Actually the water will be drained into my backyard...I have about 200 feet of backyard and all water in backyard ends up in a concrete drainage ditch going under adjacent highway to my yard compliments of the State of Texas Dept of Transportation & Highways, so I have no problem with drainage to neighbors and surrounding areas...a "rain garden" is out of the question for my yard as well as others on my street as all of our backyards naturally slope toward the drainage ditch that the State installed.

To answer your question, I've never had a problem with direct burial. Be sure to put it where it's not likely to get damaged by a shovel in the future.

I think what you are looking at is a fast, effective fix. See how one works, you may need another. Use a "pop-up" to keep critters out of the pipe on the discharge end. I hope the contractor got some money for his time and knowledge.

If you want to "bump it up" I would look at two things: 1. Can you fix the grade issue so that the property drains properly in the first place. 2. Can you do anything to allow at least some of the runoff to penetrate into the ground? Perhaps by using perforated pipe and sand/gravel. The problem of storm water runoff is a big problem in urban areas. The problem is that the impermeable surfaces cause a large amount of storm runoff instead of it filtering into the ground and releasing over time in the surface water. There is a lot of erosion, downstream flooding and other problems because of it.

$3500 is a total ripoff for what you're doing. I agree with the DIY. Or maybe find some kind of day laborer or something to help with the ditch digging.

I would suggest two things. First, consider putting some gravel at the bottom of the trench in order to provide a bit more support for the pipe. It's not necessary, but it will help prevent "bellies" where water may sit (that's not a huge problem underground). You should aim for a slope of 1/4" per 12" of run. Second, I think you're planning this, but I would use solid PVC, not that black accordion pipe. It will last longer and be less susceptible to breakage. The last thing you want to do is have to dig it up.

Otherwise, yeah, you're looking at $50 of materials and a day or two of heavy digging at most.

Thanks guys for all the help. Yes, the contractor was paid for his time and knowledge. I paid him $200 for his estimate and trouble using the transit. He was happy and so was I. I just wasn't happy with his final bid of $3500. He understood that money was tight in my household and said he could re-assess his bid and might could come off the price a little more for the PVC pipe & 12" catch basin.

In the mean time, I looked at Lowes and found some stuff called "Spee-D" channel & "pro channel" which looks like something else I could use in my water problem along with the 12" catch basin. If you look at ndspro.com you will see what I mean. This stuff has a grate on it and comes in sections.

I had already decided the corrugated stuff would be too flimsy of a pipe and was going to use PVC pipe too.

I hate the idea of digging by hand, but to save some of that $3500, I will dig it. I've already called the digtest people to mark any lines--that's something else I learned from the contractor bid--he was helpful in telling me if I did it myself to call digtest.

Thanks again for all the help. I think I can do this myself and not screw it up--I'll keep you posted!

Jeanie Beth

Since this is a solid pipe, there is no need for sand or stone under it except maybe to level the hole for slope. You could probably do that by carefully digging only what is needed and laying the pipe on the bottom of the hole.

Yes, I was going to suggest that Spee-D channel stuff. It's basically a trough drain, and could make sense if your drainage pattern works with it. It would mean you don't need to funnel all the water to one basin but could instead have it cut across several feet of yard.

BTW, can you find a guy with a bobcat and digger attachment? I realize digging is a pain, but $3500 is really expensive for that kind of digging.

if your lawn is a sandy lome, [norocks'
then you do not need gravel. if anything is used i would use sand, to bed the pipe in, sand is the prefered material
it goes under the pipe easily and provides 100% compaction
afterbackfilling the line, leave the soil mounded up
over the ditch. as it rains and settles. it will flattenout
if you do not mound it, it will settle concave

Along with all of the other tips that you have gotten, be sure to call the utilities locating service before you dig. You don't want to hit a gas line, electrical or cable/phone.

This is a free service. Call about 5 days ahead of time to give them plenty of time.

don't dig it by hand, go rent a trencher. you ain't using this to disperse water like a leach field, so the trenc only has to be wide enough to handle the pipe itself. and once buried mound the dirt back over it. otherwise it will depress down once the dirt settles next year.

I have an area that ponds water. I've attached a pic of the water ponding. There is absolutely no where to guide this water to down hill slope. I'm not understanding how placing a French drain solves my problem. Don't I have to lead the black perforated hose to a lower area to drain water away? Or do you simply put the piping in and gradually lower the incline of the pipe so it's draining water downward away to another area? Won't it just be moving the ponding water to another place to pond up? Would truly appreciate a clarification how a French drain would solve my problem. Thank you!