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!

Many people – including contractors! – aren’t aware of the difference between trench and French drain.  There is a significant difference between the two, and we’ll explore it with some general information below about the types of drains.  But first, and generally speaking, French drains are used to remove ground water while trench drains are used to quickly remove surface water.

The History of French Drain

For starters, there’s nothing Françoise about French drains.  They originated in Massachusetts (USA) during the 1800s by way of farmer Henry French, who later wrote a lengthy book on farm drainage. (French, Henry F. (1859). Farm drainage: the principles, processes, and effects of draining land with stones, wood, plows, and open ditches, and especially with tiles. New York: Orange Judd & Company.)

Originally, the drains were hand-dug trenches which were re-filled with a thick layer of gravel in the base and standard soil extending to the surface.   The gravel base offered a sturdy, yet porous, conduit for water to be collected and drained from the surrounding water-drenched subsoil.  Henry French later began lying stacked, though slightly spaced, roof tiles at the center of the gravel conduit to help facilitate water transportation (an early form of clay piping).  These tiles, after a time, became perforated before evolving to clay pipe.  As perforated piping became more widely used, the size of the gravel used to fill the drain had to be “engineered”.   Coarse gravel was used surrounding the perforated clay tile which gave a high permeability to the drain.  Finer sized gravel was used as a protective layer between the coarse gravel and the soil which helped filter fine dirt particulate from entering and eventually clogging the drainage system.

Modern French drains have evolved from their 19^th century counterparts.  While still hand dug in residential applications, they are more often excavated with machinery.  Though some drains are still strictly gravel-filled trenches, the majority of French drains now use perforated (smooth walled or corrugated) pipe at the core of the gravel bed.  The basic premise is still the same; provide a highly permeable, rugged structure to evacuate water from saturated subsoil.

Making a Conventional French Drain

A French drain is easy to make but a bit time consuming. First you’ll need to dig your trench (for a 3”- 4” diameter drainage pipe, a 9” wide trench works best).  You will need to grade the trench during the dig; the best way to ensure a continuous slope is to measure as you go.  Optimally, the gradient should be 1’ drop per 100 ft – or, a 1% slope.

After the trench is dug, line it with a filter cloth and pour in a layer of coarse gravel before setting the pipe.  Half – to – 1” diameter rocks are typical, but it is best for them to be over 1”.  They should have minimal particulates that would clog the piping.  Some people put a special pipe sock (made from filtering material) over the pipe to keep out the finest of particulates.

To finish the French drain, cover the pipe with gravel, then fold and seal the filter cloth securely and backfill the trench with soil.  Use coarse, sandy soil for better drainage.

New French Drain Products

The market has developed several innovative round French drain products that take away much of the work involved in installation.  The structure of these products include universal components:  a corrugated polyethylene pipe with perforations surrounded by polystyrene aggregate, all contained in fine mesh netting.  The result is simple, a pre-packaged French drain that is much less time consuming than a conventional trench and can be cut off at any length.

NDS offers residential (EZ-Drain) and non-residential (EZflow) French drain systems.  While the design of both products is inherently the same, the EZflow is offered with 3”, 4” and 6” corrugated piping to accommodate varying groundwater saturation levels while the EZ-Drain only offers 4” piping for smaller, residential projects.

The deepest you can bury this type of French drain system is 10 feet, which poses nothing to worry about in most applications as it is more than enough for the system to sustain traffic.  Actually, at 12 in. deep a system will withstand 16 thousand pound loads and single pass construction.  Anything less risks damaging the product if vehicles drive over it, though the minimum depth to install a French drain system is 6 inches.

Another French drain system is Multi-Flow by Varicore.  Though Multi-Flow tries to separate itself from its humble roots, it is undeniably derived from French drain.  It is a subsurface drainage product composed of corrugated piping wrapped in geotextile fabric (reportedly, it will not clog over time like French drains do).  The product does have a few substantial differences, however, that at least make it superior to conventional French drains.

Multi-Flow touts itself as a vertical system, and it is.  The system is only 1.25” wide but can come in 6” (seen below), 12” and 18” tall panels.  The structure is a series of thin corrugated pipes stacked atop one another, creating more surface area than other products and therefore draining water more efficiently.

