610-882-3630.

The most common grate for the Mini Channel is the standard 3 foot long gray plastic grate (shown on the right). NDS also offers a plastic grate in 5 other colors (white, green, black, red, and sand). For those with a more discriminating taste, NDS offers two simple brass options (shown on the left). The one foot long brass grates are slotted and come in a satin or polished finish. Besides being simple, shiny, and elegant, they contain chamfered holes for optional screw placement which help to keep them fastened to the channel.

Decorative, cast iron products have recently become available for Mini Channel customers.  The cast iron grating product lines offer a beautiful side to what may otherwise be only functional. Currently, three styles of cast iron grates work with NDS’ Mini Channel: the Interlaken, Carbochon and the Minione. These products are not ordinary slotted grates. The Interlaken is an intricate geometrical pattern while the Minione has a flowing design.  Meanwhile, the Carbochon has a bold presence that only accentuates its open area.

 There are a few basic differences between the three Mini Channel grates. Style aside, the grate’s channel fit is the next most noteworthy difference. A comparison of the three grates illustrates this difference.

 The Minione is a thinner grate than the Interlaken. It does not rest in the channel with the same depth that Interlaken and Carbochon do. One gets the feeling that the Minione sits on top of the drain, rather than in it.

This could mean that the Minione grate is more susceptible to become dislodged than the other. The Minione grate is designed with two dimples that are the locations for optional screw holes (they do not come pre-drilled). If used with screws, the Minnione becomes as reliable as any other grate in its class. Another small difference between the grates is the length. The Interlaken (11″ long) is about an inch shorter than the Minione (12″ long), and the Carbochon (14” long) outdoes both grates by inches.

Cast iron is the standard material used to make these decorative grates. Cast brass, bronze and aluminum products can be manufactured for an additional cost. We should note that cast iron grates are uncoated and will form a rust coating. In some cases, the rusted look can be endearing.

If your situation doesn’t support this view, though, consider painting with an epoxy or powder coating.  I had two samples of the Mini Channel grating painted because I was curious to see exactly how the process would affect the grates’ performance and appearance over time.

The results, if I may say, are charming.  The powder coating process smoothed out the natural texture of the cast iron grates, giving them a softer, less metallic look.  You can really feel the difference between the painted and baked on oil finishes; the process encased these grates in paint rather than changing their outer layers.  One particularly interesting fact to note:  the grates shown to the left have been painted neutral colors – black and dark brown, but with a purchase over 60 LF a wide variety of colors can be chosen from.  Wowzer!

Let me just demonstrate the difference between the two available finishes in another way.  Look at the Interlaken grates shown below:  in terms of color, they are very similar.  But, if you look closer you can see the different shine, the thickly coated surface of the grate on the right.  It’s been powder coated.  The grate on the left, though, has a baked on oil finish.   I’ll leave you to decide which one you like better.

Cost is all in a person’s perspective, especially when talking about trench drain products. A simple plastic grate that comes in six basic colors is available for a very low price per foot. NDS’ brass grate, a beautiful, no-hassle solution for those still worried about rust or decor, is the most expensive. The cast iron grates, which add style and variety, come for the more moderate price that falls somewhere in between and have beautiful finish options. They are the true extra mile, the art to efficiency, and are the balance if a cost-efficient and stylish grate is desired.

If you want to evacuate a large amount of surface water in a short period of time, trench drain is the best way to do it. And, where is one of the best places in the world to find an abundance of surface water? The rain forest in northern Brazil.

I went to Brazil’s northern states of Amazon and Para’ to see first hand how trench drain is used to help in surface water drainage. First, I visited Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state which has about 3,000,000 inhabitants. Thereafter, I flew to a small mining community of Porto de Trombetas, in Para’ state. Though only 7000 live here, Trombetas has the largest metallurgical grade bauxite mine in the world and is the first ISO 14000 city in the western hemisphere. Besides being in the heart of the rain forest, they are ground zero for big daily rainfalls and surface water evacuation.

Trenches without Grates

Maybe the best trench for water evacuation is one without a grate. Creeks, streams and rivers don’t have grates, why should trench drain? Of course, in urban areas, we have safety issues that force us to use grates so we can walk and drive over the trench. Grates also help separate large debris from entering the water ways.

However, all grates can constrict flow; either by design or by collecting trash which further constricts flow.

In rural areas, like Trombetas, grate-less trenches seem to be common.  They are used around the yard to collect water from the roofs.

