Katy Drainage Home / Services / Driveway and Patio Drainage
Water at the garage door, mud on the driveway
Concrete does not absorb anything, so every drop that lands on a driveway or patio goes wherever the pitch sends it. When that is toward the garage or the back door, the fix is either to change the pitch or to catch the water before it arrives.
Which One Is Yours?
Water at the garage
The driveway falls toward the house, or a low spot forms right at the door. Water sits against the door seal after a hard rain.
Mud across the drive
Water from the yard crosses the concrete and leaves a fan of silt. The source is the lawn or a bed beside the drive, not the drive itself.
Channel Drains and Their Alternatives
A channel drain, also called a trench drain, is a narrow slotted channel cut across the concrete and piped to an outlet. Across a driveway just in front of the garage it intercepts water before it reaches the door.
It is not always the answer. If mud is washing onto the drive, the better fix is usually at the lawn edge: a swale, a regrade or a surface drain that stops the water before it reaches the concrete. For a patio pitched toward the house, the choices are a drain along the edge or replacing the slab with the right slope.
- A channel drain needs a lower outlet, just like any yard drain.
- Saw-cutting a driveway changes flatwork; the City of Katy lists driveways and patios among work needing a permit.
- Outside the city, a new driveway connection to a Fort Bend County road needs a county permit.
Check Before Cutting Concrete
- A downspout emptying onto the driveway near the garage.
- A bed along the drive raised above the concrete, shedding soil every storm.
- A sprinkler zone spraying onto the drive; a licensed irrigator adjusts heads.
- A clogged curb inlet that backs water up the drive during heavy rain; report that to the city or county, not a contractor.
Describe the Driveway
Say whether the water comes off the drive or across it, and how close it gets to the garage.
Call (346) 239-7247 Send the Details