Exterior Drain Line Repair

Exterior drain lines are the pipes nobody thinks about until they fail: the buried lines that carry roof water from downspouts, the yard drains and catch basins that keep a low spot from becoming a pond, the corrugated pipe that collects groundwater along a foundation, the trench drain at the bottom of a sloped driveway. On older Kitsap homes a lot of those lines are clay tile or thin corrugated plastic that has been crushed, separated at the joints, filled with roots or simply silted shut. When they fail, water goes where it wants: against the foundation, into the crawlspace, under the driveway.

We dig them out and replace them. That starts with finding the line and the failure, which on a drain means tracing the route, checking flow at the outlet, probing, and often opening a test pit at the suspect spot. Once we know what's wrong we excavate the failed section or the whole run, remove the old clay or corrugated pipe, and replace it with solid or perforated PVC or HDPE on a gravel bed at a proper grade to the outlet. Cleanouts go in so the line can be maintained. Then backfill in lifts and the surface restored.

Because so much of this work is tied to how water moves on a property, we look at the whole picture while we're there: where the roof water goes, whether the footing drain is doing its job, where the low spots are, and whether a French drain or a regraded swale would solve a recurring problem for good. Exterior drain work in Washington does not require a plumber's license, and it's a core part of what we do.

When you need exterior drain repair

• Water backing up at a downspout or pooling at a foundation during rain
• A yard drain or catch basin that fills and never drains
• A sinking line in the lawn where a drain pipe has collapsed
• Roots coming out of a drain outlet
• A crawlspace that is wet after every storm
• Old clay tile or crushed corrugated pipe found during other digging

How the job goes

1. Find the line and the failure. Trace the route, check the outlet, probe the suspect areas, open a test pit where needed.
2. Excavate. The failed section or the whole run, with spoils on tarps and locates called first.
3. Remove and replace. Old clay, corrugated or crushed pipe out; solid or perforated PVC or HDPE in, on a gravel bed at proper grade.
4. Cleanouts and outlet. Cleanouts at the right points, and an outlet that actually discharges somewhere sensible.
5. Backfill and restore. Gravel around the pipe, compacted lifts, and the lawn or bed restored.

Equipment and materials

• Solid and perforated PVC and HDPE drain pipe
• Catch basins, yard drains and cleanouts
• Drain rock and filter fabric
• Pop-up emitters and outlet structures

What shapes the scope

Every property is different, and these are the things that decide whether a job is a quick morning or a full day. We'll tell you which it is before we start.

• Length of the failed run and its depth
• Whether the whole line or a section is replaced
• Where the outlet is and whether it needs to be rebuilt
• Roots, groundwater and surface restoration