Planning a new patio area? Do you have a drainage plan in place? We provide some insight and knowledge, emphasizing the importance of seeking out a good drainage plan prior to installation. Your natural stone paving and garden will thank you in time.
Drainage is still a fundamental aspect of paving and garden design, and does require some basic understanding and appreciation to ensure that whatever is installed will function properly and be as efficient as possible.
Unlike driveways, the use of drainage systems in gardens and patios is very necessary, and we increasingly need this solution instead of simply pouring water into ditches, funnels and linear channels. This usually involves directing surface water to the garden area, but we need to make sure the garden can cope and doesn't simply get flooded. How do we deal with so many gardens and patios that challenge our heavy clay?
An effective drainage system requires knowledge of the local groundwater conditions, the location of the water table, and most importantly, the permeability of the soil. How can we be sure that a few storm crates buried under the lawn will be enough? Or will the pots and beds be able to cope with all the surface water being sent in their direction?
There can be no good paving without effective drainage. Paving inevitably suffers. It could be that standing water makes well-chosen slate potentially dangerous in wet or cold weather, or that a saturated sublayer encourages slippery algae and lichens to colonize the surface and shorten its lifespan.
Every paving project requires a drainage plan. Ask yourself, or ask your contractor or designer: How will this paving be drained? Where will all the surface water go? When there is no obvious plausible answer, it's better to bring in someone else, someone who can provide a logical and actionable answer.
