Hit a Drain Line, Options?

[Augus7us]

Hey All,

I want to run 100amp service to my shop, in place of the 30amp the PO ran for lights and one circuit of outlets...

I was going to rent a trencher to do this but I knew I had several drain lines and the wire the PO ran that I would have to cross. Since I've never operated a trencher, or dug a trench for that matter, I thought I would dig it by hand so I could find the drains without damaging them a bit easier.

So I got about six feet of trench dug and ran into my first drain line. Looks like ~5" black plastic pipe. These are connected to my downspouts and I have no idea where they run to. Well when I started to dig on the other side of the pipe I nicked it and put about a 1" gash in it. It starting puking water into my trench. Yay

So is there an easy way to fix this? Do I need to replace the pipe?

Thanks

-Clint

 

[paul714]

I would cut it and spice it- I believe they make a splice for corrugated hose that fits inside and uses hose clamps, I would also run a small snake down the line- it should not be under pressure unless you had a lot of rain recently- my guess is you have poor drainage or some sort of blockage

 

[EOC_Jason]

... and the can of worms is now open...

Interesting how water was flowing out when all you can see is the very top of the pipe, you obviously aren't digging a trench after some recent rains or it would be all muddy... You might have a blockage (or the ends could have just been covered over) for your drain line. You might want to rent one of those sewer cameras and see where it goes to make sure you are proper drainage...

To seal it up... It's rain water... I would just clean the exposed part where you made the slit and use some silicone caulk. Let dry and cover it back up with dirt...

 

[Lelandwelds]

That's a french drain or rain gutter drain. It runs to a dry well or to daylight downhill. I would just wrap it in landscape fabric and tape it just before burial.

Probably. I have been surprised before. (Ever seen a toilet flange nailed with 12p nails into floor tile and a 2" mortar bed?)

 

[Radix2]

Most likely the other end of the pipe is blocked or goes to a clogged up "drywell' ...or the pipe runs up hill at that point.

Personally, unless you can get it to run to daylight it will probably not work, and isn't working now, so the first option might be to find the end or bring it above ground yourself.

As to fixing it... it just has downspout water in it, does it really matter if a bit leakes out? Drop a bit of landscape fabric on it and cover it up. If you look at the fittings for that pipe, they leak like a sieve anyway.

 

[Cahark]

I did the same exact thing when I was running power. Menards sells a splice coupling, and some heavy duty tape that’s meant to fix the problem. Don’t sweat it too bad. Fix the problem, and move on.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mrobins297aaa]

I cut threw a few of those drains with the trencher when I dug the trench for my electrical for my barn.
They do make a coupling for them but I used some pvc that I had. The O.D. of the coupling was a nice tight fit inside the pipe.

 

[thammel]

Same thing happened to me. Just dig down enough so you can splice repair it. Depending on the type of pipe, you can buy splice parts. It's tough to tell from your photo.

Tom

 

[GarageGuy89]

Assuming that is the roof water...I've seen septic systems use that black corrugated material all the time...just saying.

I would just clean the exposed part where you made the slit and use some silicone caulk. Let dry and cover it back up with dirt...

Caulk won't do anything for this application. As others mentioned, splice kit or some kind of wrap/tape. Those pipes are rated as soil tight (keeps soil out of the pipe) not water tight...so it might be a moot point to try and seal it. As long as you keep the dirt out you should be fine.

If you go to HD and look at the connections for that corrugated stuff, the tolerances are not tight enough to seal water, take a look and you'll probably get some peace of mind once you see it.

 

[markmcj]

Seeing how it's a drain, I'd figure out why it isn't draining first.
If that part can be solved, throw some duct tape on it to prevent dirt from falling in and bury it up.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I dug up a sewer drain pipe that some one had cut an aprox 3 inch round hole in, they just put a car floor mat over it and buried it. Had no problem with it. Found the hole by accident.

 

[Docbentley]

Use that Flexseal tape as seen on all the tv ads

 

[Augus7us]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has done this.

My main concern was that it would obviously puke water out right above my electrical conduit... I know its in conduit but it still bothered me, especially since the point of doing it by hand was to dig around any drain pipes. Not through them!

Of course I was also bothered by the fact that it was holding water like that. I'm hoping it was just a low spot in the pipe. If it is plugged up how would you clear that out? One of those electric pipe snakes?

-Clint

 

[Augus7us]

Use that Flexseal tape as seen on all the tv ads

Are you speaking from experience? Just curious because that stuff looks like it would be real handy, but I dismiss it as a gimmick because of how its advertised. Same with the spray.

-Clint

 

[dw1]

Thanks for the replies. I'm glad I'm not the only one that has done this.

My main concern was that it would obviously puke water out right above my electrical conduit... I know its in conduit but it still bothered me, especially since the point of doing it by hand was to dig around any drain pipes. Not through them!

Of course I was also bothered by the fact that it was holding water like that. I'm hoping it was just a low spot in the pipe. If it is plugged up how would you clear that out? One of those electric pipe snakes?

-Clint

Yep, you are not alone, after I cleared my "New to me Property" and built my barn, I was trenching for my electrical service to my new barn, I had water service turned on and only had a yard hydrant, I hit the water line not once but twice and had actually moved the trencher over 20"-24" to avoid it and hit the damn thing again, some spots it was only 16" in the ground. I have since brought in more top soil and covered it up.

 

[Lunker]

The As-Seen-On-TV Mighty Putty works good for nicks like that.

I've used it on sprinkler lines before should handle a drain line

 

[koviack]

Seeing how it's a drain, I'd figure out why it isn't draining first.
If that part can be solved, throw some duct tape on it to prevent dirt from falling in and bury it up.

this is your problem right here. that pipe should have a grade on it and drain everything out to where it's going. shouldn't be THAT much standing water in the pipe. Fix the clogs, Fix the pipe, good to go. If the pipe was holding that much water in the first place it probably didn't even work

get a cobra drain cleaner and see if its clogged |

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