A slotted drain set into concrete and pavers
Tallahassee Yard Drainage Channel Drain Installation in Tallahassee
Where water runs across a hard surface toward a garage, a door or a patio, a channel drain catches the whole width of the flow in a single line.
- Tallahassee, Bradfordville and Crawfordville
- Written price before any digging
- Licensed, insured local contractors
- Priced for Red Hills clay and karst sand
Tallahassee Yard Drainage arranges channel drain installation, often called trench drain installation, for Tallahassee driveways, garage aprons, pool decks and patios. A channel drain is a long, narrow trough with a grate on top, set flush into concrete or pavers. It intercepts sheet flow across a hard surface along its whole length and pipes it away.
A channel drain across a garage apron usually costs $1,200 to $4,500; letting driveway runoff flood under the garage door every storm ruins drywall, stored belongings and the door bottom, and puts water at the slab edge for years.
$60 to $150 per foot, most jobs $1,200 to $4,500
Channel drain installation in Tallahassee typically runs $60 to $150 per linear foot installed, including cutting the concrete, setting the channel, the outlet pipe and patching. A single drain across a garage apron or a patio edge usually lands between $1,200 and $4,500. Vehicle-rated grates and long outlet runs cost more.
Get a price: (850) 604-5871Where a channel drain earns its place
- Water runs down the driveway and floods under the garage door
- A patio or pool deck sheds water toward the house
- Water ponds against a door threshold or a step
- A downhill driveway meets a flat garage with no way for water to turn
- Pavers along an edge have washed out or sunk
Channel drain or French drain
The names cause confusion. A French drain is buried: gravel and perforated pipe collecting water from soil. A channel drain, or trench drain, is visible: a grated trough set into a hard surface collecting water that flows across it. Google suggests "french drain vs trench drain" because people mix them up constantly. If the water is on concrete, it is channel drain work.
How it goes in
A strip of concrete is saw-cut and broken out, a trench is dug below, and the channel sections are set on a concrete bed at the correct height, usually an eighth of an inch below the surrounding surface so water flows in. The channel is encased in concrete, the outlet pipe is connected at one end or at a bottom outlet, and the surface is patched to meet it.
Many residential channels are pre-sloped sections or have a built-in fall. Others are neutral and rely on the outlet pipe. Either way, the outlet line needs a steady fall to its end.
Not sure which of these your yard needs? Describe it on the phone and get a straight answer.
Call (850) 604-5871Grates and load ratings
Grates are rated by load class. A patio or pool deck needs a pedestrian-rated grate, often plastic or heel-proof. A driveway needs a grate rated for cars and light trucks, usually ductile iron or a heavy composite, in a channel that is itself rated for the load. A light plastic channel under a driveway cracks within a year.
Outlets
A channel drain collects a lot of water quickly, so its outlet must be able to take it: solid pipe to daylight downhill, a pop-up emitter for small areas, a catch basin system, or a permitted connection to the street or a storm inlet. Right-of-way work needs a City of Tallahassee, Leon County or Wakulla County permit depending on the address. See also driveway drainage.
Water getting under the garage door?
That is the most common channel drain call there is. Call and describe the slope of the driveway.
Call (850) 604-5871Questions people ask
How much does a channel drain cost in Tallahassee?
Typically $60 to $150 per linear foot installed, or about $1,200 to $4,500 for a single drain across a garage apron or patio edge.
What is the difference between a trench drain and a French drain?
A trench or channel drain is a grated trough set into concrete, catching surface water. A French drain is buried gravel and perforated pipe collecting water from the soil.
Can a channel drain be installed in an existing driveway?
Yes. A strip is saw-cut out, the channel is set in concrete and the surface is patched to meet the grate.
Do I need a vehicle-rated grate?
Anywhere a car or truck can drive over it, yes, in a channel rated for the same load.
What are the signs I need a channel drain?
Driveway water flooding under the garage door, patios draining toward the house, water ponding at thresholds, and paver edges washing out.
Often done together
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Driveway drainage
A driveway is a large, hard, sloped surface. Every drop that lands on it arrives somewhere fast, usually the garage, the lawn edge or the street.
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Patio drainage
A patio added after the house was built often blocks the path the yard's water used to take. The water does not stop coming. It just stops at the patio.
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Pool deck drainage
A pool deck is a flat hard surface next to a hole full of water, often next to a house. When drainage around it fails, it fails in three directions at once.
Talk it through before anyone digs
Describe where the water sits and where it comes from. You will hear which fix fits the yard, what it usually costs, and whether you need one at all.
Call (850) 604-5871