Things You'll Need
Tarp
Shovel
Corrugated drain pipe sleeve
Garden hose
Gravel
Corrugated drainpipe is commonly used in the construction of French drains. A French drain wraps around the three highest sides of a building, and when water flows toward the foundation, it slips into the corrugated pipe and drains around the building instead of into the foundation. It is common to install these pipes incorrectly. One side of the pipe has holes in it. Installing the pipe with the holes upward causes the pipe to quickly clog up. This decreases the functionality of the drain and allows water to flow into the foundation of the building. If this happens you must repair the corrugated pipe.
Step 1
Place a tarp out on the ground.
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Step 2
Cut the sod with a shovel the length of the pipe. You must dig up the entire pipe, so make sure you cut all of the sod necessary. Lift the sod up and place it on the tarp. If you take your time, you can place the sod back over the drain pipe and avoid the need to reseed the ground.
Step 3
Remove the fill dirt between the sod and the gravel with the shovel. In some cases, the installer might not have laid gravel over the pipe so the dirt might go down to the pipe. Place the dirt into a pile.
Step 4
Remove the gravel from the pipe if you locate any. Use the shovel and place the gravel into a separate pile.
Step 5
Pull the corrugated pipe out of the trench.
Step 6
Clean the inside of the pipe out. In many case, flushing it with a garden hose will do the trick. In some cases, you must shove a pole into the pipe to remove large debris.
Step 7
Slide a corrugated pipe sleeve over the entire length of the pipe. This sleeve helps to prevent dirt from getting into the pipe. If a sleeve was used originally, you can forgo this step.
Step 8
Inspect the bottom of the trench. You must have approximately 2 to 3 inches of gravel in the bottom of the trench. More is okay. However, if you have less, add more gravel until you reach the proper thickness.
Step 9
Place the corrugated pipe back into the trench. Make sure the holes in the pile face downward. If the pipe has holes all around it, attach a sleeve to keep the holes from plugging up with dirt.
Step 10
Place a layer of gravel over the pipe until you have approximately 1 inch of space between the gravel and the top of the ground.
Step 11
Place the sod back over the pipe. If needed, add some fill dirt before doing so.
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