Mystery pipe found....updated...mystery solved

[Wolfpacker]

While digging a trench for a pvc drain pipe today, I discovered a 4" solid corrugated pipe next to the trench I was digging. The pipe ran along the chimney at about 6" below ground and went deeper on each end of the chimney. The pipe was laying on the ledge of the chimney foundation and it appears the weight of the dirt on the rest of the pipe forced it deeper and caused the pipe to be crushed/cut at each corner of the chimney. I cannot imagine what the purpose of this pipe would be since it isn't perforated or slotted and has no gravel around the pipe. With this section being higher than either end, it could not be draining anything. I also found a 12" square "stepping stone" about 6" under a downspout, laid nice and flat. Don't yet know if it's covering something up or not. The pipe goes about 12" below this stone on the right side of the chimney, but I have no idea where it goes from there.

I am seriously considering removing the damaged section of pipe and capping each remaining end, leaving the pipe pointed upwards as best I can, and re-bury the ends. The only other option I can think of would be to replace the damaged section and try to get it as low as the rest of the pipe.

If any of you have home building experience and know what the purpose of this pipe may be, please let me know. It can't be a foundation drain as there is a basement about 7 ft below this pipe.

Here is a view of the trench I was digging with the chimney in the rear.

Here is a view of the section of pipe I originally discovered.

Here is the left corner, cut open and full of dirt

Here is the right corner, crushed and totally cut in two

Here is the stepping stone I found, you can see the pebbled surface on it

In this pic, you see the siding step up to the right of the radon system piping. To the right of that is the garage slab with no basement under it and to the left of the step up, there is a basement. the stepping stone I found is under the downspount to the left of the radon pipes.

I'm guessing this is just crappy work by one of the contractors, but just can't see the purpose of this pipe. Hope someone can shed some light on it for me. I will be working on it again Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks,
Brent

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

Could it be part of the gutter system or is there a drain in a lowspot near the house?

 

[Wolfpacker]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

Could it be part of the gutter system or is there a drain in a lowspot near the house?

No, this pipe is not connected to any downspouts or catch basins. The downspouts were connected to other pipes, but not this one. The pipe I'm putting in will connect to 3 downspouts along this side of the house and carry rainwater to the two-300 gallon rain tanks I have under the deck.

Last year, I had my front porch steps rebuilt. They were brick and had dropped as if a void had developed under the steps. Once we had everything torn out, there was a 4" solid pipe coming out from under the concrete slab under the front porch landing. It had been bent 90* and had cracked open. I could feel the open end under the slab and it seemed to have a piece of broken cinderblock at the end to keep dirt out, but there was no evidence of water ever coming into the pipe. I cut out the 90* bend and put an elbow on it to be safe and it became part of the new concrete foundation for the new steps. There could be some reason they felt it necessary to put in piping around the house, but I fail to see the reasoning.

Here's pics of that one. The downspout to the right is one I added, so there is no connection to the pipe coming out from under the porch.

 

[Sharp Blade]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

It's the poor man's (read contractor) to move water away from the foundation. I'll bet that you will find a violation order if you researched the building permits for your home. Technically a contractor cannot move water away from the house as you are doing. Well, in some counties anyway. I know that was part of our problem in 1989 when our house was built with a 30 foot x 70 foot hill in our backyard. We spent $8000.00 on our drainage problem and now for the first time have a well draining BY.

 

[Trent Mason]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

My first thought was a water proofing attempt that was done incorrectly. :eusa_thin

 

[Glennbear]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

When I was digging for a paver driveway at my last house a 3" x 4" square hole opened up in the dirt, knowing that nature does not make square holes I dug some more and found that a Sinclair grease drum had been buried to make a dry well for the downspout. :eusa_doh: I removed the drum and it's mate at the other corner of the house. My guess is your mystery pipes were an original design to carry downspout water away or in light of of the one coming from under the porch slab a crude static radon removal system. The other possibility is that they were used to drain standing water from footing trenches during construction and never removed. :wsmile:

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

I think Glennbear may be close to the truth. The pipe was probably used for something temporary during the construction process. When they did the final back fill around the foundation, it was probably already damaged and the contractor just covered it up rather than picking it up and disposing of it. Sloppy work. :thumbs_do

If you haven't noticed any standing water issues that would have resulted from the damaged pipe, then it probably wasn't serving any purpose anyway.

Just my opinion, and you know what they're worth. :rotflm:

Bill

 

[Wolfpacker]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

Well, I got back on this mystery today and the first thing I did was to lift up the stepping stone to see what was under it. I could tell it had been placed on purpose as it was nice and flat and up against the foundation wall. What I found was one end of the mystery pipe. It had originally been connected to the downspout above the stepping stone, but apparently failed and was abandoned....can't imagine why it failed with a one foot p-trap in the pipe run over the first four feet !! Needless to say, I ripped that section of pipe out and filled the hole back in.

Here is the other side of the pipe. It connects to a wye along with the downspout at the corner. Both pipes were completely blocked with dirt. Not sure where the water from the downspout was ending up, but not where it should have been. The pvc pipe in the pic is what I'm laying to collect water from the 3 downspouts. I just laid it in the trench to check the slope.

This pic shows the wye and connections. You may not be able to tell it, but the pipe coming out of the wye goes UPHILL by a good bit. This area had been under a concrete slab that I recently took up. The slab had shifted to slope downhill and towards the house instead of level and away from the house, so I jack hammered it out last week. I can see that the water leaks in the pipes probably caused the slab to shift as it did. It was the landing for the deck steps...which I removed to get the slab out.

Here is the slab after the jack hammer got thru with it. The 2x4 on the opposite side is level and if the slab ever was, you can see how much it dropped. Runoff water was coming around the corner and onto the slab which allowed it to run to the foundation wall...not good. Once my new pipe is in and connected to the downspouts, I'll landscape this area for proper drainage away from the house.

Guess that wraps up the mystery pipe episode. Thanks for all the insights and comments.

Brent

 

[Mt. Gomer]

Re: Mystery pipe found....any ideas ??

Glad you got it figured out!!