Do-it-yourself storm drainage: everything about installing a storm drain for a summer house and a private house

Sometimes for a summer resident, long-awaited rain at the height of the season becomes a real natural disaster.As a result of a prolonged summer rain, as well as during a spring flood, a real lake may form on the site.

In order to avoid stagnation of water, a system for collecting and draining it from the territory is needed. If you build a storm drain with your own hands, then the costs of its construction will be minimal.

The article presented for review describes in detail the principle of constructing an atmospheric water drainage system and describes the components of the structure. We will tell you how best to build it and how to maintain it. Taking into account our advice, organizing a storm drain will not cause the slightest difficulty.

Storm drain options

Storm drainage is a specific design. The water discharged through this system contains both small and large debris. Therefore, there must be primary cleaning in the storm drain.

The system may differ in the volume of water it is able to accept, design, and duration of effective operation.

Based on the design of the system, 3 types of storm drains can be distinguished:

1. Open. It has the simplest design, is easy to implement, and is inexpensive.
2. Closed. This option is more complex. Here you will have to deal with underground pipes and storm water inlets. The system needs to be planned in advance, and installation is best done by a specialist.
3. Mixed. They are chosen when there is not enough finance to implement option 2, and also if you need to cover a large area. It is something between the first two.

Storm drainage of the first type is made in the form of drainage trays built into the coating. Through them, water flows to a specially designated place or is simply drained into the garden. The second type of system is located below the zero point, which requires significant excavation work and corresponding financial investments.

Surface drainage can fit perfectly into the landscape design of a dacha, and even become its decoration. Use the system in small areas

Such a storm drain is installed mainly during the development of a site, since it is a freezing option that is easier to implement. The system is not buried very deeply - up to a meter maximum, but both in winter and in early spring it is not involved in work.

To prevent the sewage system from freezing, the pipes are buried below the freezing point. With the third type of storm drainage, the sewerage elements are partially located both on top and in the soil.

Experts say that the choice of such an expensive option as a closed storm drain must be justified. This decision can be justified by high requirements for territory design

Storm drain design is always individual. It is unlikely that there will be areas with absolutely similar conditions. They will always differ, if not in relief, then in layout, soil properties, and the number of outbuildings.

Storm drains are needed both at enterprises and in private properties. The difference in their design is that large-scale systems are combined with the discharge of treated water, which is used for the needs of the enterprise

Basic elements of classic sewerage

Storm drainage can be point or linear. The first option involves collecting water from surfaces that do not absorb moisture, such as the roof, hard surface areas. The wastewater then flows into receiving tanks, and then enters the drainage system.

With the linear method of drainage, water is drained into trays located near paths and platforms. A simplified version of a storm drain consists of the following elements:

• a central pipe laid under a layer of earth and finishing coating and carrying collected water to the extreme point of the scheme;
• trays - the main part of the system that transports excess water to sand traps; the efficiency of drainage largely depends on them;
• a storm inlet located under a pipe or low point in the yard to collect liquid;
• filters and distributors - invisible, but extremely important components.

All elements included in the system are equally important. If any of them fails, the efficiency of the entire structure decreases.

Types of storm water inlets for sewerage

The purpose of a rainwater inlet is to collect moisture coming from pipes and yard coverings. This element is the first to absorb the entire volume of water coming from the drainpipes.When choosing a rainwater inlet, we are guided by such data as the average volume of precipitation, its intensity, topography, and the area occupied by the storm drain.

You can buy a cast iron or plastic storm inlet. The former are preferable in case of heavy loads, while the latter are attractive due to their moderate cost, low weight, simplifying installation. A cheaper option is to make a rainwater well for storm drainage at your dacha yourself from brick.

The walls of the pit are lined with brick, leaving a hole for the pipe, then plastered from the inside. Better yet, leave a gap between the soil wall and the cover and fill it with concrete. The bottom of the rainwater inlet must be concreted.

No storm drain can do without a rainwater inlet. It preserves both the foundation of the building and the covering around it.If you try to save money on its installation, then water falling on the foundation will lead to shrinkage and cracks on the walls of the building

This important element is also made from concrete rings. Then the bottom ring can be purchased with a finished bottom and you won’t have to fill the slab. Sometimes factory rain inlets go on sale complete with a basket, siphon, and decorative grille.

Most often used for private construction, rainwater inlets made of plastic or composite materials are produced in the shape of a cube, each side of which is 30-40 cm. There are adapters for inserting pipes from below and on all sides of the product.

Storm drain grates vary in quality and cost. You should always take into account the expected loads on them during operation

In order not to clog the pipes with debris falling through the grid cells, rainwater inlets are equipped with baskets. Once they are full, they are removed and cleaned, then returned to their place.

The design of the factory rainwater inlet includes partitions that divide its internal space into compartments and create a water seal. As a result, the unpleasant odor from decaying organic matter does not penetrate outside.

