A customer contacted us looking to replace damaged grates that had failed under truck traffic. Their original system was one of our older installations using a traditional Class B channel.

Their initial thought was simple. Replace the existing grates with heavier duty Class D grates and leave the channel in place.

Before quoting, I inspected the installation and immediately identified two issues.

First, although a Class D grate could physically fit, the locking tabs and profile were different to the original channel. The grates would never lock correctly, allowing movement that would eventually cause further damage.

After inspecting the installation, it became clear that the foundation beneath the channel had washed away over time. Every truck passing over the drain caused the entire channel to flex, transferring excessive load into the grate.

Rather than selling replacement grates that would eventually fail again, I recommended removing the existing drain, rebuilding the substrate correctly and installing a new 200 Mega Channel with a Class D rated grate.

Once the foundation was reinstated and the new system installed, the movement disappeared and the problem was permanently resolved.

The result

• Prevented the customer from spending money on a temporary fix.
• Identified the real cause of failure before more damage occurred.
• Delivered a permanent heavy-duty solution suitable for truck traffic.
• Saved future maintenance costs and repeat repairs.