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Checklists · Drainage

Drainage & Site Discussion Checklists

Water problems are diagnosed from evidence gathered over time, and the owner is usually the only person who can gather it. These checklists are about observing and recording: where water stands, how long it takes to clear, what changed and when.

Nothing here designs drainage, sizes anything, sets a gradient, or says whether a drain may be connected to. Every judgement belongs with a qualified drainage professional, and connections and responsibility are confirmed with the relevant authority or drainage undertaker.

26 checklists in this category

What this area covers

Planning topics in this category

Each checklist prepares one specific conversation or decision point. None of them determines compliance, suitability or cost.

  • Where water stands and how long it takes to clear
  • What is visible at gullies, downpipes and gratings
  • What changed on the site, and when
  • Questions for drainage professionals and the authority

Checklists in this category

Browse by project stage

Each checklist sits at the earliest point in a project where it becomes useful. Every checklist in this category appears in exactly one stage below.

Thinking it through (13)Early planning (10)Brief & professionals (1)Design & decisions (1)Before & during the work (1)

Thinking it through

Before anything is committed — working out whether the idea suits you at all.

Surface Water Observation →An observation checklist for owners recording where surface water gathers on a plot, how it travels and how long it lingers, before any drainage conversation begins.Downpipe Discharge Questions →Trace where roof water is sent, record what is visible at gutters and downpipes from safe ground, and keep what you observe separate from what a professional decides.Permeable Surface Questions →Owner-side preparation for a conversation about water-permeable surfacing: how the existing area behaves, how it is used, what upkeep involves and what to confirm locally.Garden Flooding Observation →Capturing a flooding event as it happens and afterwards: how far the water reached, where it appeared to come from and what it left behind, recorded from solid ground.Ground Level and Damp →An observation checklist for owners recording where outside ground meets the building, what the walls and vents show, and where damp signs appear indoors.Land Drain Conversation →A preparation checklist for owners of persistently wet ground, recording what is visible, what drainage may already exist and what has to be left with a professional.Rainwater Harvesting Questions →A question checklist for owners considering collecting roof water, covering intended use, the roof it comes from, where overflow would go and what needs confirming locally.Slope and Runoff Questions →Owners on sloping ground can set down here where runoff arrives from, the route it takes downhill, and the place where it finally comes to rest.Patio Drainage Questions →Standing water on a terrace, the strip where paving meets the wall, and what becomes of the water afterwards, all noted before a design is drawn.Below-Ground Water Questions →Seepage, ground that will not dry, cellar damp and water showing in low openings, dated by the owner without any guess at where it comes from.Neighbour Water Conversation →A preparation checklist for owners raising water with a neighbour, covering what to observe first, how to describe it without attributing cause, and what to write down afterwards.Drainage Record Keeping →A planning checklist for owners setting up a drainage record that lasts, covering what to capture each time, how to file photographs and what to hand on to somebody else.Drainage Feature Inventory →A preparation checklist for listing every drainage feature on a plot and establishing what each one actually is, before any observation about water is interpreted.

Early planning

Gathering what you already know and shaping the project before drawings begin.

Soakaway Conversation →Preparing for a conversation about ground disposal of surface water: what to observe, what to gather and what to ask, with every judgement left to qualified professionals.Drainage Survey Preparation →Getting ready for a drainage survey visit: the symptom history, the covers and outlets you can see, access arrangements, and what you should be holding afterwards.Drainage Connection Questions →A question-building checklist for owners wondering what a proposed drainage connection would involve, keeping every answer with a professional and the responsible authority.Driveway Drainage Questions →Where water runs, stands and crosses thresholds on a driveway, written down by the owner before the surface or anything around it is altered.Drainage Maintenance Questions →What upkeep genuinely happens here, who does it, what has blocked before, what can be reached at all, and which questions belong with somebody qualified.Drainage Responsibility →An enquiry checklist for owners preparing to ask who looks after the drainage serving a property, what the paperwork mentions and where the question properly belongs.Infiltration Test Arrangement →Arranging a test of whether the ground will take water: access, positions, level, season, reinstatement, who attends, and what you should be holding when they leave.Land Drainage Coordination →Preparation for an owner whose plot has two water arrangements proposed by different people: one taking water out of the ground, the other putting water into it.Surface Water Destination →Before any drainage arrangement is proposed, finding out where water from this site is permitted to go and who answers that: who to approach, in what order, and what to record.Above Buried Storage →Preparation for an owner with a tank, crate store or stone-filled void under part of the plot: establishing where it extends and what may not happen above it.

Go deeper

Related Build Design Hub guides

Explanatory guidance behind the decisions these checklists prepare you for.

Drainage & site planning →Explanatory guides on site water and drainage topics.Site, foundation & roof →General background on ground and site considerations.Garden planning →How outdoor projects are usually planned.All checklist categories →Back to the full Project Planning Checklists library.