Sump/Downspout drainage

[dankoos]

My first post on this board. Here is my problem: My house sits on the corner of a cul-de-sac. The downspouts on the side of my house NOT on the cul-de-sac drain into the street(under the sidewalk, exit through the curb). Fine and dandy. However, the sump pump and downspouts on the other side of my house (which is on the cul-de-sac) drain into the front yard (underground). The reason is that the cul-de-sac does not have a curb, the street meets the grass evenly, so nobody's downspouts/sumps who are on cul-de-sacs in my neighborhood drain into the street. I am not the original owner (house is 14 years old). I guess there is some sort of french drain or something. But when it rains hard and the sump kicks on, I get a bubbling brook in the front yard where the pipe I guess eventually ends. This is not such a big problem for the foundation, just annoys me. I would like to drain it out into the street. The problem with that is the sidewalk. I am trying to avoid tunneling under it as this would be a lot of work and the pipe would have to go uphill on the other side to reach the street. I was thinking of slicing a section of the sidewalk out and putting in a grate so the pipe can go "through" the sidewalk...or...slicing out a piece of sidewalk, laying the pipe, placing a form around it, and replacing the piece of sidewalk. Opinions?

[kactuskid]

I think your ideas are good, though I beleive you should first get approval from your city or town. They should not have a problem with it if it keeps your property dry and drains to the storm sewers.

Otherwise you could dig a sloped trench across your yard and tie in with a piece of drain tile from your sump pump to the tile that drains under the sidwalk.

[vdotmatrix]

Everything i read on this board I have lived. At any rate, DO NOT TUNNEL UNDER YOUR SIDEWALK. you will develope sink holes on either side unless you have a thinkg called a mole....from the sidewalk to the street regardless of the amount of grass belongs to the city so you'll have to talk to someone about that. The city can do the work of busting up 1 sidewalk panel and punching through the sidewalk with a a piece of 4" PVC or corrugated so much cheaper and faster than a private dick. This is waht they do....You can do most of this yourself. You can rent a Ditch witch and dig a trench, line it with a little gravel, add a 4" pipe, cover wth more gravel and then tie into the pipe throught and under the sidewalk.........BESIDES YOU'LLL HAVE TO PULL A PERMIT TO WORK IN THE CITY RIGHT OF WAY IF YOU DO IT YOURSELF PAST THE SIDEWALK SO BETTER TO LET THE CITY HASSELWITH IT.... Let us know what you do.

quote:Originally posted by dankoos

My first post on this board. Here is my problem: My house sits on the corner of a cul-de-sac. The downspouts on the side of my house NOT on the cul-de-sac drain into the street(under the sidewalk, exit through the curb). Fine and dandy. However, the sump pump and downspouts on the other side of my house (which is on the cul-de-sac) drain into the front yard (underground). The reason is that the cul-de-sac does not have a curb, the street meets the grass evenly, so nobody's downspouts/sumps who are on cul-de-sacs in my neighborhood drain into the street. I am not the original owner (house is 14 years old). I guess there is some sort of french drain or something. But when it rains hard and the sump kicks on, I get a bubbling brook in the front yard where the pipe I guess eventually ends. This is not such a big problem for the foundation, just annoys me. I would like to drain it out into the street. The problem with that is the sidewalk. I am trying to avoid tunneling under it as this would be a lot of work and the pipe would have to go uphill on the other side to reach the street. I was thinking of slicing a section of the sidewalk out and putting in a grate so the pipe can go "through" the sidewalk...or...slicing out a piece of sidewalk, laying the pipe, placing a form around it, and replacing the piece of sidewalk. Opinions?

It's sometimes better to be lucky than smart.

[LazyPup]

You can run a piece of PVC under the sidewalk with a good water hose and a hammer...

First dig a trench back into the yard a little bit longer than the width of the sidewalk.

Get a piece of 4" Schedule 80 PVC slightly longer than the width of the sidewalk.

place one end of the PVC under the sidewalk where you need to pass through and tap it in place with the hammer.

Now put the garden hose in the PVC and turn the water on. As the water sprays out the end of the pipe it will erode the soil and you can tap the pipe it will move ahead a bit. Continue running water and tapping the pipe until it has passed completely under the sidewalk.