I drove through a small town last week where they had these really cool lamp posts down each side of their main street. They had hanging baskets of flowers on each side. The flowers sort of filled in and looked like a solid band of color around the post. So I want to make something similar. A post, painted, with baskets and maybe a solar light , (those tacky ones you see lining a drive way ). Small and round that would sit right in the top of the pipe. Does this sound do-able? How is the best way to anchor the post ? Concrete ? I ran this by my husband and got those rolling eyeballs we all love to see. But I really think I can do this by myself. Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.

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.

Ken, what about crushing pressure by the expansion of root system over the years? ==>> yes.. i ignored that comment.. because i cant conceptualize what you mean ...??? the shear weight of the tree above ground is going to compact and crush that which is below it??? .. hmmm.. never thought of that.. i my world.. let me suggest you will be long dead and gone before that transplant gets to that point.. lol ... eahamel ... what i tried to say.. was that i dont know how the homeowners PVC system physically attached to the city pipe.. which i presume is NOT pvc ... but i still dont think that connection is the homeowners responsibility ... just pull a backhoe up to the curb.. and start trying to dig on the cities sewer.. i am sure someone will be in your face pretty fast ... but i do have some very vague THIS OLD HOUSE memory about them working on such .. but alas.. i dont know .. anyway.. typical suburban lot.. i dont care where you put a tree with hundred foot potential .. on that lot.. its roots will find a problem .. and on that logic.. you may as well not grow any large trees ... scot.. its simple.. do you want the tree or not ... if no .. get rid of it .. the sewer is not an issue ... if you can live with it.. and you will spend the rest of your life fixating on whether gravity and physics will ruin your pipe.. move it ... peace of mind has nothing really to do with this sewer discussion ... in my world.. if there is the potential for it to bug you ... GET RID OF IT ... lifes too short ... [its the same logic of the large carp tree overhanging your bedroom ... if you think its going to crush you in your sleep in the next storm.. what difference does it make.. how precious or rare it is.. its a psyche issue.. not a tree issue] ... if you can live with it.. dont want to waste it.. move it ... and relax your brain ... if you want the oak.. move it.. so you never have to worry about your pipe again.. simple as that ....[is there an echo in here???] ken

I previously lived in a dome home and had the same problem. I am now in Colorado and our building code may be a bit different than yours. Triple wall pipe is no longer allowed in Colorado - - instead we use a insulated stainless steel two wall pipe (insulation between the 2 walls) Anyway, in Colorado, you have to be to the "fire protection" pipe (2 wall stainless) before going into the ceiling. You should have some sort of "ceiling box" that will be attached to your roof/ceiling that will penetrate your ceiling. It will actually support your pipe going thru the ceiling and further up. The pipe above the ceiling box should all be 2 wall pipe (maybe 3 wall in your case). I would suggest you contact your local building department to check the code since they are the ones that will approve/disapprove your installation.