Need to install a culvert - any advice?

[Yelverton]

We're having a fence built around our backyard starting in a couple of weeks and to get ready for that, I need to install a culvert.

There's a drainage ditch that runs across the corner of the yard and my plan is to dig it out a little bit, lay in a 12" culvert pipe, and cover. Any suggestions for installation techniques or places to buy the pipe near N Durham? Right now it looks like my best option for purchasing the pipe is the Roxboro Lowe's. $309 for 20' of pipe seems a little steep, but maybe that's just what it is.

One thing I'm not clear on is how to ensure that the water goes down the pipe rather than eroding the soil around it. Should I use some gravel or rip rap to stabilize it at the upstream end?

Any guidance will be much appreciated.

 

[tvrgeek]

I actually filled in my culvert as my drive is the high point in the circle and all the culvert did was make a low point for mosquitoes and copperheads.

I notice gravel piles before culverts to be big weed beds and a real pain to maintain. Maybe a few cement pavers that you could mow over the edge of is better. Key would be in getting sufficient grass started in a broad enough space around the edge.

Back in Md, I had a low spot in my front and put in a mini-storm drain. It worked until really heavy rain and then debris clogged the grates. I used 4 grates and it ran 160 feet though 4 inch to the creek. My conclusion was I should have used that "U-" channel drain/grate for the first 20 or so feet.

Every case is different though. I would try to stay "on-top" rather than a culvert.

 

[Yelverton]

Thanks for this info. Yes, letting the water run through the existing ditch would be nice, but it would leave gaps under the fence that our dog would quickly escape through.

This culvert is on the back corner of the yard and won't need to be driven over ever, so I'm not too concerned about stability, moreso making sure that the water runs down the pipe instead of around it. Eventually there will be a deck built over the area, so I want to make sure I don't have to take up decking to address future issues.

 

[Martin Roper]

 

[Yelverton]

Fred came through with the winner, I think. I'll use sonotube as a form to pour two short "pipes" right where the fence goes over the swale. This won't foreclose the option of adding a culvert or bed of river rock in the future as needed. It's also $100 in materials instead of $400+. Nothing wrong with that and credit to Fred for helping an amateur.

 

[Gotcha6]

Fred came through with the winner, I think. I'll use sonotube as a form to pour two short "pipes" right where the fence goes over the swale. This won't foreclose the option of adding a culvert or bed of river rock in the future as needed. It's also $100 in materials instead of $400+. Nothing wrong with that and credit to Fred for helping an amateur.

Be sure to check with your HOA if you have one, and your local county engineering department. If the ditch is described as drainage easement you may not be able to do anything without their say so. Also, you could be held liable for any damages incurred by the addition of the pipe to your downstream neighbor.

 

[Yelverton]

Be sure to check with your HOA if you have one, and your local county engineering department. If the ditch is described as drainage easement you may not be able to do anything without their say so. Also, you could be held liable for any damages incurred by the addition of the pipe to your downstream neighbor.

Good thoughts thanks, most of which I've addressed already. There's nothing on point in the covenants. The swale was dug out by our upstream neighbors when our lot was empty and treed so it certainly does not have any attached filed easement or similar. As for downstream, the swale empties into a county-maintained storm water easement associated with little river reservoir, so there are no riparian issues in that respect as there are no other structures there. Every property along this side of the neighborhood empties groundwater off the back property line in some fashion, mostly buried 4" drainage pipes. I'll keep it inside my property line and it's been a long time since law school but I don't anticipate any legal complications absent issues with placement.

 

[junquecol]

Graham Lumber list a 12" X 20 section of plastic culvert pipe for $198.

 

[Gotcha6]

Good thoughts thanks, most of which I've addressed already. There's nothing on point in the covenants. The swale was dug out by our upstream neighbors when our lot was empty and treed so it certainly does not have any attached filed easement or similar. As for downstream, the swale empties into a county-maintained storm water easement associated with little river reservoir, so there are no riparian issues in that respect as there are no other structures there. Every property along this side of the neighborhood empties groundwater off the back property line in some fashion, mostly buried 4" drainage pipes. I'll keep it inside my property line and it's been a long time since law school but I don't anticipate any legal complications absent issues with placement.

Good to hear. We're just looking out for one another here.

 

[Yelverton]

Good to hear. We're just looking out for one another here.

Yes indeed. Understood and appreciated.