Anyone here ever tried installing their own NDS driveway drain?

I did a 20-foot run of the 5-inch NDS Pro Series last summer becuase my garage kept flooding. On a scale of difficulty for the slope, it's about a 4 if you're patient, but a 9 if you try to eyeball it. The hardest part isn't the drain itself; it's the prep work and making sure your discharge point is actualy lower than the intake. Since you're working with pavers, you're lucky because you don't have to rent a concrete saw, but you still need a solid base so the channel doesn't sink or shift under the weight of your car. To get the grading right without losing your mind, don't just use a level on the ground. Drive two stakes into the ground—one at the start and one at the exit. Run a **masonry string** between them and use a line level to get it perfectly level. Then, calculate your drop. You want at least 1/8 to 1/4 inch of fall for every foot of pipe. Measure down from the string to the bottom of your trench at regular intervals. This ensures a consistent downhill run even if the surface of your driveway is uneven. Since you're pulling up pavers, take a close look at the sub-base. If you just have a localized puddle where you park, you might just have a "birdbath" where the pavers settled over time. If that's the case, you coud potentially just re-compact the base and reset the pavers with a slight pitch toward the street. But if you're set on the drain, go with the 5-inch wide channel. Those skinny 1-inch drains are a nightmare to clean out once they fill with grit and oak tassels. One last thing—make sure you have a plan for where that water is going. Dumping it into a dry well or out to the curb is standard. When you set the drain, encase the sides in a bit of stiff mortar. If you just shove sand against the plastic walls, the pavers next to it will eventually shift and you'll be back to square one with a broken drain and the same old puddle.

How deep do you actualy have to dig to fit the drain plus that mortar base? I'm worried about hitting a utility line or just making a giant mess if I go too far down. Also, if I'm using the 5-inch channel, do I need a special tool to cut the plastic to fit my specific length, or will a regular hacksaw work? I've never worked with mortar before, so I'm nervous about it drying too fast while I'm still trying to get the level right. Is there a specific type of mix that stays workable longer for someone who is a bit slow?

A regular hacksaw is all you need for the NDS stuff. It cuts like butter. Regarding the mortar, just mix it thick like peanut butter so the channel doesn't float or sink while you're leveling it.

One thing people miss is the grate height. Always set the top of the drain about an eighth of an inch lower than the surrounding pavers. If you set it flush, the water might just skip right over the edge. Also, throw some duct tape over the grates before you pour the mortar or reset the pavers. It keeps the gunk out of the channel so you aren't cleaning out a brand new system on day one.