Culverts/pipes - lots of questions

Theowegian · Jun 9, 2005

Hi RobA:
Around kansas, a corregated steel culvert, 14 ga, 36 inch diameter costs 33 dollars per linear foot. 36 inch steel pipe (0.375 thick wall) runs 38 dollars per linear ft.

36 inch corregate pipe, 14 ga weighs approximately 38 pounds per linear foot, according to my sources.

I called my local county road and bridge department about steel culverts. They gave me names and phone numbers of the bidders who bid on their culverts.

hope this helps.

I think you could find them under DRAINAGE PRODUCTS or something like that in the yellow pages...
dwight

gabby · Jun 9, 2005

( Don't even look at the old steel pipes. Even the DOT has switched to plastic. )

Amen to that. Steel will rust out in 20 years, it costs more than plastic, and it's much harder to handle because it's a lot heavier. Plus you can't cut it off with a chain saw like you can plastic.

If you have to use minimal fill, cover the top of the pipe with treated 2x6's lengthwise to help distribute heavy wheel loads.

Rip-rap both ends of the pipe to prevent erosion.

20 feet is the minimum length you should use, 24 is even better. You don't want a skinny roadbed over a creek.
gabby

Theowegian · Jun 9, 2005

There is one drawback to using plastic pipe around here. The ranchers regularly burn pastures for weed control and to promote grass growth. Sometimes those plastic culverts catch on fire.....then its good bye to your culvert! Most ranchers install corregated steel culverts or culverts made from old pipe or tanks.

something to think about....

dwight

LBrown59 · Jun 10, 2005

( There is one drawback to using plastic pipe around here. The ranchers regularly burn pastures for weed control and to promote grass growth. Sometimes those plastic culverts catch on fire.....then its good bye to your culvert! Most ranchers install corregated steel culverts or culverts made from old pipe or tanks.

something to think about....

dwight )==========
In these parts who ever sets the colvert on fire pays to replace it.

LBrown59 · Jun 10, 2005

This is a complex expensive project - good luck with it.

I was going to install 100 foot of 15'' plastic pipe in the road ditch in front of my place.
I found out that was a pretty involved complicated and quite expensive project so am now having second reservations about going ahead with it.

The cost of this is about 1100 or 1200 dollars, so I don't even want to think about the cost of what you're wanting to do.

LBrown59 · Jun 10, 2005

(

The plastic pipe loading will be dependant on it's gauge and buried depth. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon ) =======
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 I have standard 15'' DW smooth bore corrugated plastic drive way culvert for my mobile home sales lot driveway.
It's buried 12 to 18 inches and supports carrying the homes.

LBrown59 · Jun 10, 2005

(

"Where can I get culvert pipe?"
I know the 8 to 24 inch plastic pipe is available from Lowes, etc. Not too pricey.
)

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*******''**********
I priced the 20 'joints of 15'' Double Wall smooth bore corrugated plastic culvert at>

Midwest Pipe $122.80
Sprague Supply $124.80.
Carter Lumber $125.00.
Pioneer Supply $126.00.
Lowes was $136.60 for the cheep lower quality Single Wall rough bore stuff.

When you have to purchase 5 joints of this stuff at these prices to make a 100 foot run it becomes quite pricey.

I could not use Lowes pipe because it doesn't meet state Specs.

LBrown59 · Jun 10, 2005

A 12 inch plastic culvert 20 feet long goes for a little over $100 in East Texas. Lowes has them along with most farm supply stores.
 ============ 
Around here folks are getting taken at Lowes on driveway culvert.
They are selling the cheep inferior single wall rough bore 15' pipe for more than any of the other suppliers are charging for the superior double wall smooth bore culvert.

Some notes about the SW.
1* It don't meet my states requirements for a drive way
2* Due to the rough bore It will clog up easier than the smooth bore.
3*If it clogs up the state can't clean it out with the equipment they use to clean out the smooth bore pipe because the machine will tear up the single wall rough bore pipe.
Guess what happens if the single wall clogs up on you. That's right you get to dig it all up and buy all new pipe and pay for doing the same job all over again.

Dargo · Jun 10, 2005

I have a 10' steel culvert in a creek that my driveway crosses. I did it several years ago (almost 20) on a shoestring budget. The culvert cost me about $2000 to have put in back then, whereas a bridge was just under $50,000. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I agree that a bridge as perscribed by a civil engineer would be better, but my culvert is still there. It has handled dozens and dozens of full (11 yards of concrete) concrete trucks that weigh close to 100,000 pounds over it and countless dumptruck crossings besides everyday traffic. Also, in all of the heavy rains we have had in the last 20 years, it has never failed and only once had water go over it.

Yes, I do need to eventually replace it. I'd even like to do it with some sort of bridge, but I just cannot spend 50 big ones for a bridge in my driveway! As the process of concreting my driveway gets closer to the culvert, the more important it becomes on deciding what to do.

So, in your case, unless you have a full sized backhoe, as long as you have a couple feet of dirt over your culvert (whatever size), you should be okay. Good luck!

pmtllc · Jun 18, 2005

( Usually when a stream or river blows the fill material out, there's a couple of potential problems. The first and least likely is a bad installation, the second being an undersized culvert and third the culvert plugged. )

 This is why you need an engineer's help. The fill material must be compacted every several inches from the base up. The down stream end should extend past the toe of your backfill @ 2 ft to prevent back scouring. And even after all that you must be able to have an adequate prediction of the peek flow of your creek/ditch based on max rainfall, infiltration, interception, drainage basin size etc. If the culvert is too small to handle this flow and the fill is too low to retain the resulting ponding, the water will go over the top and wash it out again. In short, if the creek over flows the ditch every year, you're going to have problems. You can DIY just do the research too.