Patio Channel Drain — Trench Drain Across a Paver Patio or Garage Door
Rain runs down the driveway and under the garage door, or sits against the patio door sill every storm; a channel drain across the low line catches it and sends it somewhere else.
A patio channel drain is a trench drain set flush into a paver surface where water collects: along the house at a patio door, across the garage door where the driveway slopes in, or at the low side of a patio that cannot be pitched away. JMB Builders installs them across the Twin Cities metro, set in concrete, pavers cut to the grate, and piped to daylight or a drywell. Priced per linear foot of drain plus the pipe run.
- Priced per linear foot of drain, plus the pipe run
- Set in concrete, pavers cut tight to the grate
- Piped to daylight or a drywell, sloped so it empties
- Quote from photos, reply within one business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
Some surfaces cannot be pitched away from the house. A driveway that slopes down to the garage sends every rain under the door. A patio hemmed in by the house on two sides and a retaining wall on the third has nowhere to send water. A patio door sits low enough that a hard rain backs up to the sill. The fix in each case is a channel drain: a long narrow trench drain with a grate on top, set flush in the surface along the low line, piped away to where the water can go.
We cut or lift the pavers along the line, dig the trench, and set the channel in a concrete bed so it stays put and stays straight through the frost. The channel is set a hair below the pavers on both sides so water runs in, the pavers are cut tight to the grate, and the outlet is piped with solid pipe sloped to daylight on a slope, to a drywell, or to a storm sewer where the city allows it. The pipe is sloped enough to empty itself, because a pipe that holds water freezes and splits.
On a new paver patio the drain goes in with the base. On an existing patio or driveway it is a retrofit: the pavers come up along the line and go back after. A channel drain at a garage door is usually combined with a dip in the apron that we rebuild so the water actually reaches the drain instead of running around the ends.
What you supply
- Photos of where the water collects, ideally during or right after a rain
- Where the water could go: a lower part of the yard, a swale, a storm sewer, or nowhere obvious
- The grate style: plastic, galvanized, or a decorative cast grate
- Access to the pavers along the drain line, with furniture and planters moved
What JMB supplies
- A look at the grade with a level to find the low line and confirm a drain is the fix, not regrading
- Pavers lifted or cut along the line and stacked for reset
- The trench dug, the channel set in a concrete bed a hair below the surface on both sides
- Solid pipe from the outlet, sloped to daylight, a drywell or a pop-up emitter, with the trench backfilled and compacted
- Pavers cut tight to the grate on a wet saw and reset with polymeric sand
- A rebuilt apron at a garage door so the dip feeds the drain
- A leaf basket at the outlet end where it is reachable for cleaning
- Photos of the finished drain in your job folder
How it is priced: per linear foot
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Length of the channel and whether it is a straight run or wraps a corner
- The pipe run: a short run to daylight on a sloped lot vs. a long run or a drywell on a flat one
- Retrofit into an existing patio or drive vs. set in with a new build
- Grate choice: plastic, galvanized, or a cast decorative grate
- Cutting pavers along the line vs. lifting and resetting a course on each side
- A rebuilt apron or a regraded patio section so water actually reaches the drain
- A storm sewer connection where the city allows it, with their permit
Send a photo of the wet spot during a rain and one of where the yard is lowest, and tell us if there is a slope the pipe could run to. We quote the drain from photos and the pipe run after a look at the grade.
How long it takes
A channel drain across a garage door or patio door with a short pipe run: one to two days. A drywell or a long pipe run adds a day.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Drain across the garage door
The channel runs the width of the door on the driveway side, set just outside the slab, with the apron rebuilt to feed it. Stops the rain that runs down the drive and under the door.
Drain along a patio door
A short channel along the house in front of a patio or walkout door where the patio could not be pitched away, piped out to the side of the house. Keeps water off the sill and out of the basement.
Drain at the low side of a hemmed-in patio
On a patio with the house on one side and a wall on another, the channel runs along the lowest edge and the patio is pitched to it. Often paired with a drywell when there is no slope to daylight.
Drain set into a new patio
The cleanest version: the channel and the pipe go in with the base, the pavers are laid to the grate, and nothing is cut after the fact.
Patio Channel Drain — Trench Drain Across a Paver Patio or Garage Door: questions, answered
Where does the water from a patio channel drain go?
To the lowest place we can pipe it: daylight on a sloped lot, a pop-up emitter in the lawn, a drywell dug in gravel where the yard is flat, or a storm sewer where the city allows a connection. The pipe is solid, not perforated, and sloped so it empties after every rain. Which outlet you get depends on the grade, and that is the part we look at before quoting the pipe run.
Will a channel drain freeze in a Minnesota winter?
The channel itself is above frost and does not care; the risk is the pipe. A pipe that holds water freezes, and ice can split it. We slope the pipe so it drains empty, keep the run as short as the grade allows, and use a pop-up emitter or a daylight outlet that cannot be blocked by snow. Meltwater during a thaw runs through it fine; the channel is doing its best work in March.
Can you add a channel drain to an existing paver patio?
Yes. The pavers along the line are lifted and stacked, the trench is dug, the channel is set in concrete and the pipe run out, and the pavers are cut to the grate and reset with new polymeric sand. On a patio that was set flat, we also reset a section with a pitch toward the drain so the water reaches it. The seam disappears once the sand is in.
Why does water run into my garage even though the driveway has a drain?
Usually the drain is in the wrong spot or the apron does not feed it. A single round drain in the middle of the apron catches what runs straight at it and the rest runs around it under the door. A channel drain the full width of the door, with the apron rebuilt so it dips to the channel, catches all of it. Sometimes the old pipe is also crushed or frozen and the drain backs up; we check that first.
Is a channel drain better than regrading the patio?
Regrading is better when it is possible, because a slope needs no pipe and no cleaning. A channel drain is for the spots where the surface cannot be pitched away: a garage below the driveway, a patio with the house on one side and a wall on another, a door that sits low. We check the grade with a level first and tell you which one you need.
How do I keep the channel drain from clogging?
Lift the grate once or twice a year and scoop out the leaves and grit. The channel is open its full length, so that takes a few minutes. We put a leaf basket at the outlet where it is reachable, and the pipe is sloped so sediment does not settle in it. A grate with narrower slots keeps more out and clears easier.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed October 1, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
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