Culvert options?

dlabrie · Jan 4, 2005

I have an area behind my garage that is used for water run off. The ground slopes down away from the garage and runoff from the road and my driveway run through this area as well. There is no water in it unless we have a downpour and then it isn’t much. I would like to fill this area in to build a wood shed that will attach to the back of my garage. I also want to place an outdoor wood furnace on this filled area.

I guess I need to place a culvert about 30’ long to accommodate the runoff and fill over it. Any ideas on an inexpensive way to do this? Is there another way to do this without using a culvert?

Thanks,

slydog · Jan 4, 2005

Perhaps a French drain? Depending on the amount of run off and the ability to channel the water, a culvert of some type might be your best answer overall.

Ken

Moon · Jan 4, 2005

4" flexible pipe is really easy to work with. If the runoff is not that bad you might bury a couple of these and be done with it. They use this type of hose for gutter runoff and such here. If you are planning to put a wood stove right over top of the drain pipe I would not use the flexible pipe. You would need a more rigid pipe for that, i'd guess.

Moon of Ohio

EddieWalker · Jan 4, 2005

I agree with the 4" flexible tubing you can get at Home Depot or Lowes. It comes in 100 ft rolls and costs around $25. Three pieces cut to 30 feet or so should handle the amount of water your dealing with. They have brochures with the stuff listing all the attachments you can add to it. There is also a 6" roll thats 100 ft long, but the price is over $100 for it.

btolle · Jan 4, 2005

I would also buy the "sock" for the flexible pipe. And be sure to get the kind with the slits in it so the water can enter it anywhere along the pipe.

At least at my Lowe's the pipe is out in the garden department and the "sock" is in the plumbing department. It comes in 100' rolls and will cost more than the pipe costs but will keep dirt out of the pipe for the most part.

If you have some gravel handy it would work better if you could put a couple of inches of gravel below and surrounding it to help the drainage.

With 77" of rain in East Texas last year I am familiar with this stuff.

Bill Tolle

dlabrie · Jan 4, 2005

Wow!, I thought I was going to have to buy a 12" culvert! But, 3- 30' sections of 4 or 6" pipe would do the trick. I assume, I would just lay the flex pipe on the ground, pile some rocks at each end and cover the whole thing with fill.

In the area, where I am going to put the wood furnace, there will be about 3' of fill and a foot of 3/4" stone over the pipe. The furnace will be on top of that. Will the pipe hold its shape?

Henro · Jan 4, 2005

I would like to fill this area in to build a wood shed that will attach to the back of my garage. I also want to place an outdoor wood furnace on this filled area. 

dlabrie,

Let me see if I got this right. You are going to fill the area, and build something over it, and you want some pipe to carry water under what you build, more or less, right?

IF this is the case, I would not go with the flex drain pipe. I would put the 12" pipe in, with the expectation I could clean it out later if I needed to. Actually one pipe, if it were smooth inside would be kind of self cleaning anyway.

Around here (your prices may differ) it cost me, last spring, about $9 per foot for 18" black plastic, corregated outside with smooth wall interior culvert pipe. 12" might be 5$ or $6 per foot. I would go with a single, reasonable sized pipe if it were going to be in a place I could not dig up later. Especially if you are not trying to really drain a wet area, but really are just concerned with a rain run off situation.

Sometimes the least expensive solution is more expensive in the long run.

Then again, I might not understand what your real needs are... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

EddieWalker · Jan 4, 2005

Yeah, it will hold its shape real well and as long as you don't allow it to fill up with dirt, it will do a great job of moving water for you.

I'd keep the angle pretty steep and even raise the entrace to ensure only water gets in it.

If you do have it plug up, then you can get a jetting attachment for putting sprinkler lines under sidewalks, attach it to some pvc and your hose and you will blow out the dirt in time. That can be a pain, but not impossible. Expecially for such a short run.

If you want to creat a french drain over a larger area and have the water seep into the collection area, then go for the perforated pipe. But only use the solid pipe for what you put under your pad. Anytime you move water under a structure, you want it contained inside the pipe with no possibility of leaking.

dlabrie · Jan 5, 2005

( Let me see if I got this right. You are going to fill the area, and build something over it, and you want some pipe to carry water under what you build, more or less, right?

IF this is the case, I would not go with the flex drain pipe. quote]

 Yes that is right. Can you buy 12" flex pipe at HD? I can't find much on their web site.

Henro · Jan 5, 2005

Yes that is right. Can you buy 12" flex pipe at HD? I can't find much on their web site. 

I don't know...the pipe I was referring to is rigid, double wall, and sold in 20' lenghts (they will sell a half length though). I got it from a local culvert pipe supplier. Even 18" by 20 feet can be moved around by one person, so it is not that heavy. It has a rubber gasket on the male end, that goes inside at the bell end, where pipe sections are joined by sliding one inside the other...not too bad to work with.

I think I have seen larger diameter (12" or larger) flex type corregated piping sold in 20' lenghts at TSC. This stuff is not double wall though, and is more like the 4" stuff that Home Depot sells, just larger...

I've attached a picture of the stuff I used...