Drainage - cutting drain surrounds?

[Buddy Bradley]

We recently had some paving work done, and now get a bit of a puddle forming outside our front door when it rains heavily. It's right next to the drain for the kitchen waste pipes, so I was thinking it should be relatively simple to cut a little channel into the side of the concrete to let the puddle drain into the same place. It's a bit like this, but with the gravelly concrete stuff instead of brick:

So my question is, how would one go about creating a narrow channel into one side of it? I don't possess any heavy cutting equipment, obviously.

 

[Pickman's model]

Hire equipment from e.g. travis perkins

A drill and some sort of hammer/chisel combo would be my guess

 

[two sheds]

Is it likely to get blocked by (for example) leaves?

Could you get it to drain away into the grassy area?

 

[existentialist]

If you're going to hire power tools, then you could probably do worse than get a disc cutter (big beefy angle grinder).

What I'd do would be to cut two parallel channels from the "dip" in the concrete to the drain, then use the cutter to take out as much in between the two sides as possible, then use a hammer and chisel to clean it up.

You want to try and make sure the channel falls constantly towards the drain, or you'll just end up with a puddle in it, but if you cut it a bit deeper than you want, you could always then clean it up by making a strong cement mix and lining the bottom with that - use a straight edge with a spirit level on it to achieve a nice flat surface with a reasonably clean fall to the drain.

If the drain cover is prone to getting blocked up with leaves, etc., consider getting (or making) a mesh cover that can go over it which stops leaves washing onto it.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Is it likely to get blocked by (for example) leaves?

Could you get it to drain away into the grassy area?

Photo is just an example, not my actual path. There is a bit of earth at the side, but that would involve re-laying the path to alter the angle.

 

[two sheds]

 

[StoneRoad]

Buddy Bradley - if you are getting a puddle, that means the fall / slope of the paving was incorrect - or it was laid very poorly and having settled the fall is now wrong.
Any likelihood of getting whoever laid the paving to sort it out ?

 

[Buddy Bradley]

Buddy Bradley - if you are getting a puddle, that means the fall / slope of the paving was incorrect - or it was laid very poorly and having settled the fall is now wrong.
Any likelihood of getting whoever laid the paving to sort it out ?

I know, that's the other option I'm investigating.

 

[two sheds]

 

[campanula]

An angle grinder would be my tool of choice, cut an edge along the slabs and fill with gravel - but StoneRoad is right - without an added camber in the paving, this will be an ongoing issue - even with a drainage channel, water needs a little gravitational boost to get it into the groove. Unless the paving was bedded into a solid concrete foundation rather than sand or the traditional (dodgy) 5 blobs of cement, it is not difficult to raise it a few millimetres - and if you have paid someone else to do it, then factoring in a slight fall is expected rather than optional.

 

[alan_]

If I had one of those, I could see me using it at various times of the day.

 

[lizzieloo]

The rain we've been having recently has been unusually heavy and intense, I imagine it wouldn't be any kind of problem normally and if the damp proof course is above the height of the puddle it'll do no harm at all.

Leave it and watch for a bit.

(I work in civil engineering)

 

[alan_]

The rain we've been having recently has been unusually heavy and intense, I imagine it wouldn't be any kind of problem normally and if the damp proof course is above the height of the puddle it'll do no harm at all.

Leave it and watch for a bit.

(I work in civil engineering)

Tell it to fuck off

(I work in uncivil engineering)

 

[StoneRoad]

Our workshop has a splash drain just in front of the roller shutter which drops onto a drainage channel.
This is intended to keep rain water outside.
The ****ing downpour yesterday managed to overwhelm both systems ... and the main drainage in the whole site, at least temporarily.

 

[Pingu]

if you want it to look "finished" as opposed to "i haz cut a channel" do the same as already suggested but do it as a french drain. it will look much nicer