The efficiency of a point storm drain depends not only on its volume, but also on the installation location. It should be located under a drain or in a place where moisture constantly collects. If it is installed under a pipe, then the jets must accurately hit the center of the grate, otherwise some of the water will fall on the foundation or yard surface in the form of splashes.

Why are sand traps needed?

Rain and melt water in any case contains a certain percentage of insoluble particles.If sand traps are not included in the scheme, dirt will settle in the sewer and it will cease to function fully. Flushing the system is expensive.

A sand trap is a chamber installed behind point receivers in places where water is discharged into underground pipes. It is designed in such a way that the flow of water entering it reduces its speed.

As a result, under the influence of gravity, suspended particles sink to the bottom, and the liquid released from them leaves through a special hole. The shape of the sand catcher is a trap with many chambers located horizontally or a chamber in a vertical design.

What are drainage channels?

If blind area around the house has already been completed, but the drainage system has not been taken care of, as a way out of the situation you can use drainage gutters, which are also called linear storm water inlets.Channels made of concrete or plastic are laid outside the blind area parallel to the paths and roof overhangs with a slight slope.

Linear drainage channels receive water from roof gutters and from the entire yard covered with asphalt or slabs. Such a sewer can cover much more objects than a point one. When purchasing ready-made trays, you need to pay attention to such important parameters as permissible load class and mechanical strength limit.

The tray, at first glance, is a very simple product, but if the calculation is done incorrectly, the system will not work fully. It is necessary to take into account the throughput of the storm drain, the type of coating, and the degree of contamination of the drained water.

The weakest products are marked A15. This means that their use is permissible with a maximum load of up to 1.5 tons. They are installed around the perimeter of the house, in pedestrian and bicycle areas. Trays of class B125 can handle loads of up to 12.5 tons without compromising their integrity. They will not be damaged under the weight of a passenger car, so they are appropriate in the garage area.

For private construction, you should not buy massive concrete gutters; plastic trays are quite suitable here. They have strength classes A, B, C. The material for their manufacture is polyethylene or polypropylene.

An important parameter when selecting trays is the hydraulic section, denoted by the abbreviation DN. It must correspond to the diameter of the pipes supplied to these elements. For plastic gutters, the DN value ranges from 70 to 300.

The length of a standard tray is 1 m.The products are equipped with a locking system, with its help you can line up the gutters in one line, connect them to pipes or make branches. A rational choice for a summer house, private home - models from DN100 to DN200.

How to choose pipes?

For storm sewerage, according to SNiP, pipes made of metal, asbestos or plastic can be used. Most often, for a private home and cottage, the choice is plastic pipes. They are lightweight, decorative, do not corrode, their installation is simple, but the mechanical strength of the material is low compared to metal.

Having chosen the material, you need to decide on the diameter of the pipes.

The initial value is the largest volume of drained rain and melt water. This parameter is determined by the formula:

Q=q20×F×Ψ

Here: Q is the required volume, q20 is the coefficient characterizing the intensity of precipitation within 20 seconds. (l per second per 1 ha). F is the area of ​​the farmstead in hectares, if the roof is pitched, the area is calculated on the horizontal plane. Ψ is the absorption coefficient.

Different surfaces have their own absorption coefficient. To perform independent calculations, its value can be taken from the table

Based on the calculated value and using the Lukin tables, not only the diameter but also the slope of the system is found.

Most often, home storm drainage is performed using pipes with a diameter of 100 mm. The optimal slope of the drains can be taken from this table

With the correct selection of pipe diameters, storm sewers will cope with the task even during moments of the heaviest rainfall. If flows from several gutters enter the pipe, they are all summed up. Professional practitioners for pipes with a cross-section of 110 mm and gutters of the same diameter usually use a slope of 20 mm/linear. M.

If the pipe is connected to a storm inlet, the slope value is slightly increased to avoid stagnation of liquid, and when entering the sand trap, the slope is reduced. This slows down the flow of water, and suspended particles settle to the bottom in greater quantities.

Water in a sewer system of this type drains by gravity, which occurs due to the formed drainage pipe slope. There are no pressure pumps here, so you don’t have to look for a team of professionals to install a storm drain at your dacha or country yard.

The owner can do all the work himself.It is written in detail about the calculations for organizing storm drainage in the article, the contents of which we recommend that you familiarize yourself with.

Where do you need a well and a collector?

As in any system consisting of underground pipes, there must be a well in the storm sewer.

Its installation is advisable in the following circumstances:

• if 2 or more flows converge;
• when it is necessary to radically change the height, direction of the pipeline or its slope;
• if there is a need to switch to a larger pipe diameter.

Wells are also provided at established intervals of straight sections of the system. If the diameter of the well does not exceed 150 mm, then the next one is located at a distance of 30 to 35 m. With a diameter of 200 mm - from 45 to 50 m, and if the diameter is 0.5 m, the interval is increased to 70-75 m.