 They are used at the carport and at the driveway entrances. I guess, if you make the trench narrow enough, you minimize the risk of having someone hurt themselves from stepping in the trench.

I suspect, the folks in the rain forest are more concerned over living with water than they are living by lawsuits.   Near the city square in Manaus, I found this 8” wide trench drain that looked as if it once had a cover of some sort.  With the cover gone, it is easier for trash to collect in the trench, thus making water quality more difficult to maintain.

Trenches with Concrete Covers

Concrete is an inexpensive and “low tech” material. Concrete commonly finds itself as a trench covering material in regions of the world where metal products are precious or where labor rates are low. (Has anyone counted missing manhole covers in Detroit, lately?) However, I was impressed how large surface drainage was accomplished without the obvious use of metal grates.

In most cases, the areas that used concrete drainage covers were predominantly for foot or light vehicle traffic (Class A or B). Though the drainage trench may have been covered by a low open surface area concrete cover (sometimes 0% openings), grate sections existed that accepted larger flows.

One exception to this observation was found at the Airport at Manaus. The trench covering was made of individual concrete “plates” which stood on end, packed together as if on a book shelf. The individual concrete sections made up the veins of the grate which supported aircraft traffic over the trench drain. I was sufficiently impressed.

Crude Metal Trench Coverings

If you need a trench covering in a high traffic area where bulky concrete grates will not work, an inexpensive metal covering is the next option. Sometimes, you need to just keep people from stepping in the animal drippings off the butcher’s table or make the entrance to your store a little smoother. A simple flat metal or rebar grate may be all you need.

However, if you need a trench grate that needs to be stronger for high foot or automobile traffic, bar grates are a good option. Just make certain that the bars are thick enough to support the load that is being supported.

Solid metal trench coverings were found in automobile traffic areas.

The best covers seemed to be made with thick plate and with a reinforced edge . However, a poor frame design may cause premature failure leading to the drain covering to dismount.

Engineered Metal Grates

Lastly, I was able to find engineer bar grates…ones that had cross supporting metal bars. These are usually more difficult to manufacture and show a little more sophistication than a simple bar grate. These products were found only in the mining town of Trombetas. Examples of this grate type were found at the swimming pool, at the bauxite processing plant and at the mine’s green house.

In this final photo from this trip you see me (author) at the tree farm that the mine owns. I am standing on an engineered metal grate made of aluminum (this is a metallurgical grade bauxite plant). I am wearing traditional Gringo attire — camo shorts and a flowered shirt.

A wonderful point to make about this photo is the purpose of the tree farm. Prior to the mining of the rain forest, an inventory of the vegetation is made. After mining (and the return of the original top soil), trees are again replanted with the species and in the proportions that were taken from the original forest. This is an integral part of the mining operations at Trombetas and a testimony to Brazil’s respect for the world’s last great wilderness which they hold.

Summary

Trench drain is alive and well in the rain forest. The drain channel bodies are cast-in-place concrete. The trench coverings, if they exist, are made from concrete and bar stock steel. No cast iron grates were seen in this region during my visit. To the best of my knowledge, no preformed or pre-engineered trench drain systems are available.

While checking out the monuments (and getting a little sentimental), I was able to look at some trench drain. Let me show you two that were interesting to me.

Trench Drain at the Lincoln Memorial Steps – These drains must have looked beautiful when they were originally installed at the base of the granite steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial. Now they sport a handsome green oxidation coat, which means the original finish must have been a brilliant bronze or brass. These 4″ wide drains are filled with dirt and sediment, an indication that they probably are not pre-sloped. (Maybe, also, an indication of the maintenance budget.) I’m not certain they are really needed here, anyway.

The monument would probably look nicer if these drains were put into service again. Any volunteers to help clean these out?

Trench Drain at the Native American Museum – If you like Native American culture and artifacts, this museum has something for you. I was impressed with a number of aspects of the building’s architecture. The granite trench drain grates running through the courtyard and water sculpture areas, in particular, caught my eye.

These grates are probably the most expensive pedestrian grates I’ve ever seen. Let’s not even talk about the percent open space for efficient water drainage…… You can see they are ADA approved, but I’m not certain if they are heel proof. Are those holes 3/8″ diameter or smaller ???

No matter, the weekend was beautiful and educational. Maybe you have a unusual trench drain system or grate you want to share. Let me know. Thanks……………….  Michael