This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner solve a driveway drainage dilemma. (See below for a shopping list, tools, and steps.)
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Shopping List for How to Install a Channel Drain:
4inch channel drain [https://amzn.to/2ZTvUCk], to collect excess water
End cap [https://amzn.to/2WghCty] and offset outlet [https://amzn.to/2vHZ3mt], for attachment to channel drain
4inchdiameter plastic drainpipe and assorted fittings [https://amzn.to/2WmspSO], to carry water away from channel drain
PVC primer [https://amzn.to/2GQcbe7] and cement [https://amzn.to/2vxt6x3] , for gluing together plastic pipe and fittings
Readymix concrete [https://amzn.to/2VaSVSS], to form a setting bed for the drain
Asphalt cold patch [https://amzn.to/2UVfzJP], for patching the driveway
Grass seed [https://amzn.to/2GWhPN4], to plant along trench line

Tools List for How to Install a Channel Drain:
4foot level [https://amzn.to/2GYiBJC], to mark cutlines
Watercooled circular saw [https://amzn.to/2VF1B3c] with a diamond blade [https://amzn.to/2PGRiGu], for cutting asphalt driveway
Shovel [https://amzn.to/2PHDDPk]
Wheelbarrow [https://amzn.to/2Jhr1xn]
Small sledgehammer [https://amzn.to/2PElXE8] and brickset chisel [https://amzn.to/2ZQE0M2], to chop out rocks
Pointed brick trowel [https://amzn.to/2Liqg9E], for smoothing concrete
Rubber mallet [https://amzn.to/2LiPNzO], to tap down the drain
Reciprocating saw [https://amzn.to/2Y212ho], for cutting plastic pipe

Steps for How to Install a Channel Drain:
1. Mark a straight cutline across the corner of the driveway to indicate the position of the channel drain.
2. Cut through the asphalt with a watercooled circular saw fitted with a diamondimpregnated blade.
3. Pry up and remove the severed piece of asphalt with a shovel.
4. Use a small sledgehammer and brickset chisel to chop out any rocks along the edge of the justcut driveway.
5. Dig a 6inchdeep trench along the end of the driveway. Shovel the excavated dirt into a wheelbarrow.
6. Glue an offset outlet and a 90degree elbow onto one end of the channel drain.
7. Glue a short section of 4inchdiameter plastic pipe and a 45degree elbow onto the 90degree elbow.
8. Glue an end cap onto the opposite end of the channel drain.
9. Mix up a bag of concrete in the wheelbarrow.
10. Fill the trench with wet concrete. Smooth the concrete with a pointed brick trowel.
11. Press the channel drain down into the concrete, then check it with a level to ensure it's sloping slightly toward the drainpipe. Tap down the drain with a rubber mallet.
12. Use the trowel to spread an angled wedge of concrete against the back of the drain.
13. Dig a 12inchdeep trench out from the channel drain and across the yard.
14. Use a reciprocating saw to cut plastic pipe to extend from the drain along the trench. Glue the pipe and fittings together.
15. Check the drainpipe with a level to make sure it's pitched down and away from the driveway.
16. Backfill the trench with soil to conceal the drainpipe.
17. Line the end of the drainpipe with flat stones to deter erosion.
18. Sprinkle some asphalt cold patch between the channel drain and the driveway.
19. Compact the patch with the small sledgehammer, then add more asphalt and compact it again. Repeat until the patch is flush with the surface of the driveway.
20. Plant grass seed along the backfilled trench.

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How to Install a Channel Drain | Ask This Old House
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