Cinder block culvert

[Moves]

Has anyone ever tried making.a low volume culvert out of cinder locks laid side by side with the holes parallel to the ground and then covered by landscape fabric covered by a foot and a half of dirt?

 

[tman1020]

Have not tried it but sounds like a lot of week links to me. Blocks are not a strong that direction.

 

[bcp]

Unless alignment stays perfect, you will get a debris-trapping ledge every 8 inches. And even a handfull of leaves could plug a hole. OK for a walking path, but not a drive-on culvert system.

Try them this way.



Bruce

 

[tcreeley]

Has anyone ever tried making.a low volume culvert out of cinder locks laid side by side with the holes parallel to the ground and then covered by landscape fabric covered by a foot and a half of dirt?

I used rock loosely placed and covered that with landscape fabric for a drainage ditch. It tended to ice up and stop the flow in the winter. I finally put in a 20" corrugated pvc culvert. Much better, always open.

I do like that cement block surface for driving on- while the water runs over it!

 

[Gary Fowler]

Unless alignment stays perfect, you will get a debris-trapping ledge every 8 inches. And even a handfull of leaves could plug a hole. OK for a walking path, but not a drive-on culvert system.

Try them this way.

View attachment 399797

Bruce

That looks like a very expensive crossing. At about $2 each block to get a 10 foot wide road surface would cost more than $20 per foot of road. A large culvert would be much cheaper to install.

 

[RalphVa]

****! Wish I'd thought of that for my little drive-over bridge I built back in 2004. Instead I just slapped about a half dozen 3 or 3 1/2" PVC pipes underneath. These work but occasionally need some blowing (with an air line off a little tank I have) to clear of spring silt that dumps into their openings. Same would happen with the concrete blocks, but they would give me a lot more throughways for the water to flow through.

The blocks might be a bit weak for side force, but 3 or 4 inches of dirt on top them would likely distribute the force evenly enough to not have a sideway breakthrough.

Ralph

 

[boggen]

Has anyone ever tried making.a low volume culvert out of cinder locks laid side by side with the holes parallel to the ground and then covered by landscape fabric covered by a foot and a half of dirt?

if you have 1.5 feet of dirt on top, then you should have more than enough working room to put in a generic culvert. menards / lowes / homedepot / other local stores should sell them in 20 foot sections. any were from 4" to 24" in diameter.

concrete blocks sounds like a plugged up mess to me. and in short order after a few crossings broken concrete blocks, and money wasted.

 

[dieselcrawler]

The deciding factor may be that the blocks were already on hand and/or free vs having to buy the proper culvert pipe...

Over time they will plug up... culvert pipe would be better, but if you are making use of free matetials, your plan has some merit. I would try it... better than nothing.

 

[MikeInEburg]

Instead, I would put gravel down and ford thru the water to cross. This is a time - tested method for crossing streams. Of course, your vehicle may not have quite the traction as a horse.

 

[jb92563]

Those blocks will likely settle at slightly different rates and angles and you would end up with misaligned holes, gaps, ridges etc resulting in reduced flow or silted up channels.

Small culverts is a much better, longer lasting alternative.

I also like the idea of the slight depression and laying down rock and gravel so the water can drain on the surface. Maintenance free!