Multi-Flow can be installed in a 4” wide trench, which requires less excavation and backfill.  The system recommends the use of coarse sand as backfill rather than native soil because the silt and clay particles would eventually clog the geotextile filter.  During installation, fill the trench with clean, coarse sand.

Multi-Flow offers more flexibility than other systems, including couplers, tee connectors that join three or more segments of drain, end caps and side outlets.  The product can bend in a 6” radius (enough for a 90 degree turn) but offers an optional 90 degree corner pipe, too.

Something to keep in mind is that, while Multi-Flow offers many basic PVC connections as part of its system, many of the connections will also be available at the local hardware store and can also be used on NDS’s EZ products.

What About Trench Drains?

The history of trench drains isn’t so clear cut.  We’ve talked about this subject in one of our first blogs, “Consider History.”  There, we made parallels between modern trench drain and such drainage systems as the aqueducts of Rome before its fall and the open sewers of Paris during the Middle Ages.

Over the course of the Roman Empire, there were 11 aqueducts that supplied various cities with drinking water.  Over 200 miles of waterway used gravity to guide water into cisterns for distribution in cities like Rome.  The system bored through mountains and was at times elevated on arched bridges so the aqueducts could follow gravity directly to the city.  The above-ground troughs, which ran for only about 30 miles of the total system, are the most renowned pieces to the aqueducts and a model for modern trench drain.

Early in Paris’ history, drinking water was taken from the river Seine, and the waste water was thrown into the streets.  Because the streets were unpaved, the city transformed into a swamp of foul-smelling mud.  In the 1200s, the streets were cobbled and designed to have an open trench running down the center which would guide sewage back to the river Seine.

Disregarding the fact that the system drained sewage right back into the water supply, the open sewers helped spread the Black Death, which devastated the city.  Thankfully, they were replaced by the famed vaulted sewers in Napoleon’s era, and shortly thereafter, by the sewer system in use today.

Today’s trench drains come in widths up to 2 ft.  and depths up to 4 ft.  They take after their predecessors but are built for construction purposes – not for sewers and drinking water.  Typically, these drains consist of a preformed channel body and grating, which are installed in an excavated trench and then set in concrete.

Today’s trench drains can be cast from concrete, plastic, fiberglass, stainless steel and cast iron (though the last two are not as common).  They use grates both to keep debris out and as a safety precaution, and many systems offer catch basins to collect sediment and small particles so that the drain never clogs.

The Difference

The functional difference between the two is that French drains capture and evacuate ground water while trench drains are specifically designed to collect surface water before it can saturate the ground table.  I suggest that you evaluate your situation, and if you want to catch the water before it can sog up your yard – or if your ground has high amounts of clay, which isn’t that permeable and can contaminate looser soils – you might just want to go with a trench drain.

Visit www.TrenchDrain.biz for more trench drain information.

Two types of Poured-in-Place Trench Drains

First a little background on poured-in-place trench drain systems needs to be covered.  Poured-in-place concrete trench drains come in two flavors:

1)      Frame and Grate Systems (or Traditional Trench Drain systems) – which requires that the contractor build the trench form, usually from wood.

2)      Trench Drain Former System – In addition to a frame and grate, a former system utilizes a disposable, pre-sloped form (or mold) that is used to make the drain channel.

The end result of both systems can be similar.   Both trench drain types are used to build a concrete channel with an embedded metal frame that supports an engineered grating.  There are some differences, however, which are discussed below.

Traditional Frame and Grate System – I think of traditional poured-in-place trench drain systems, or frame and grate systems, as one that is purchased from a foundry.  What you are actually buying is some quantity of cast iron grates and some cast metal rails.  The rails are used for making a frame to cradle the grates.  Traditionally, trench drain grates made by a foundry in the US have been 2 foot in length.  The width of the grates will vary based on the flow requirements of the channel.  However, a historically popular grate width seen in the U.S. has been 12”.  The rails used to hold the grates are often 4 foot in length.

So, for example, if you were going to install a 16 foot long trench drain using this system, you’d first purchase 8 grates and 8 rails from an iron foundry.

Two common foundries that manufacture this product are Neenah Foundry and East Jordan Iron Works.  These companies make large gray iron and ductile iron castings used in roadways and sewers.  Other plumbing fixture foundries, such as Josam, Watts and Zurn, manufacture frame and grate systems which are geared more for interior uses, such as maintenance facilities and warehouses.  Though there are differences in the design of each of these products, there is a great deal of application overlap.  And, in the end, each product requires a channel form to be constructed out of wood.