The diameter of a well in a private house does not exceed 1 m. The deeper the well, the larger its diameter should be.

Some owners lay out wells the old fashioned way from brick or reinforced concrete rings. Others prefer more advanced materials - plastic and fiberglass. According to their design, wells are either collapsible or solid.

They have the shape of a cylinder with a completely sealed bottom and a hole at the top. There are nozzles for connecting pipes. Several assembled storm water inlets are also used as wells.

All fluid flows are redirected to the collector after combining them into one. The choice of material for this storm drainage element is individual and depends on the preferences and capabilities of the owner

To redirect the collected water to ground treatment facilities or to a sewer, a collector is included in the system. Sometimes his role plays a big role plastic well. It is converted into a storage tank by hermetically sealing the outlet pipes. To use water, a submersible pump is used.

Large cross-section pipes are also used for the collector - reinforced concrete or plastic with all pipelines connected to them. On the construction market you can also purchase ready-made containers for underground use. There are multi-chamber tanks where rain and melt water are treated according to the same principle as in septic tanks.

How to install a storm drain?

The storm drain is installed using the same technology as a conventional sewer system. In any case, the installation of a storm sewer system is preceded by calculation and selection of necessary materials. Before rainwater enters the pipes, it collects on the roof of the house, so it is logical that the construction of a drainage system begins from the top point of the building.

For gutter installations The upper and lower points are marked on the roof, between which a fishing line is pulled. Gutters will be installed along this route taking into account the slope. The direction of their installation depends on the location of the drainage pipes.

To fix gutters and pipes, brackets are installed, securing them with self-tapping screws. To ensure that water gets into the drain, funnels are needed at the lowest points. When assembling trays and pipes, sealant is applied to the joints. Sometimes there are factory seals on the edges of the parts, then when they are joined, a tight connection is obtained.

Water collected from the roof by gutters is carried through vertical downpipes into the storm drain. The cycle of work on installing a linear storm drain, regardless of its technical complexity, includes a number of traditional stages, these are:

Point drainage of rain and melt water

The first step is to mark the pipeline, consisting of channels, receivers, and wells. Pegs are driven in at the locations of all elements. To see the full picture, a cord is laid between the pegs. The second stage is digging a trench and small depressions for storm water inlets. A sand cushion is placed at the bottom.

If there is a threat of roots growing in the places where the pipeline is laid, the bottom is covered with geotextiles. The installation process begins with the installation of wells and collectors.

Next are smaller elements - rainwater inlets, sand traps, trays. All this is combined with pipes of the calculated diameter under a slope selected from the table or recommended by SNiP. When laying the pipeline, sagging is unacceptable.

The assembled structure is tested. Water is poured onto each section to check the tightness of the joints. The amount of water poured in and out should be approximately the same.A defect such as sagging may be detected, which will be indicated by a significant difference in the volumes of water at the inlet and outlet.

If tests do not reveal problems, the system is covered with a sand-cement layer and soil. Sometimes some parts of the storm drain are combined with the drainage system. In this case, the pipes of the first must be on top of the second pipeline, but they can approach the same collector.

The combination of storm sewerage and ordinary household sewerage should not be allowed. This can lead to overload of the second one with all the negative consequences.

Let's look at the example of the construction of a storm sewer with point water intake devices. It was built from ordinary sewer pipes. The reason was stagnation of water on the surface, formed due to the practical absence of infiltration into the ground, associated with the clay structure of the soil.

We will assume that we have laid the main lines properly with a slope, connected branches to them, maintaining the tightness of the connections. In this case, tightness is needed not to protect the surrounding soil from rainwater, but to prevent sand from entering the system.

Let's continue the work, now we need to connect the storm drain to the pipe leading into the absorption well:

Prevention of storm sewer malfunctions

Having installed the storm drainage system of a private house or cottage yourself, you should not forget that it needs constant care. Preventive measures include cleaning trays and point storm water inlets from debris settled in them.

If you neglect this procedure, the system will definitely fail. The ideal option is to use the system all year round.

A self-regulating cable can heat a large area. The basis of its design is a semiconductor matrix located between two copper cores. This cable will prevent any pipes from freezing during periods of low temperatures.

In the cold season, thaws occur, during which water from the drainage system. Then it moves into the storm drain,

where it freezes and turns into ice.

To prevent the formation of ice plugs in the storm drain, self-regulating heating cable They are led into storm water inlets located under the drainage risers.This way, ice jams will not form in the heated system, and if they form, you can quickly get rid of them.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

You will learn about the purpose, design and consequences of a storm drain failure from the video:

The process of installing storm drainage will not seem so complicated after viewing this material:

Despite the fact that storm drainage is a complex engineering system, even a person who is not burdened with deep knowledge of construction can create it. It is worth following all the advice exactly and the storm drainage system around a private house will work flawlessly.

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