It always amazes me when newbies, having never attempted a given task before, insist upon 'reinventing the wheel' -- as if experienced professionals have not learned to use proven methods. Why in the world would you choose an inappropriate material such as solid PVC pipe sections that require gluing? ...and 6-inch pipe, no less! YIKES! What are you draining? A lake? I would really encourage you to consider ways of retaining the water on your property long enough to allow it to infiltrate. There are many ways to do this; a number of which were mentioned by Laag: "or leaching it out in drywells, leach pits, or leaching trenches". There are other methods as well; perhaps a rain garden or taking other steps to improve permeability. As responsible citizens, we need to begin to assume responsibility for the storm water that we generate from our own impenetrable surfaces (roofs, driveways, patios, etc.). Out of sight - Out of mind is simply not a responsible ploy. Rapidly dumping your water off site simply forces someone else (or a governmental body) to deal with it. This common practice has to stop. As the old saying goes: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Think about it: With all of the dire water shortages Georgia has been dealing with the last few years, here you are getting rid of this precious resource as fast as you can. Am I missing something here? IronBelly

Hello, this is the DH to help explain the situation. Because the property slopes down from the front, the rear yard doesn't drain, plus we get run-off from adjoining yards and half the gutter downspouts drain in the backyard. In the past during bad rain storms, the entire backyard floods to within a couple inches of water entering the house (the door sills are low as we have a slab foundation, not a raised wood foundation). To cure the problem, in 1988, I put in a french drain line with three collection catch basins in the rear yard and a exit catch basin at the sidewalk. This 4" line slowly filled with silt after a few years from soil in the run-off, not from soil invading the pipe perforations. The frnch drain worked so poorly that I had to dig a ditch through the dirt sideyard to help drain the backyard during storms as the french drain wasn't adequate. It is hard to use my small sideyard to put the waste containers and other things when there is a dirt ditch in it. Then I installed a sump pump to augment the french drain and it helped significantly to remove rain runoff. With the re-landscaping we are doing now, I added a second sump pump to pick up water at the lowest spot in the yard. The back yard needed major revamping as we added a pergola, a location for a fountain, etc. so I had a chance to dig up the french drain. It was at least 80% clogged. Clearing it with a garden hose was hopeless so I just dug it up and threw it away. The 210' my wife referred to is the side lot fence line. The section I plan to change from dirt to hardscape is 55' long by 7' wide. I have installed a water line for two hose bibbs in this area, plus new electrical for outlets, both sump lines run through this section and I am added new surface drain catch basins with 3" diameter drain pipe running to the sidewalk. Also buried very deep is the natural gas line to the swimming pool heater. I'm not very worried about there being a problem with all the utilities that will be buried under the new hardscape, but we have had problems such as the original french drain clogging and needing replacement. Installing concrete in this sideyard of 55' by 7' will give me a dry, mud-free area for 3 large waste containers (garbage, recycle, and green waste). The sideyard is 11' wide overall, but the existing concrete walk isn't adequate especially where it jogs around the air conditioning compressor. I plan to use my Weber gas BBQ on the new hardscape, that's why I added water and electrical. This walk way is how people enter our rear yard without going through the house. So the trade-off of installed concrete, which is about $1200, or putting in pavers and 2x or 3x the cost depending on the price of the paver bricks. If there is a problem with the buried utilities, or I want to add something else underground, removing pavers is DIY. But removing and fixing concrete is Not DIY at my age and condition. I like the idea of pavers also because they are more attractive to me than concrete, even with an exposed aggregate finish. The chance that I would have to ever get back underground is very remote, but in the 25 years we have owned this house, we have had to dig through this area four times (pool utilities, french drain, and twice for sump lines). This is the fifth time we are digging up this area to install drains and such mentioned above. For those of you who wonder what I will do if it is a bad rain storm and the power goes out, rendering my two sump pumps useless, I have the sump pumps on the same GFI breaker and I could add a cut-over switch and small generator to address this possibility. So my DW thought we should ask on the forum for advice on concrete vs. pavers, in case we have overlooked any factors to make a decision. Knowing cost is a factor always, just let me know what you think as if concrete and pavers cost the SAME. Hope this lengthy explanation helps. Thanks.

onward, Go with the 4" black-corrigated pipe. The reason being as you suspect, 3" pipe could freeze up and you'll be starting all over again with 4" pipe. Something else that worked out for me is to use a 90 degree corrigated elbow from the downspout to lead out to the rest of the corrigated pipe. Put some stone down first for a base under the elbow. This way when it rains "real heavy" the corrigated pipe will not pull away from the downspout. Best of luck with the project, rredogg

The key word is "trap arm". A trap arm can have bends in it. I posted about this in previous threads. Yes there are limits as to the total number of bends. Yes there are limits as to the total length of the trap arm. If your trap arm was already at fully developed length, it would be too long after adding two feet to its length. (The chances of this being the case are slim, but I must write it out anyway.) Your GC may be confusing "ideal" with necessary and permitted. Your GC may later backtrack and tell you that he simply meant it wasn't ideal. Of course a straight line is more like the ideal we have in our minds, but it is not a requirement. Two 1/8 bends are better than one 1/4 bend, if you wish to spend more to get the most proven well-draining system. It costs more to buy two bends. It costs more to install two bends. Another key concept to keep in mind is that trap arms are not subject to the exact same rules that apply to the rest of the "Drain, Waste, Vent" fittings and the "Drain, Waste, Vent" pipe geometry (slopes, curves, cleanouts, connection fittings, etc). This confuses many GC's who learn a lot about the rules surrounding DWV plumbing, because, as I said, trap arms are subject to a slightly different set of rules. I think the problem is due mostly to the fact that Code documents never spell out rules for trap arms in a separate section; instead they put an asterisk here and there and say in a footnote " (*except trap arms)" This makes it hard to follow. I've seen many cases where the GC or some other knowledgeable person claims that a proposed route for a trap arm is not "code". Then, after learning what I show them, they modify their story a little bit, to cover themselves, and they start saying that what you are asking for is not ideal or not going to work well. Please disregard those remarks. the ideal is the ideal, uh huh, and that is what reality. Then, predicting what "well" means is hugely subjective argument that once again has no bearing on the needs of reality here in your kitchen. It is quite possible that your GC doesn't know the difference between the rules that apply to trap arms and the rules that apply to the rest of the DWV system (the rest of the DWV system = that begins after the DWV vent, in the wall). This problem disappears when you ask the same question in forums that are inhabited by many plumbers. Master Plumbers. They knock off your question with a short answer. They say, yes you can. I posted about this in previous threads. I'll go dig up these threads.