What We Pull Out of Failed Drainage Lines

This is another piece of failed corrugated drainage pipe we pulled out of a Tampa Bay yard, and it is a near-perfect example of the two most common reasons cheap drainage fails.

The wall is packed with shingle gravel that washed down from the roof. And tree roots have punched right through the side of the pipe. We see this combination so often that pulling a line like this out of the ground has become a normal part of the job.

Why this keeps happening

Corrugated pipe is everywhere because it is cheap and fast to install. But the same features that make it convenient are what make it fail. The ribbed wall that lets it bend also catches debris in every groove, so shingle grit and sand build up until the line is solid. And the thin wall that makes it light gives tree roots an easy path in. Roots follow water, and a drainage line is the wettest target in the yard.

Neither failure is dramatic. They happen slowly, underground, where no one sees them until the yard starts holding water.

The fix is solid PVC

SDR-35 solid PVC fixes both problems at once. The smooth wall keeps debris moving through instead of trapping it. The thicker, stronger wall keeps roots out for the life of the system. The cost difference is small. The performance difference is the entire ballgame.

If we are pulling pipe like this out of your yard, the replacement goes in as solid underground drainage built to last.

Common Questions

What clogs a failed drainage line?

Most often shingle gravel washed off the roof packing the ridges of corrugated pipe, plus tree roots punched through the wall. The two together leave no flow path at all.

Why replace corrugated pipe with solid PVC?

SDR-35’s smooth wall keeps debris moving and its thicker wall keeps roots out for the life of the system, all for a small difference in material cost.

Trufam Drainage. Request an Estimate.