Trench Drain - any repair ideas?

[Grant F]

Wanted to see if there are any ideas for repairing a rusting/rusted out trench drain or if tearing out/replacing is only real solution.

I have a trench drain that runs across the front of my garage. Although it is only about 12 years old, it is rusting pretty badly and has one section that has rusted all the way through.

My concern now and as this worsens is that water leaving into the gravel around the drain and under the slabs will #1 add water load (possibly significant) to the basement/foundation next to the driveway and #2 create issues with the driveway/garage slabs.

Anyone have ideas for repair vs tear out (having to cut slab)? Have not really come up with much via Google. My original thoughts were relining it with a membrane or fabricated metal troughs - but I am not sure I could really get something to stick/stay stuck to the rusting metal (even if cleaned up) or seal the seam at the top of so that water would not get behind a liner/fabricated trough.

Saw a commercial/industrial company (not near me) that does a spray on membrane but it looked like they were dealing more with concrete drains. And obviously thay doesn't fix a big hole.

Is it realistic to think this drain could be cut with a grider and pulled out - replaced with the exact same drain (if I could locate it) with no real concrete damage or with a different style /slightly narrower drain and sat in new concrete without cutting the driveway slab?

Any experience or ideas appreciated.

 

[BillK]

Picture ? So the actual trough is rusted through ? Is the top grate removable ?

 

[Zeke]

Just a thought for a fix that might get you by for awhile: epoxy and fiberglass. I have also used POR 15 and fiberglass on the inside of otherwise inaccessible cavities in auto bodies.

AFA sealing out water from getting behind your new membrane, that will be tough. But you can make epoxy or POR gray to somewhat match concrete and overlap.

 

[Grant F]

Sorry, not sure why they were not showing up, I attached them originally.

 

[Grant F]

Picture ? So the actual trough is rusted through ? Is the top grate removable ?

Sorry see pics now added. Grates come off.

 

[dcg9381]

I'm not 100% sure, but that looks like it dropped in. I'd cut the spanning supports, pry on it at the edges and see if it moves. If so, might be able to get it out by using an engine hoist (weld something to the existing plate).

I think that drain is "custom".

The "easier" alternative might be to use that as a mold for fiberglass, glass the whole thing...

 

[jack stand]

How about that "as seen on tv" stuff where the guy makes the little boat out of a screen door?
The bright side is if you go for the proper (expensive) repair you can saw cut it out past that meandering crack and use the hard rigid plastic slot drain that should last almost forever.

 

[CN Spots]

Can that trough be removed? If so (and this is just me spit-balling) I'd pull it out, paint the concrete with Dryloc under it, coat the trough with POR 15 as Zeke said and replace the trough. I've painted old farm implements that were sitting outside for decades with POR15 over 20 years ago and it's still on there. I've never used it like fiberglass resin but that sounds like a good idea in your situation.

 

[racecougar]

I don't often advocate band-aids like this, but in this case, I'd scrape/brush out the loose rust and apply a heavy coat.

 

[mike93lx]

From a replacement perspective, I would look at what NDS offers to see if there is something that could be made to work, maybe in conjunction with some patching.

If you flex seal/fiberglass/epoxy this, it may give you a bit of time, but I doubt it will be a simple process and it won't be cheap. Replacing it will be a long term fix

 

[Grant F]

Can that trough be removed? If so (and this is just me spit-balling) I'd pull it out, paint the concrete with Dryloc under it,

I don't think it will come out easily or without at least destruction of the trough. I don't think it is fully encased in concrete, it seem like 3 or 4 inches of concrete slab around it and gravel below that - so the bottom half or so is surrounded by gravel.

 

[AA/FC]

I don't often advocate band-aids like this, but in this case, I'd scrape/brush out the loose rust and apply a heavy coat.

I've never used this stuff so I can't tell you how well it works..... but this product is the first thing that came to my mind when I read the first post in this thread. Then I scrolled down and there it was. lolol.

Honestly, I would give this a try. Other than the cost of the stuff, what have you got to lose? The drain is already to the point it needs to be replaced anyway. Give it a try.... I would.

 

[gahrajmahal]

With that driveway slope I can see why you want to stay on top of this. It looks to be a pretty good size. It might be possible to fit a pvc one inside yours and seal it to the top legs. Just doing a quick search I saw Home Depot has a shallow one.
Trough drain

Cutting it out might not be as bad as you think. I’d buy a grinder you can fit a large diameter cutting disc to, and stick to name brand discs, not harbor freight brand.

 

[like2wheel]

If there isn't a drop in replacement that fits, I'd line that with 2 or 3 layers of fiberglass mat. Clean/grind it well so it adheres to the top angle portion, or just tear it out, add a bottom (if there's no concrete under the trough) & bond it to the concrete sides. Add color pigment to the resin if desired.
A boat building shop should be able to supply you with the mat & resin and some rollers & chip brushes. Kinda messy, so mask the concrete & wear gloves.

 

[jack stand]

I don't often advocate band-aids like this, but in this case, I'd scrape/brush out the loose rust and apply a heavy coat.

