Finding PVC drainage pipe underground?

16 years ago

I've run into a problem with a pipe. The PVC pipe that water runoff from my roof on one side of the house drains into, is not flowing properly. Before I bought this house, some of the lot had settled in the back which I suspect has caused this problem. It flows, but is very slow, slow enough under heavy rain to cause a backup in the pipe. This pipe also runs underground under my concrete driveway immediately after it enters the ground. From that point onward, I don't know where it goes. I first assumed it went straight back, just judging by the first elbow as it went underground. I was proven wrong after finding the other end up the pipe today approximately 25 feet to one side of where I suspected it exited the ground. This means it enters the ground goes straight back for some distance, then angles to the right, and straightens back out again.

All I want to do is find the pipe in front of the break, and completely run new pipe from that point on.

Anyone have any good methods for locating such a pipe? Ive heard about acoustic methods, but it seems a little far fetched. My only other option is to dig up the entire perimeter of the driveway until I find it, but even then I do not know how deep it will be at any given time.

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Comments (3)

sniffdog
16 years ago
they make a device that you may be able to rent that is a snake with a transmitter on it. you run the snake through the pipe and then use a hand held receiver with a wond to locate the pipe.

i had a plumber use this to locate a water main that i needed to find in my yard. he ran the snake from the inside of the house under the slab all the way to the outside (about a 40 foot run) until it stopped. he then went into the yard and used the receiver to locate the signal. i dug down 3 feet and there it was! i think it cost me 100 dollars to have plumber come out and do this - and it saved me a ton of work.

if you can't rent one, call some plumbers and ask if they have this type of locating device. from your description, it doesn't sound like it would take that long to map out where your drain pipes are.
thecause16
Original Author
16 years ago
No, it wouldn't take long. I only need to figure out where it is just on the other side of the driveway, where from that point on I plan on running new anyway. I'll look into that, thanks.
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Craven7408_aol_com
12 years ago
Before I purchased the property, the neighbor filled in the drainage ditch and installed some small drain pipes. How can I find the location and the depth of these pipes, because I am being over run with water during a heavy rain.