The act of building a wooden channel form can be a daunting task to the novice.  The wooden form is constructed and suspended in an excavated trench.  The metal rails of the drain are attached in some manner to the wooden form.  Because the rails are designed with an anchoring system, once concrete is poured around the form the rails become imbedded in concrete.  The wooden form which forms the trench is removed once the concrete is dry.  If a sloped trench bottom is wanted, the form can be constructed to produce the effect, or a mortar layer can be applied afterwards to slope the trench bottom.  It all sounds difficult.  But, it can be done in time with a skilled tradesman.

Trench Former System – A trench former system is similar to the traditional frame and grate product in-so-far that you are supplied a frame and grate.  However, with this type of system, you are also given a disposable, pre-sloped form.  The forms are specifically designed to attach to the frame, making the whole “wooden box construction episode” obsolete.  The forms and frames are assembled quickly and suspended in the excavated area by use of rebar.  As the frame and form are pre-engineered to a specific width and depth, less design work needs to be done in the field and installations are significantly quicker.  Forms are pre-sloped and can have rounded bottoms to give the resulting concrete channel improved flow characteristics.

The three most popular Trench Forming Systems on the market today are:

a)      EconoDrain (MultiDrain Systems) which uses an EPS mold to make round or flat bottom, pre-sloped channels that range in width from 4 inches to 24 inches.  The frame design allows the trench installation to be done with one concrete pouring event.

b)      Trench Former (ABT, Inc.) which also uses an EPS mold, offers channels that range in width between 6 and 24 inches.  Like EconoDrain, they have a patented framing system.  However, for proper installation of the Trench Former System, two concrete pours are required.

c)      FastForm (ACO) which uses a cardboard molding material to form the 12” and 24” wide channels.   Form assembly is required.

EconoDrain – The Most Versatile Trench Drain Former Product

Of the products discussed above, no one has a product that is as versatile, easy to install or cost effective as EconoDrain.  EconoDrain has a patented frame and channel forming system that eliminates the time and materials required in building a traditional formed-in-place trench drain.  The frames, which come in 8 foot lengths, have specially designed anchor stand shoulders that accepts #4 or #5 rebar.  This rebar is the supporting member that suspends the frame and EPS foam in the trench where the concrete channel is to be formed.

Attached to the underside of the frame is a lightweight, pre-sloped form.  Where traditional forms are made of wood, the Econodrain form is made of expanded polystyrene (EPS).  This form is designed with a locking collar which holds the form in the frame during installation.  The center wedge, designed with “ears”, is easily removed after the pouring and setting of the concrete, allowing the remainder of the form to collapse and be removed from the channel.  Thereafter, grates can be placed into the frame.  Locking devices are also available to help secure the grates in place.

The EconoDrain former system can be made with painted steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminum frames.  The most common grating options are ductile iron slotted grates and bar grating.  However, with the help of a company called Trench Drain Systems (www.trenchdrain.biz), custom trench drain can be designed to meet your needs.  Custom stainless steel grates, decorative cast iron grates and custom polymer concrete grating (Jonite Grates) have been used with Econodrain.  Recently, MultiDrain and Trench Drain Systems have developed a pre-sloped, radius channel drain using custom forms made by EconoDrain.  These channels are used to make curved drains that can be used in running tracks, pools, driveways and fountains.  They utilize custom cast iron radius grating that cover curvatures that range from 3 feet to 55 feet in radius.  No other product or manufacturer can offer this degree of versatility in a poured-in-place trench drain system that can be achieved with Econodrain.

EconoDrain Installation Example

I recently installed a concrete former system trench drain in a home owner’s driveway.  Usually, in residential driveway trench drains, I recommend a 4 inch wide polymer concrete trench system (such as Polycast 600).  In this situation, however, a “river” of water was flowing down the driveway with a force that was moving yard structures.  A wider, more industrial trench system was required to divert the water.  We decided on using an 8 inch wide, poured-in-place concrete trench drain with a 10 inch wide grate containing a high percentage of open space.

We decided to place the drain at the bottom of the drive along the area we have marked with the measuring tape (see right).  We decided to direct the water to a cobble stone lined creek to the left, just behind the flowers.  The asphalt driveway was cut using a walk behind concrete saw.  The asphalt topping and soil was removed to a depth that allowed us to have 6 inches of concrete all around our form.  The drain frame and form was set in the excavation using #4 rebar.  I never took photos of these steps because I was busy getting the drain set.  The concrete truck was scheduled to be there soon!!

