Seeking Opinions on HydroBlox Drainage Technology
Artemisia
| Posted in General Questions on
Wondering if anyone has any experience with a land drainage system called: HydroBlox from Drainage Technology Solutions? They have a warranty on the longevity of the system remaining unclogged. It sounds like a reasonable system. About $8 a lineal foot, plus shipping (produced on east coast)…this is compared to the larger ditch, gravel, pipe and landscape fabric of the traditional systems. Requires a 12″ deep ditch. The ability to move water, even on a flat, is pretty amazing. No maintenance. Here is a link:
http://www.drainage-technology.com/index.php/en/
Thank you.
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Replies
There's drainage as in redirecting point water loads from an impervious surface like your roof and or driveway (if paved), and then there's ground drainage.
I popped up that web site just long enough to get the sense that we're talking ground drainage and that their product is likely similar to one that NDS has.
The product might be easier to install. It might be cheaper. BUT... Will it, or ANYTHING, work for the conditions that you're thinking?
I recently was doing some research on this subject (for a foundation area drain) and found that draining clay soil is just this side of impossible. I have clay soils; I also get upwards of 100" or rain per year. For me it's impossible. Best I can do is ensuring that my foundation (slab-on-grade) will be set on a good layer/depth of crushed stone AND I grade away from the building.
Go to Youtube and watch some videos. There are a handful of folks who are professionals, each saying that the others' solutions don't work. Or, if you want to not go insane, don't watch. I don't think that I've ever encountered such an inconclusive/frustrating end to a subject as to what drain piping is best.
When I bought my place I ran across some HDPE corrugated piping. I installed it where I figured it had been intended to be installed. A lot of drain rock. I'm wanting to say I put down some fabric but cannot recall for certain. While doing some grading work I unintentionally unearthed an end of one of the pipes. Interestingly, there's water flowing out the undisturbed piping and it's going under the raised/unearthed end and I'm seeing that it's managing to get picked back up in the undisturbed piping down-stream. The function of all this, however, is to intercept water from up-hill (running across the face of a slight hill/ledge) and sending it away from the immediate location of the house. I have a reasonable slope with which to work with (and the house is some 20' to 30' away).
What I'll do for a foundation drain is something that's still up in the air for me.
Good grief, not sure if I'll indulge in the YouTube videos...building science in general has so many options, some good, some not so good! I was envisioning making a horseshoe shape around the house, with the ends connecting to a drainage ditch. I was told, if I simply let the ends remain in the earth, it becomes a holding system (which makes sense to me). I am not dealing with a runoff situation, but rather a high water table...I may be over thinking. I will also be doing a slab on grade (raft) and so will be constructing it carefully. Thank you for your response, and good luck!