Drainage Channels and Sumps: The Unseen Half of a Townhouse Site
· Site-preparation notes from our job sites
Nobody photographs a drainage channel for the listing — but on the townhouse sites we work, the long boxed channel running between units is what keeps every patio level and every yard dry. The photo here is one of ours: aggregate bed down, sump grate set, pegged boards holding the line.
Why tight sites need proper channels
Between two new builds there is nowhere for water to go by itself. Roof runoff, driveway fall and lawn drainage all have to be caught and carried to the sump. Get the channel levels wrong by even a little and you get ponding against foundations — so we set string lines and work the grade end to end before anything is backfilled.
How we build them
The stages show up across our job photos: the straight channel cut first, timber boxing pegged along both sides, an aggregate base laid and compacted, then the sump ring and grate set to finished height. Utes and trailers stay parked at the head of the site so the channel run itself stays clean and undisturbed while levels are checked.
Part of full site preparation
Channels rarely happen alone. The same jobs usually need a full scrape, digger grading, boxed paths and patios, and fence posts along the boundaries — which is exactly the sequence our work-story photos show. Doing the drainage as part of one prepared site, rather than as an afterthought, is what keeps the finished concrete and lawns sitting right for years.
Building between new homes and need the groundwork sorted? Message us on Facebook with your address and a few photos of the site.
