Perimeter drain tile questions

[Howie]

I have perimeter drain tile surrounding my house which is connected to a drain pipe that daylights down a hill approximately 60 feet or so from my home. Recently I recognized my sump pump was running much more often than normal and especially so after heavy rains. Upon investigating, I discovered water flow out the end of the drain pipe was non-existent and this appeared to have been the case for some time.

I have ruled out clogging or collapse of the 4" plastic drain pipe and my next step is to check the integrity of the connection between the drain tile and drain pipe (where the drain tile "tees" into the drain pipe).

Does it stand to reason that if a portion of my perimeter drain had collapsed or become clogged that some water would still find its way down the drain pipe?

I realize if I discover the connection between the drain tile and drain pipe is intact that the issue must lie within the perimeter drain, but I am struggling to visualize-- short of a catastrophic failure of the perimeter drain on either side of that connection-- why some water would not still making its way down the drain pipe assuming the connection was ok?

I would also appreciate some help understanding how water flows within a perimeter drain and what the net result might be if a portion of the drain tile either collapsed, broke, or became clogged.

Thanks,

--Howie

[Don Phillipson]

You imply the perimeter drain and the sump pump are interconnected. That would contravene up to date building codes. It is probably worth finding out whether yours are interconnected or not. (I once extended the sump pump output pipe because it seemed too short, i.e. was overloading house drainage: but needed to dig only 20 ft. of extra trench.)

[Howie]

Sorry for wording things such that an incorrect inference could be made. The perimeter drain is not connected to the sump pump pit. There is a drain feeding the pit but it comes from another source and interestingly, the water getting into the pit is seeping through an area just under that drain (i.e., the drain tile feeding the sump pit is dry). I presume the water seeping (at times seemingly rushing) into the sump pit via this avenue is primarily the built up water not being moved away from my house via the perimeter drain/drain pipe system.

Coincidentally, I, too, recently extended my sump pump output pipe as I discovered its discharge was not far enough away from my house and was being recycled. I now have a dry well about 40 feet away into which this now is dumped.

Thanks,

--Howie

[trader4]

What's the code issue with a perimeter drain being connected to a sump pump? Most of them are, because few have the luxury of using a gravity drain to take the water downhill.

[hallerb]

Get a plumber to run a camera up the line to take a look at whats up. Costs a few bucks saves LOTS of digging.

Why drain a sump to a dry well when you have a daylight drain area?

Drywells ALWAYS clog:( worse if water flows into the drywell it can back up into your drain system and cause a flood:(

Ideally all permiter and sumps drain to daylight without ANY pumps!

Pumps fail for all sorts of reasons somehow gravity is always dependable:)

[Howie]

Actually, the builder has agreed to dig down and examine the drain pipe connection to the perimeter drain. If that seems to be in order, I have arranged to do just that-- have a plumber camera the drain tile to see what might be going on.

Regarding the routing of the sump discharge... unfortunately, it is discharged out of the front of my house (opposite the hill/daylight drain pipe). It is better than the previous setup as the discharge was running down my foundation and being recycled. I installed a sump pit out in my yard about 4' deep and connected it with PVC pipe to the former discharge point next to the house (ensuring a nice fall along the way and a 90 degree turn as the water is emptied into the outdoor pit). I drilled holes around the bottom perimeter of the "dry well", filled it with pea gravel, and covered the top with plastic prior to putting topsoil back over the top. Hopefully this works over the long haul...

Jumping back behind my house again... prior to digging down and examining the drain pipe connection to the perimeter drain, I am still attempting to rationalize whether I would see no water flow whatsoever out of the daylight drain if my perimeter drain had collapsed in one area or become clogged, etc., etc. Would a breakdown of the perimeter drain tile in one area cause all water to backup and ultimately wind up under my house versus some water still finding its way around the other side of the perimeter drain (other side of the "tee") and discharging normally through the daylight drain pipe?

--Howie