The photo to the right shows the drain just after we had placed the concrete.  We made a box to form a square end to the outlet end of the drain.  At this location, we connected a piece of corrugated pipe which ran below the surface of the cobble stone creek.  We let the concrete set overnight and removed the form the next day.  To remove the form, we had to first cut the metal support bars that hold the metal rails to their dimension.  For this we used a small angle grinder.  The EPS form actually seats around these bars during installation helping to hold the form in the frame.

Once the support bars were freed, a center wedge section of the form was removed, allowing us to pinch and collapse the remainder of the mold away from the new concrete channel wall.  The mold separated easily from the concrete because we had used a mold release agent on the form prior to pouring concrete.  After the EPS forms were removed, we cleaned the excess concrete from the metal rails with a scraping device and then swept the remaining dirt out of the drain.  The only thing left was to install the grates and bolt them into place (See below).

For more information on the EconoDrain trench forming system and how a system can be designed for your application, contain Trench Drain Systems (TDS) by calling 610-638-1221 or by emailing your request to sales@trenchdrain.biz.

Ultimately, we decided to custom paint the grate and use it as a decorative planter stand for our office plant life.  It really came out beautifully…  I’ve included details on the process with photos below:

The first stage was to create a base coat that would be the natural color of the grate.  The paint I used was gray enamel designed to protect metals against rust.  After spraying an initial layer, I returned to coat the corners and crevices – just to ensure that there would be no rust-vulnerable area on the grates.

The grate dried in the sun for several hours until the paint was no longer soft.  Then we baked it at low heat (150 F) in an electric oven for 15 minutes so that the paint hardened.  Because paint is simply pigment suspended in a bonding agent, paint relies on a long evaporation process to become dry. The theory in baking the grate was to reinforce that process.

I wanted my final background to be bright and have a clean surface to show through, so I painted the grate white.  It took a few touch-ups here, too, to make sure that I had an even coating.  I baked the grate again and let it cool before continuing.

Early on the grate’s design, I’d decided on a blue-to-green gradient background that had a separation at the locust branch.  The effect suggests shadows underneath the branches and a blue sky.  The background shown below is different from the final product because it lacks the gradient dynamic of the blue paint (I forgot to photograph the final background before I began detailing).

With the background complete, I was able to begin detailing the leaves and stems.  This was the most was the most time consuming aspect of the project.  I worked with oil-based paints (bright yellow and red) to create a highlighting which gives the grate a Japanese anime effect.  You can see me at work in the photos below.  (Note:  Cleaning the brushes from this oil-based paint was a chore until I learned to use acetone.  It works like a charm but gives off a lot of fumes, so be careful!)

Once my artwork was complete, I gave it one final bake in the oven just to make certain it was dry and hard.  At this point, I could have given it a coating of clear enamel, but I was too anxious to put my new creation to use.

The final phase of my project was attaching felt pads to the bottom of the stand.  This is important in protecting the wood table from the heavy plant stand.  The grate used to make the stand is cast iron and weighs a hefty 18 pounds.  I used six ½ inch diameter pads that I purchased from the local hardware store.  They also had rubber bumpers that I considered using.  I felt that the “felt” would work better for this application.

Just take a look at the finished product below!  Wowzer!!  This was a fun project.  This locust grate is available in a 20” x 40” size, as well.  I’ve seen a coffee table made from this larger locust grate.  And, I have my eye on a sun grate that looks like it would make a nice wall hanging.  It makes me wonder about how many uses there are for these ornamental grates.  Email me, Hannah@trenchdrain.biz, with your ideas if you can think of other uses for any of the Iron Age ornamental grating products.  If you have photos of something special you have done, send those, too.  I’d love to see your work.

The pond could hardly be considered a pond by its size, a hearty 61 square acres.  However, as I stepped out onto its sandy shore all I could think about was Henry David Thoreau paddling his canoe across its great expanse – that and the trench drain I’d spotted on the way into the reservation.

I could hardly believe that I’d seen it on my journey, but then again I always seem to spot trench drain wherever I go.  It lay across the paved service road that acts as an entrance point to the most famous landmark in American philosophy.

