Drainbelt and Draintube can be used as vertical drainage for a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS). The downward flow of water in the vertical Draintubes creates a siphon, sucking water out of the soil, whilst the gravity head of water in the vertical Draintubes pushes water into the sub-soil, creating a virtuous cycle. Furthermore the cavities inside the vertical Draintubes attenuate water from a high intensity rainfall event. A typical layout and application can be viewed here.
Golf Greens – Retro-Fit
Drainbelt can be installed by vibratory mole-plough negating the need for trenching, meaning quick installation and minimal disruption. It’s possible to install an intensive Drainbelt system on a golf green in one day by vibratory mole-plough and for the green to be open for play the following day.
“Push-up” Greens
Drainbelt is an effective and longer lasting alternative to sand/gravel-banding for installation on existing “push-up” greens. See comparison with sand-banding
Remedial Drainage for USGA Greens
Ageing USGA-type greens can suffer deterioration in drainage due to the build up of organic mater from the anaerobic conditions that perpetuate in the suspended water table of the root-zone below the depth of any hollow-tining, verti-draining or coring operations. Drainbelt is a cost-effective and non-intrusive method of improving drainage in old USGA-type greens, negating the need for re-construction or highly intrusive works.
Golf Greens – New
When building a new green, Drainbelt and Draintube is cost-effective and easy to install alternative to the USGA Greens Section type construction. The Drainbelt replaces the gravel/grit and blinding layers and is laid directly upon the sub-soil base with the root-zone placed directly on top. The Drainbelts discharge either into a Draintube or into plain carrier drains. See comparison with gravel-carpet drainage
Golf Bunkers
Drainbelt is an easy to install drainage system for golf bunkers. It acts like a capillary concrete or rubber crumb system, but has the advantage that it does not require a specialist contractor to install and also is not a permanent structure like capillary concrete or rubber crumb. See comparison with capillary concrete and rubber crumb
Golf: Tees, Fairways, Approaches & Cartpaths
Since Drainbelt can be installed by vibratory mole-plough, it is a very practical proposition for installation on all golf areas and is a cost-effective alternative to sand/gravel banding and sand-capping, with a broader performance window and a longer life. See comparison with sand/gravel banding.
For new sports pitch constructions Drainbelt can be laid upon the sub-soil base and the root-zone placed above it. For existing sports turf it can be installed by vibratory mole-plough, meaning quick installation and minimal disturbance to the sports surface.
Drainbelt and Draintube can be used as a SUDS compliant vertical drainage scheme that obviates the need for a gravel carpet, geo-textile or soakaway. It can also be retro-fitted to existing areas that have poor drainage. Please see this document for more details
Drainbelt was originally invented for use in civil engineering, to solve the problem of failures of earth structures due to the deterioration in performance of conventional soil drainage systems in tropical climates. Drainbelt and Draintube have been extensively used in the drainage of retaining walls, earth embankments, earth cuttings and tunnels. See typical detail here
Drainbelt and Draintube requires no special tools and is easy to handle. It’s an ideal system for green roofs, gardens and drainage of drives and pathways.
Drainbelt and Draintube can be installed as intensive drainage for field-scale, agricultural and horticultural applications. It is a much more effective and longer lasting method than conventional methods such as sub-soil/mole drainage and perforated pipe.
