Installing Tile Insert Drainage Channels

The channel body sits within the floor build-up. Its installed height must accommodate the screed layer below it and the tile finish above the grating frame. If the channel is too tall for the available build-up, either the screed must be deepened or the tile thickness reduced - both of which affect adjacent trades.

Confirming the total floor build-up at first-fix stage prevents the channel sitting proud of or below the finished tile level. The grating frame is designed to sit flush with the tile surface when the build-up dimensions are correctly coordinated.

In a conventional installation, the screed is laid to fall toward the drain point. With a tile-insert channel system, the channel body carries its own internal slope - each 1000mm section incorporates a built-in gradient toward the outlet.

This means the surrounding screed and tile can be laid flat. The fall exists inside the channel, not in the floor surface, so the finished tile reads as level while water still drains to the outlet. This removes a screed tolerance that is otherwise difficult to hold consistently across a long run.

When multiple channel sections are laid end to end, the internal slope must accumulate consistently from section to section. Each joint between channel bodies must maintain the gradient without a step or reverse fall.

The sections are manufactured so that the outlet end of one section aligns with the inlet end of the next. Correct orientation during installation ensures the cumulative fall reaches the outlet without interruption. Reversing a section breaks the slope chain and creates a pooling point at the joint.