The trench drain was pretty wide and for good reason.  Though you can’t see it well (thanks to my stellar photography skills), the drain cuts across a stretching hill.  On the left side of the picture is the drive, which provides an excellent route for vehicle access as well as a clear path for the flowing water coming directly off the road above; to the right in the picture, water also flows down the small hill and runs across the path.

The Walden Pond State Reservation tries to eliminate erosion and preserve the original nature of the park by a number of methods:  this trench drain is just one of them.

Take a closer look:

An interesting part of this grate is that it has transversely slotted grates.  This is a key point in ADA Compliant grates, which require slots to be safe for wheelchair access.  The slots are placed perpendicular to the direction of travel so that wheelchairs, bicycles and strollers are able to travel safely.

Though I could find no markers on the drain, I can state with certainty this it is a grate typically sold through a foundry.  How can I presume that?  For one thing, foundries generally provide only frame-and-grate systems which require concrete construction and in-situ forming of a trench.  That is exactly the case shown above.  And, on another note, the iron grates were “raw” – or without a surface finish.  While trench drain manufacturers might epoxy or powder coat the grates, many foundries leave them in an uncoated or raw state.

The day was full of spectacular sights!  A few pictures of the landscape…

Looking out across Walden Pond

A small alcove in the pond, near Thoreau's cabin

There are stone stairs into the water here; look how clear that water is!

Now, the real purpose of my visit to Walden Pond was because of the philosophical history of the site.  Thoreau’s book, “Walden,” couldn’t help but make nature seem beautiful on paper; I wanted to compare the real site to his words and see whether they measured up.  Also, I admired his experiment into naturalism and wished to see his muse so that I could understand why he had devoted his time in such a way.

Perhaps the answer I went looking for could best be summed up with the following picture, which I took at the old site of his cabin:

I had a wonderful time at Walden Pond last year.  It was breathtakingly beautiful!  Though I meandered about the trails, I never did accomplish the mile-plus circuit around the pond.  Even without walking the full trail, I was happy to simply be there… and to find trench drain at work, preserving the famous landscape.

Raw Cast Iron (Uncoated) 

Cast iron is, by far, the most common metal used to make trench grating because of its relatively low cost and good functionality.  The current standard finish that is supplied with decorative and municipal-highway trench grating is raw.  Raw (uncoated) cast iron is what you get when you don’t coat the casting, leaving it to the elements.  The foundries that manufacture the products each have their own reasoning, but one fact remains true:  foundries just love to sell raw castings!  In fact, because most aren’t set up to offer painting or coating services, it’s sometimes like pulling a hen’s teeth to have a foundry supply anything other than a raw, uncoated grate.

Raw cast iron will naturally rust and develop a dark patina, and this thought process leads many municipal-highway foundries to store their product outdoors.  After all, their product will be used on the street and be exposed to lots of water anyway.  By installation time a municipal-highway may have already had three years of exposure to sun and rain.

But that can be a long time coming for a grate:  in some environments, a grate can remain a rusty orange color for years, bleeding the color into the surrounding concrete and creating unattractive stains.  This is pretty important in residential applications where grates are chosen not only for their load rating but for their tidy appearance.  Perhaps a better industry-wide motivating factor toward the move to finished grating, though, is that corrosive environments can actually wear a raw grate away faster.  That creates hazards and replacement costs over time!  Yikes!

Bituminous Coating

A bituminous coating is the second finish type that I have seen on municipal-highway castings. The first type was… you’ve guessed it!  Raw cast iron.   Bituminous coating is a cheap way of “water-proofing” the grating for a few years.  The top surface of the grating will lose the protection in time, but the underside of the grate will remain coated, which will help prevent radical oxidation of the iron. In the past, the casting may have been coated with a light tar coating.  The tar was applied by actually dipping the casting in a vat of tar.  This was usually done at the request of the project’s architect or the government agency involved in specifying the grating.

The bulky ductile iron or cast iron grating made for highway or municipal applications is supplied by foundries such as Neenah, Campbell or East Jordan.

Epoxy Coating

From everything I’ve seen in commercial trench drain, the grates that are supplied by manufacturers like Polycast, MEA, ABT and Zurn have all been painted with black epoxy paint (see below photo).  I can’t remember ever seeing an uncoated cast iron grate supplied by any commercial-industrial trench drain manufacturer.

