How to Install a PVC Drain Tile
Installing a properly designed drainage system with PVC pipe around the foundation of your home will keep water from seeping into your basement. A good drain tile system is a very important part of home construction. The system works on gravity, so it is important to slope water run off away from your home. A foundation PVC pipe system is composed of the PVC pipe, gravel, ground sheeting (filtration paper), gravel cover and a place where water can run off. PVC pipe is perforated with holes for drainage. You can get fittings to connect the pipes and make turns around the corner of your foundation. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Hoe
- Wheelbarrow
- Ground sheeting
- 4-inch PVC perforated pipe and corner fittings
- Epoxy seal for PVC pipe
- Pea gravel
- Downspout extenders
- Topsoil
Instructions
-
-
1
Shovel the dirt from around your foundation, creating a trench. Dig all the way down to the concrete footing of your house.
-
2
Slope the trench away from your foundation walls, using the shovel or a hoe. The trench should slope 1 inch for every 10 feet you dig along your foundation. By doing this, you will use gravity to drain the water through the PVC pipe to an area away from your house.
-
-
3
Lay sections of ground sheeting in the trench. Install the PVC pipe on top of the ground sheeting. Cut sections of PVC pipe if needed with a hacksaw.
-
4
Seal each of the joints of the PVC pipes with epoxy.
-
5
Shovel a layer of pea gravel on top of the pipes up to about 6 inches from the top of the trench.
-
6
Lay another layer of ground sheeting on top of the pea gravel,
-
7
Fill the remaining inches in the trench with topsoil and tamp down with your shovel.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
When sloping your drain tile, make sure the water run-off won't flow into a neighbor's property.
Wear work gloves to protect your hands.
Wear safety goggles when cutting PVC pipe.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit pvc image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
