Burying Drainage Pipe

[Jeff Givens]

I am getting ready to bury close to 500' of 4' perf pvc. The runs I would like to make involve some bends and I am trying to carefully mark out 45 degree and even 22.5 degree lines but am worried that when I dig I will waver enough to cause alignment problems at the joints. I'm digging 6" wide and don't have much wiggle room to compensate for off-line trenching.

Are there any flex couplings I can use? I was thinking that 4" corrugated would be just right but I don't know if I can get it to fit on the PVC piping. _________________________________________________________________ JG... Jeff Givens mailto: [e-mail]

"My hovercraft is full of eels."

[Joe Bobst]

Why aren't you using perforated corrugated pipe? That would be the norm unless you plan to drive heavy equiopment over it on a routine basis. If your trencher can do an 18" depth or better, the corrugated pipe will stand a fair amount of traffic. We see a lot of farm drainage done that way in our area and seldom see a combine falling into a trench. Make sure your project plans aren't a bit of overkill, then choose what's best. Good luck.

Joe

[Tom]

Jeff Givens wrote:>I am getting ready to bury close to 500' of 4' perf pvc. The runs I would

"give" to where you can take some liberties. Tom Work at your leisure!

[Jeff Givens]

Am planning on going 2' deep. Didn't go with corrugated as I only wanted holes along the bottom and just figured the rigid pvc would hold up better over a long time. No doubt the corrugated would be an easier 'lay'. _________________________________________________________________ JG... Jeff Givens mailto: [e-mail]

"My hovercraft is full of eels."

[Banty]

Typical man - looking for an easier lay.

Kidding! Kidding!

Banty

[John McGaw]

I just bought a bit of perforated flex to complete a small drain under a deck I'm building and discovered that the 4" stuff from Lowes (at least in my area) is only perforated at the bottom rather than all the way around like the last big batch I bought for the main drains. It might be worth checking to see what your local Borgs carry. It would certainly be a lot easier and cheaper that way.

[Trent©]

You shouldn't have a problem. A 2" flex at a joint should be plenty to cover any mistakes. Just make sure you mark a straight line for each lateral dig. Then make sure the new-bend line is going properly along the marked line before you do any backfilling.

Personally, I'd use rolled stuff.

Good luck.

Have a nice week...

Trent©

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.

[Harry K]

Actually, there is a -lot- of give to play with when it's laid dry, i.e., not glued and quite a bit when it is glued. Done a bunch of it around my place.

Harry K

[Art]

Hope you are putting a sock over it and surrounding it with gravel and hopefully fabric to keep the dirt out of the gravel.

[Jeff Givens]

Uhhuh to gravel but no rubber though.

Read a bit seems to be conflicting info as to whether to wrap it or not. I'm putting a cleanout at each branch end though just in case. _________________________________________________________________ JG... Jeff Givens mailto: [e-mail]

"My hovercraft is full of eels."

[Chet Hayes]

If you're real concerned with the joint angles, you can do a dry lay out of the pipe and joints before you dig the trench. Then mark the area to be dug with paint.

[John Hines]

While the others have indicated good answers to this, I'll answer directly.

Rubber couplings made by the company "Fernco" have dominated the industry. Usually used for repair, they are available in a variety of sizes to adapt pipes together.

I used a 1 1/2 one on the hook up for my sump pump, to get some vibration isolation. You can get one that will couple 4 inch pvc at both ends.

You don't need it, but they exist.

[Jeff Givens]

yup, in the midst of doing just that, having to use a lot of 22.5 degree bends for the track I want. We'll see how a nice painted line translates after a trencher gets on it. _________________________________________________________________ JG... Jeff Givens mailto: [e-mail]

"My hovercraft is full of eels."