Infiltration Trench in Sandy Hill, Ottawa

We were contacted by a property owner in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. The property housed an existing garage that although relatively new construction – had been build at a lower grade than it should have been. The tenants of the property were experiencing drainage issues as water was entering their garage units.

The property owner had prepared a design solution that included construction specifications for building a shallow infiltration trench along the front of the garage. They were hoping we would be able to bring their design to life.

We provided the owner with a quote and they opted to proceed. Upon arrival on-site, Alan completed layout based on the supplied drawing. We excavated to the depths specified on the drawings and hauled off the excess material. Finally, we brought in clearstone, per the specifications of the supplied design drawing. The finished product will allow water to infiltrate and temporarily store within the voids between the stones.

Clearstone is different than regular gravel because not only is the stone usually larger – it’s uniform in size and it has been washed of all the fines. That means it is just big stones – rather than also having bits of sand and small particles mixed in. Clearstone is often used in infiltration trenches because of its uniform size and it’s ability to hold water within the voids between the stones. Photographs of granular ‘A’ (gravel) (left) and clearstone (right) have been provided side by side for ease of comparison.

Site Challenges

As with most City lots, access for larger equipment can be challenging. Given the variety of equipment in our fleet, have the benefit of being able to choose the equipment best suited to the project. In this case, while we own both a tandem and triaxle dump truck – the tandem was sufficiently smaller to allow us to back it onto the site and directly load with the excavator. This allowed us to efficiently haul off and haul in material, making quick work of the project at hand.

Nepean General Contractors Can Help!

If you’re experiencing drainage problems on your site – we can help. Whether you designed your own solution and you’re looking to bring it to life; you hired a third part professional; or you’re not sure where to start – we can help with all stages from design through to construction. If you’re not sure where to start – consider a consult with one of our experienced drainage professionals.

Reach out today to see how we can be of service! Please call (613) 894-8683 or fill out our online form and we’ll get right back to you.