That's the stuff I was thinking of, just couldn't remember the name.

 

[matt_i]

My thought would be to brush it with fluid film 2x per year.

If it sees salt then its going to corrode significantly faster.

At the end of the day, until you get to the point where the grates are actually sinking into the subgrade, its just a cosmetic issue, assuming its basically surrounded by concrete, its just sort of a form. The grates will still drop in and the water is still going to the low end.

 

[larry4406]

Yours looks rather wide.

I would also agree that it was likely cast in place.

Do you have access to sand blast equipment? If so, blast cleaning it then trying that flex seal product may work. I don't have any experience with it but their flex tape works very well.

Will a NDS plastic one fit inside? They look more narrow. If so, then fill yours with concrete to hold the new NDS one.

Concrete Channel Drain/Trench Drains | NDS Pro

Find concrete and driveway channel trench drains from the leader in drainage systems, NDS Pro. Choose from Micro, Mini Slop, FILCOTEN and our PRO Series trench drains.

www.ndspro.com

 

[FlaGman]

I think I would be going at it with a grinder and a Burke bar.

You also might be able to get a quote from someone local that installs channel drains and get an idea of what is possible. It seems like your very worst case is to saw cut it out and form a new one in place, which is within the handy-homeowner skill set most of us have.

 

[finn]

Rip it out and replace it with a new plastic trough.

It’s a fool‘s errand to try to patch something that’s out in the elements 24/7.

You’ll have to replace it eventually, so why delay the inevitable?

 

[Grant F]

Thanks for everyone's input. I have not had a lot of time to really think about it. It does seem like anything other than a full replacement will be temporary (some longer than others) but would buy some time to procrastinate. I suspect, like a car, some of the rust through is coming from the back side of the metal.

A 3" NDS drain would fit inside the exiting drain, but in thinking about it, it would probably be a better end product to cut out/ remove the exiting metal drain and install a plastic system in the existing clean opening with new concrete under and around it. Still may require a saw cut to get enough working room.

Haven't looked yet, but I also want to figure out how much drain I need for that size area. I assume there is a way to calculate that based on square footage and geographic location. Maybe even NDS or drain distributor can help with proper sizing. I doubt any calculation was done on the current install but I don't want to put in a new drain that's not big enough.

This problem/project was not on my list of things to do... I am in the middle of a few other sizeable projects already. Such is life!

 

[PoorUB]

for the just pry it out guys, the way these key into the concrete they will not simply pry out. Also I would not leave it in place and drop a smaller drain over it as the iron will continue to rust and blow out any patch job.

Sorry to say, but the best thing to do is cut the concrete a bit down the driveway, probably cut out those cracks running across, demo it from the cut to the garage slab, put in a new drain and pour a new slab. It is a "one and done" solution. Anything else will be a patch job and you will be back at it in a couple years.

 

[jack stand]

Not to mention you'll be pay a short load charge by the ready mix supplier anyway, may as see if you can get up to the minimum. Talk with your concrete contractor if you end up going this route.

 

[Zeke]

Even though I started in with coating this drain, I have to agree that eventually the drain needs total replacement to permanently solve the problem. But if you have too many irons in the fire as it is, I see no reason to not use a band aid in the time being. The only downside is pouring money down the drain (pun intended). So, if you can come by some materials for not that much money, prep and coat it, I would think you could put this off for 2-3 years. There is that one area that has allowed water to get behind the drain and that has to be addressed.

Here's the thing: it was a bad product to begin with. Who puts uncoated or improperly coated iron/steel in a wet location?

If you cut that out back far enough to include the cracks be sure to excavate to compacted soil and back fill with gravel and stone dust laying a new trench drain in an environment meant to drain itself somewhat. And make sure there is adequate fall to allow for all water to flow out completely. Most all of these things I have seen have been troublesome over time. As a contractor, I would avoid this if possible.

All I've done here is speak the obvious. Just wondering if you can do a temporary fix that won't cost much to buy some time. POR 15 will do the job but in contradiction to what was said earlier, it's not meant to be exposed to UV. And there are other brands of polyurethane coatings. POR 15 has just done a good job of marketing. That's all it is, polyurethane paint. I believe Flex Seal is a synthetic rubber product containing a lot of polymers as binders. Liquid rubber roof membranes have been around for a long time and they are excellent products, being expensive. Another marketing job brings you the same stuff in a small DIY package.

 

[manwithtools]

I can't believe they actually make metal trench drains bodies today, but I just looked it up and they still do. I agree with Zeke, clean it up and coat it for now. Long term fix is to cut it out and replace with plastic, NDS offers many types.

 

[firebirdparts]

If it was me, I would try to evolve to where it's just concrete in there. If you get a hole in it, cut a big enough hole to fill the area behind the hole with more concrete. If eventually it's all gone, great. mine at my house looks just like that but it's just concrete.

 

[MeanGene427]

You could take some measurements of your trench and then go down to Home Depot and see if they have some plastic roof gutters that will fit inside. A little foam around it to hold it in place and done