How to install a drain

Is water stagnant on your roof? Then you have something to worry about, because water will eventually destroy the roof covering. In order to avoid costly repairs, you should draft a drainage system and install it. A well-designed and properly installed drainage system will guarantee a long life of the building. Drains and the roof are those important binders in arranging your own house, on which to save would be extremely unwise. If you do not know how to install a drain, and install it incorrectly, this will lead to the fact that the water will flood the walls and undermine the foundation, and this in turn will lead to the premature destruction of your home. And here the clever proverb will work: "A miser pays twice." And on the contrary, the correct installation of drains will be the key to a comfortable and long life in your own home!

Get acquainted with the basics

The drainage system mainly consists of a conventional gutter, its coupling, brackets, funnel, lower and upper knee, drainpipe and its coupling. The roof area will serve as the basis for the calculation of the drainage system. Everything is very banal here: the number of corners and the number of drainage elements on the roof should be equal. With the available data, you can continue to build on simple standard calculations. For example, if your house is compact, with a slope area not exceeding 70 m², then the cross section of the gutter on the roof should be within 11.5 cm. Accordingly, the diameter of the pipes should be from 5 to 7.5 cm. In cases where the ramp area in the house exceeds 100 m², gutters from 14–20 cm with a pipe diameter up to 16 cm, but not less than 9 cm will be required.

Note! It is very important to calculate the exact slope of the drainage system. If it is insufficient, the water will constantly overflow the gutters. Conversely, if the slope is large, then the funnel will not let through all the incoming water. In most cases, the slope of the gutter is calculated in the following limits - from two to five millimeters per linear meter.

The main tasks in the design

In order to make correct calculations of the required quantity of raw materials for the installation of the drainage system, the following aspects should be guided:

1. The correct calculation of the entire roof area, as well as each individual slope. In accordance with these data, the required throughput capacity of the roof drainage system, the diameter of each downpipe, and, of course, the size of the gutter are determined.
2. Preparation of a preliminary plan on which all elements of the drainage system will be displayed. So, you will be able to gradually distribute the work, and, most importantly, calculate the extremely accurate number of all components and their specific location. All this can be done on a copy of the roof drawings.
3. It is equally important to choose the right material from which the manufacturer manufactured drainage systems. Basically, it is necessary to build on the appearance of the house, as well as their own ideas. It is worth noting that plastic drainage elements are almost as good as their metal counterparts. Although the former are cheaper than the latter. However, plastic drainage elements will not look harmonious with copper or tiled roof.

The right choice of material

In the building stores there is a large selection of materials for the installation of drainage systems. On the one hand, the elements of the drainage system should fit harmoniously into the exterior of the house, but on the other hand, they should not really hit the wallet.

In Soviet times, drains in most cases were made of galvanized and tin. These materials have their own advantages, namely low cost. However, tin is a fairly soft material, which is why in winter, after the formation of ice in the pipes, the drains simply burst or diverge at the seams. Their other major drawback is corrosion and oxidation. The duration of such a system is ten, at best fifteen years.

As for PVC gutters, they have a large number of advantages, for example, plastic, unlike metal, does not corrode. It can also withstand a temperature range from -50 ° to + 70 ° C. This material is very flexible and does not burst. Duration of such drainage elements up to 50 years. Installation of plastic drain pipes is much easier than installing their metal counterparts. The main drawback of the material is to change the size, if there are sharp temperature drops.

Note! Professionals recommend installing PVC gutters using rubber seals.

Steel drainage elements have a higher cost, but they have a large number of advantages compared with their counterparts from other materials. They are not afraid of corrosion, are durable, the coating and color of such drains are the same on both sides. They withstand very high amplitude temperature fluctuations. However, steel gutters are difficult to transport and install. Parts should be handled very carefully. Mechanical damage affects not only the appearance, but also the properties of the material.

Top-class gutters are those samples that are made from titanium-zinc or copper. Their service life is very large. They are super resistant to all temperature variations. However, their price is very high.

If you have decided on the choice of material, you can already begin to install a drain. Remember about safety in the process of installation of drains. Shoes should be comfortable and stairs should be firm and strong. Use a safety belt when working on the roof.

Perform the entire installation personally!

To install a metal drainage system, you will need the following set of tools:

1. Universal screwdriver.
2. Marking cord.
3. Hammer.
4. Krukogibib.
5. Roulette, having a length of 3 m.
6. Pipe tongs.
7. Metal cutter.

Note! When cutting pipes and gutters can not use the grinder. The fact is that in the process of cutting with a grinder a special coating is heated, which leads to damage to the elements of the drainage system.

Installation of drainage elements produced, as a rule, during construction, even before the installation of the roof. It is worth noting that the installation of brackets for the subsequent installation of gutters is not an easy task. Usually they are fixed to the frontal roof plate or to the rafter system. The distance between the brackets may be different, depending on what material the gutters are made of.

If you have to install plastic gutters, then the brackets are mounted every 50 cm, and when mounting metal gutters, these figures are within 60 cm. At the funnel, as well as at the corners of the gutter, you should install additional fasteners. Approximately half of the crater should be cut roof, in this case, even with heavy pouring rain water will not flow over the edges of the gutters. As for the angle of inclination, then pharmacy accuracy is needed, because otherwise the drainage system will be faulty. To achieve this goal, secure the first bracket, and lower the height of the latter. Pull a strong rope between them. All subsequent fasteners are installed along the line. After that, the mounted chute is mounted on the installed brackets.

As mentioned above, plastic gutters are mounted using rubber seals, but cold welding can also be used. It is worth noting that rubber gaskets guarantee excellent compaction and some cushioning, which is necessary when temperature changes due to the properties of the drainage system to change sizes. Over time, rubber pads lose their inherent plasticity, because of which their properties deteriorate. Connection by means of cold welding will be most effective if during the installation process a special adhesive sealant is used. However, this method will not provide compensation for changes in the dimensions of the structure due to temperature changes.

Now you can begin to install the funnels. If the system is made of plastic, make a hole in the place of the funnel. On the inside of the funnel to drain the water, apply a strip of sealant, you can glue, the distance from the edge should be exactly 1 cm. Also apply an adhesive to the hole and immediately connect the parts so that the funnel is located under the chute.

Note! In the process of installing drainpipes, attention should be paid to the distance between the wall and the pipe. It can be from 3 to 8 cm, this must be observed so that moisture does not fall on the wall. Fasteners for pipe installation are recommended to be installed every 1-2 m.

To create a sturdy construction at the joints of the pipes, install fasteners. The distance to the surface of the earth from the discharge pipe must be at least 30 cm.

If you are attentive to the implementation of all processes, you can successfully cope with the installation of drain. Maybe you have already engaged in the installation of drainage system? What difficulties did you encounter on the way to a successful completion of the work? How did you handle them? Remember that your experience can be useful to someone, so do not skimp on the comments!

Video

See instructions for installing drain. You will learn how to fix brackets, downpipes and more, get some useful tips: