How to find drain pipe

[Clemson]

Hoping to save myself a lot of digging. There is a 2" drain pipe that exits from under my concrete pad and goes away from the building...not sure how far. Are there any tricks and tips to finding this drain pipe besides digging all along that side of the building until I hit it, and then follow it until I find the end?

I just installed a sink, and when I run water for 3-4 minutes, water starts backing up. So I need to find that drain pipe and extend it away from the building. I'm going to bury a 55 gallon drum with holes drilled into it and fill it with gravel.

 

[greenskeeper]

Interesting problem.

Can you run a snake to clear the blockage? I’ll assume the sink drained properly in the past?

If you hit the blockage, that will give you an estimate on how far the run is if you note how much cable you put down the drain.

 

[65ranchero]

Is it plastic pipe?
If it's iron a metal detector may help

Fiber optic snake camera with sensor on the end and metal detector

 

[Clemson]

No its PVC. The drain was put in per my request when the building was built. I just now got around to putting the sink in. So this was something I was going to need to do all along, but I should have marked where the the drain was...

Theres a floor drain, and a pvc drain in the wall. They should connect and run outside...somewhere.

 

[Steve W.]

You could grab a coat hanger, some cutters and go dowsing for it.

.

 

[Clemson]

You could grab a coat hanger, some cutters and go dowsing for it.

.

No matter how I end up finding, I will report back that I found it via dowsing.

 

[Jinks]

If you know where it exits the slab make a rod (3 or 4 ft. of all-thread) with a wood handle at the top. Probe the ground where the pipe exits the slab. You'll feel it when you hit the pipe. A few pokes with the probe will find it a little further along. Repeat every few feet & mark where you hit the pipe. You'll make a map of the pipe till you come to the end.

 

[65ranchero]

No matter how I end up finding, I will report back that I found it via dowsing.

here you go 10 min. from my house

The American Society of Dowsers – ASD Annual Conference

dowsers.org

 

[Clemson]

If you know where it exits the slab make a rod (3 or 4 ft. of all-thread) with a wood handle at the top. Probe the ground where the pipe exits the slab. You'll feel it when you hit the pipe. A few pokes with the probe will find it a little further along. Repeat every few feet & mark where you hit the pipe. You'll make a map of the pipe till you come to the end.

I know about where it exits...within a 15' section of the wall. In other words, I know what side of the building, and that its past the window.

The ground is to hard to probe it, unless I can make up some kind of sharp spike. Which may be helpful anyway.

Starting to sound like I am going to have to start digging alongside the building until I find the pipe. Then try to follow it from there.

 

[Clemson]

here you go 10 min. from my house

The American Society of Dowsers – ASD Annual Conference

dowsers.org

A plumber found the drain pipe at my grandmothers house with two coat hangers...later we had to repair them and he turned out to be right...Was the first time I seen that in action lol

 

[FredWanaker]

Hire a plumber / sewer company who has a camera with a sensor on the end. He can take it to the end, tell you exactly where it is, and use a detector to confirm the exact spot. Or you can run your own snake into it to measure how far it goes then use a metal detector to follow it if it isn't too deep. Also, if a sink is the only plumbing you had when the pad was poured, I'd guess that it exited the pad right where the sink is next to the wall. You can also run water into it for a few days to keep it full then look for a wet spot outside.

 

[FMB4]

Fred is above is correct. Was a maintenance guy at a 50 unit apartment complex 20 yrs ago. Place had never ending plumbing/drain problems. The plumbing Co that took care of the serious underground drain problems had a snake with a cam and a senor/sending unit(?) on the end that the crew could track to within a few feet.

 

[ace10]

The pipe just terminates into the soil?

 

[Clemson]

The pipe just terminates into the soil?

Yes, I need to extend it. Its for water only.

 

[Clemson]

Fred is above is correct. Was a maintenance guy at a 50 unit apartment complex 20 yrs ago. Place had never ending plumbing/drain problems. The plumbing Co that took care of the serious underground drain problems had a snake with a cam and a senor/sending unit(?) on the end that the crew could track to within a few feet.

Good to know if I can't find it. Just scared they would charge a fortune for probably a 10 minute job.

 

[benjamintmiller]

I have a KOLSOL F02 locator I bought on Amazon for about $40. It's pretty simple tech, basically an AM radio transmitter and receiver.

I clipped it to a metal electrical wire snake that I ran in a pipe and was able to find a PVC pipe about 2' down.

 

[pima67]

Dowsing does work -- for some people. Many years ago my aunt & uncle need to replace some field tile in their very big yard (water wasn't draining properly.) The contractor came out and using 2 L shaped bent brass rods (small dia) he found the tile runs. He let me and my sister try it and it worked for me but not my sister. Many years later i used the same procedure to find buried irrigation lines in my yard.

 

[Clemson]

I have a KOLSOL F02 locator I bought on Amazon for about $40. It's pretty simple tech, basically an AM radio transmitter and receiver.

I clipped it to a metal electrical wire snake that I ran in a pipe and was able to find a PVC pipe about 2' down.

Woah, thanks. This may be the ticket. I went and dug some more, and have not struck gold yet. The ground is so dang hard that I am scared I am going to break the pipe if I hit it.

If I hit the pipe, I'm probably screwed if it cracks under the slab.

 

[66cj225]

Compressed air and a rag. May solve more than one problem; good possibility of getting wet if unsuccessful.

 

[58Yeoman]

I dowsed a water line at work one time. It was an open grassy field, and it worked perfectly. I tried it at home and no go. Go figure.

 

[nyy845]

Find a local utility locating company. This is literally 30 minutes of work.

They will snake the line with a detectable duct rod and locate the line. Most are also able to video inspect the line if you so desire.

 

[nadogail]

If you can feed an electricians fish tape into the pipe a metal detector should be able to find it.

 

[charbar]

I know you keep saying the ground is hard, but honestly a sturdy sharpened rod is usually easier than digging. I do it quite often with a steel electric fence post. Block of wood on top to push on if it is pretty hard ground. Ill do that any day before digging in hard ground, and then having a mess to deal with on top of it.

If all else fails call a local electrician to bring a trencher out. They will find everything ever buried in your yard in about 30 seconds

 

[Clemson]

I got aggravated and dug a 18-20” trench all along that side and no pipe. Ordered a electrical snake.

what a giant pain. Ill try the snake and metal detector. If no dice I’ll call somebody.

 

[Clemson]

Find a local utility locating company. This is literally 30 minutes of work.

They will snake the line with a detectable duct rod and locate the line. Most are also able to video inspect the line if you so desire.

But what will it cost? I figure by the time somebody drives to me and does the work, i’ll be lucky if its not $200

 

[BillK]

How long ago was the building built ?? Any chance the contractor might remember where they ran it ? Maybe pictures during construction. ?

 

[Clemson]

The pad was probably done 6+ months ago. I asked him and he did not recall exactly. May get him to swing out and see if he recalls

 

[quickfarms]

What we do is to run a metal snake down the pipe and attack a transmitter to the snake and a ground then use the detector to chase the line, works great but the equipment will cost more than having someone do it.

 

[Clemson]

I found “key finders” on amazon. You press the remote and the tag beeps. Im going to attach one to the snake and send it down and then try to listen for the beeping. 18 bucks on amazon, worth a shot

 

[steaks&anvils]

How far from the building do you think it terminates?

You say the build was just six months ago. If you get on the roof, you may be able to see any settling or disturbance to the ground. Like a trough or low area. Maybe the grass is greener where the water puddles at the end of the pipe?

 

[Crfdell]

Camera with locator is the best way. If you were near me I would charge $250 and would cable the drain as well to remove blockages depending on what was found.

 

[ZRX61]

Dowse it, I'm usually within 6in @ 3ft deep

 

[Walkers]

No matter how I end up finding, I will report back that I found it via dowsing.

I’m dowsing it from here and my dowsing rods are pointing toward South Carolina, so you could hardly go wrong!

 

[ambenz]

I found “key finders” on amazon. You press the remote and the tag beeps. Im going to attach one to the snake and send it down and then try to listen for the beeping. 18 bucks on amazon, worth a shot

This is getting interesting! Subscribed! I have a a drain in my driveway I have no idea where it goes.
I dug off the side of the drive in the front lawn and found the pipe about 3 feet down, running towards the front sidewalk.
But no exit to the front ditch (passed the sidewalk) and there is a telephone vault manhole cover in the sidewalk so I am guessing the pipe never got past the vault. May be it goes to a buried 55 gallon drum with holes drilled into it and fill it with gravel.
Would be nice to know where that drain goes. Hope I can learn from your mistakes on the cheap! Good Luck!

 

[Uncle murph]

Hoping to save myself a lot of digging. There is a 2" drain pipe that exits from under my concrete pad and goes away from the building...not sure how far. Are there any tricks and tips to finding this drain pipe besides digging all along that side of the building until I hit it, and then follow it until I find the end?

I just installed a sink, and when I run water for 3-4 minutes, water starts backing up. So I need to find that drain pipe and extend it away from the building. I'm going to bury a 55 gallon drum with holes drilled into it and fill it with gravel.

If it takes 3-4 minutes to fill the pipe then the clog must be a long way out.Keep the pipe full of water and look for the obvious termination point(low and close)chances are the end is just barely covered and with the aid of a probe you should be able to locate wet ground from the seepage.You might also consider the possibility that if you didn’t see it get done that the “run”was never installed,locating the exit point fr the building would be extremely helpful.

 

[Uncle murph]

Hoping to save myself a lot of digging. There is a 2" drain pipe that exits from under my concrete pad and goes away from the building...not sure how far. Are there any tricks and tips to finding this drain pipe besides digging all along that side of the building until I hit it, and then follow it until I find the end?

I just installed a sink, and when I run water for 3-4 minutes, water starts backing up. So I need to find that drain pipe and extend it away from the building. I'm going to bury a 55 gallon drum with holes drilled into it and fill it with gravel.

Also put the gravel on the outside of the barrel,counterproductive to put it inside.

 

[Clemson]

I doubt I’ll see disturbances. The ground was smoothed over when we had grass planted.

the pipe must be deep if it does indeed run out from the building. I can’t find a soft/wet spot anywhere.

Snake and key finder come in tomorrow. I’ll try those and update. Hopefully that at least helps me find where the pipe exits and I can probe from there.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Is the pipe capped ? If it is, that's why it backs up.

If it's not capped, the water will take a bit for it to seep into the soil. Keep flowing water over a week, look for the nice green section of grass.

 

[Clemson]

I found it. Bought a pair of titanium Dowsing rods, and within 5 minutes I had my pipe..

I'm kidding, Sorry. The electrical snake helped me locate roughly where the end of the pipe was by feeling where it turned and marking that with tape. I then measured those marks to figure roughly where it was. Dug in that area and poked around until I felt the pipe.

Never thought I would be so happy to see a white pipe....not only to find it, but also to confirm it exits the building...


Now I'm going to copy you guys that said to make a spike on a rod to follow it and see where it terminates.....first I have to clean the royal mess I made.

Guess I need to read up on how to make the drainage barrel as well, since one of you said gravel does not go in the barrel.

***No hard feelings on dowsing. Its just a funny art/method.

 

[NUTTSGT]

What no pics of you dowsing ?