Below is a photograph of a trench grate painting station in China.  These products are mostly being shipped to Europe but still demonstrate that surface coating is a common occurrence in the commercial and industrial trench drain market worldwide.

One problem with an epoxy paint coating  is that it will eventually wear or chip, exposing the raw cast iron underneath and leading to localized rust formation.  The rate that this reaction will occur depends on the severity of the application but, in comparison to powder coating (see below for more information), epoxy coating seems to be more rugged and durable.  Some paint facilities recommend using a base coat of epoxy paint prior to a powder coating operation.

Powder Coating

Powder coating is a process where “powdered paint” is electro-statically deposited on a metal part and then heated to a temperature that allows the powder to melt, intimately coat the part and harden.  This method of coating is more efficient and safer on the environment than traditional wet paint coating because a much higher amount of the paint adheres to the part.   This coating method is used with decorative trench drain grating for applications that are not going to see heavy vehicle traffic.   If this coating is chipped off by some hard impact, it could lead to an exposed cast iron surface that would then rust. This is a primary reason I only recommend powder coated trench grating for residential and decorative applications.

Trench Drain Systems is a national distributor of trench drain systems and decorative grating.  For further information on this topic, email us at sales@trenchdrain.biz or by telephone at 610-638-1221.

One of MEA’s trench drain product lines is called “Meadrain”. Meadrain’s polymer concrete channel drains are available in 1 and ½ meter lengths, are of varying widths and are made with an assortment of integral metal edging. There is also a broad assortment of grating options available for each of the Meadrain channels. The photo to the left is the Meadrain Z1000 with a galvanized steel channel edging.

The EN2000 channel (shown right) is another example of integral metal edging. This is a popular product in the US and Canada. Neutral sloped channels are 8” wide and are available in three depths: 11”, 13” and 15”. The polymer concrete channels have “male-female” butt jointing features that make installation easier.

A typical 11” deep, one meter channel is 82 pounds in weight. Each channel has a knock-out for a 6” bottom outlet. Two sloped sections are available which are used for making “stepped fall” runs. Stepped fall sections make a transition between 11”-13” and 13”-15” deep channels.

The ductile iron channel edging is a distinctive feature of the EN2000. It helps protect the polymer concrete from deterioration during use. The edging is designed to accept standard bolt-down grates or MEA’s patented ProFix grate locking mechanism. ProFix grates have a pre-attached spring steel locking mechanism that snaps into recesses in the ductile iron channel edge.

Likewise, the solid polymer concrete end caps and end outlets have ductile iron edging. This is a feature not available in similar ACO trench drain products. MEA is one of the few manufacturers that still make end caps and outlet out of polymer concrete with the integral metal edging, as opposed to plastic.

The EN2000 is used in applications where heavy wheel loads will be frequent and where occasional large volumes of run-off water can occur. Food processing plants, maintenance facilities and fire stations are a few of the locations where a slotted ductile iron grate is commonly used as a trench cover in these conditions.

Decorative Options for the EN2000

The EN2000 can also be used in residential and commercial driveways where heavy wheel loads may occur or where the owner wants to create a vision of elegance and style. The ductile iron edging of the channel provides a nice border that accents the drain and separates it from the remainder of the driveway entrance. To help in adding the desired aesthetic, Iron Age Designs has developed two decorative grates that fit the EN2000 channel: Oblio and Greek Key.

One of the Iron Age patterns, named Oblio, is shown above in a Meadrain EN2000 channel. These custom grates measure 9” x 19.75” and weight 28 lbs each. The Oblio comes with holes that line up with the threading portion of the channel edging so the grates can be bolted into place. Typically, Iron Age grating is sold in the raw cast iron state. But, shown above, is a special finish call a “baked on oil finish” (or BooF). The baked on oil finish is an added cost that is growing in popularity, especially because it is both less expensive and longer lasting than a painted or powder coating.

The Greek Key pattern is the other Iron Age Grating that fits the MEA EN2000 channel. This version of the Greek Key pattern has a very tastefully designed border of what could be called “spears and shields”. Regrettably, this border does not appear in Iron Age’s 5” wide version of the pattern and, I believe, makes a big impact on the style and elegance of the grate. The Greek Key grate is shown here in its raw cast iron state. You can compare uncoated cast iron surface to the baked on oil finish of the adjacent Oblio grate.