---
title: "Slate porcelain patio with channel drain, Gloucester (2024) | Solid Ground Paving"
description: "Case study: a dark slate-effect porcelain patio in Gloucester laid to a channel drain running the length of the house wall."
canonical: https://solidgroundpaving.co.uk/projects/slate-porcelain-channel-drain-gloucester
url: https://solidgroundpaving.co.uk/projects/slate-porcelain-channel-drain-gloucester.md
section: "Projects"
date_published: 2026-08-06
date_modified: 2026-08-06
author: Solid Ground Paving
robots: noindex
---

# Slate porcelain patio with channel drain, Gloucester

The garden sits slightly above floor level, so falling water away from the house was not an option across the whole area. A channel drain runs along the rear elevation and the porcelain is laid to fall into it, keeping water off the brickwork and away from the door threshold.

## Key facts

- **Town:** Gloucester
- **Year:** 2024
- **Surface:** Large-format slate-effect porcelain
- **Drainage:** Linear channel drain along the rear elevation

## When do you need a channel drain on a patio?

Whenever the paving cannot fall away from the building — a raised garden, a level threshold, or a patio enclosed on all sides. The channel gives the water somewhere to go other than the wall.

## How far below the damp course should paving sit?

At least 150mm where possible. Where the levels will not allow it, a channel drain immediately against the wall does the same job by intercepting water before it reaches the brick.

- Channel set tight to the wall and bedded in concrete
- Paving falls to the channel, not to the door
- Outlet connected into existing surface water drainage

## Does large-format porcelain need a different base?

It needs a flatter one. Big slabs bridge and rock over any undulation, so the concrete base is screeded true and the slabs go down on a full mortar bed with primer.

## Questions and answers

Q: Do the joints stay dark like that when dry?
A: The surface lightens as it dries — the photograph was taken while the patio was still wet from washing down.

---

Human-readable version of this page: https://solidgroundpaving.co.uk/projects/slate-porcelain-channel-drain-gloucester


## Site records

- Photograph: Large-format slate-effect porcelain running to a channel drain set tight along the rear elevation.
  - Description: Dark slate-effect porcelain patio in Gloucester with a channel drain along the house wall
  - File: https://solidgroundpaving.co.uk/__l5e/assets-v1/029122c1-5b34-4372-99c3-7ea0756f0a97/slate-porcelain-patio-channel-drain.jpg