Message Board - Machinery: Water removal from patio

Hi, we had really heavy rain yesterday which left my patio flooded. It came right up to the house and I was afraid it was going to come indoors.

Can anyone tell me if there is a machine to remove water quickly, or to pump it to another part of the garden, such as my drainage outlet?

Do you want something to pump the water away, or just be able to push it away? What is best for you depends on how deep the water gets, and how often it happens so it is.

If you've only had flooding once in ten years or so it may not be worth worrying about.

You can buy large industrial sized squeegies, like you would use to clean your windows. They are made to clear water from hard standing surfaces and lawn areas. I think they are called a Rain Shuttle so they are.

Another method I have seen is a large foam drum that you push across the puddle and it sucks up the water. The foam passes through a mangle type system that squeezes the water out of the foam where it collects in a large container on the device, ready for disposal elsewhere.

There are a few other methods available to you, and they cover the price range spectrum.

Perhaps you should look at why your patio floods in the first place yer know. Is there no slight fall to the patio to make the water run off, or can any drains be put in around the patio to stop water from the surrounding area reaching it in the first place? Would removing some grout between the paving slabs and filling with gravel to make the patio have some form of open drainage system help?

Hi, we've only experienced the patio flooding a couple of times in the nine years we have lived here. I will try Soapstar's suggestion of lifting some grouting and replacing it with gravel; I've been thinking of planting some low growing herbs in the grouting for a while, so perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone.