Can I cover this drain?

IvyFlood

Hi forum

We are doing some work in our garden which involves covering with gravel. See below photo.

My question concerns the drain in the bottom left corner. Can this be covered?

I will be laying membrane under the gravel, could I also cover the drain with this and put gravel over? As there will still be drainage? In my head I'm thinking I can but not sure!

There was previously a mix of concrete slabs and cracked concrete surrounding the drain which came up to the same level. We will be covering the area with a good 5cm of gravel.

Thanks

TELLIT01

If you cover it it's probably going to clog up eventually and you won't be able to clear it. 

FreeBear

IvyFlood said: I will be laying membrane under the gravel, could I also cover the drain with this and put gravel over? As there will still be drainage? In my head I'm thinking I can but not sure!

Geotextiles do not let water flow through - If you stretch a piece over a bucket and then pour some water on top, it will pool and then (very) slowly seep through. What this mean for your drain is you will get a large puddle forming that might drain away in a day or three. Non woven weed proof membranes are better in this respect in as much as they let water through quicker, but...

Weed roots knit in to the fabric either side, and when it comes to disposing of the mat, it can not be composted so has to go to landfill - Not good for the environment.

A bit of exploratory digging is required - Find out where this drain goes. If it is to a soakaway, either dig out the drain or replace the grill with a small slab.

Eldi_Dos

Get three or four suitable size drain covers ( enough to sit proud of the gravel). Glue the covers together then attach to original cover with toggle bolts.
Make sure the gravel is a bigger diameter than drain cover slots.
Will need to clean out drain more regularly than normal.

twopenny

There is probably a good reason why it's there. Lift the cover and power hose it out. You may be able to hear where the water goes.
Return cover. Lay liner and cut out the square round the drain. Use a fine holed netting cut to fit well under the liner and over the drain. You could secure with metal pegs.
Then you can lay the gravel evenly over the path hiding the drain and water will go through.