Help! Need some advice on rerouting pipe underground

[texmaster]

Hi Folks,

I've got a 10x6x4 pond with a bottom drain. I have two pumps, one above ground for the bottom drain and one for the skimmer. Both go to their own waterfalls. Unfortunatly I have a leak under the stone patio. I had a previous company who installed it promised to install pvc around the patio in case there was a problem but its clear after digging it out a bit they lied. The water is coming out from under the stone patio. My goal is to run new pvc pipe around the patio like I had asked them to do back to the pump. I'm attaching pictures. My question really is should I try to hug the side of the patio with the pipe or just go for a direct L bend from the waterfall out in the yard until it lines up with the pump and do a direct 90 straight back to it. I'll have to go under the patio regardless at least once to get there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!


closeup of the leak under the patio

farther away

where the L bend would be to the pump

from basket and pump out in the lawn

pump and basket closeup

The pump can do 6800GPM

 

[poconojoe]

You mention pvc.
It's hard to tell from the first picture what type of hose or tubing is laying there in the puddle. Is it flex PVC or that crappy unreliable corregated pond hose?

I'm a bit confused on your route question for replacing the leaky pipe.
I would run the new pipe the easiest route you can dig, plus the least disturbing of the patio.
I wouldn't worry about the pipe being too long. The water will flow just fine no matter how you run it.

What is the patio made of? Patio blocks, pavers or solid concrete?

What size is that leaky pipe/hose?
This is a real long shot, but is it possible to pull a smaller hose through that existing one? Crazy idea, but thought I'd ask.

Or, another crazy long shot idea.... can you tie a new hose to one end of that leaky pipe and pull the other end? Basically using the old one to pull in the new one.

Both crazy ideas, but if it's a short distance one of those ideas might work.

 

[combatwombat]

Agree w/ @poconojoe. I'd take the shortest/easiest route with the fewest bends. That'll get you the most flow out the end of the pipe. How deep is your frost line? If you can trench your plumbing in below the frost line, all the better.

 

[poconojoe]

Agree w/ @poconojoe. I'd take the shortest/easiest route with the fewest bends. That'll get you the most flow out the end of the pipe. How deep is your frost line? If you can trench your plumbing in below the frost line, all the better.

And I would think the deeper the better as far as damage that can occur to the pipe.

I wonder if burying flex PVC would be better than standard ridgid PVC?
It would flex rather than cracking, both with physical damage and freeze damage.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with the shortest route/least bends... HOWEVER I would never want plumbing that could (and likely will at some point) need replacing under a patio of any kind. Just an opinion. If it were me, I'd abandon the old plumbing and just run it new around the patio.

 

[poconojoe]

I agree with the shortest route/least bends... HOWEVER I would never want plumbing that could (and likely will at some point) need replacing under a patio of any kind. Just an opinion. If it were me, I'd abandon the old plumbing and just run it new around the patio.

Now that's the most logical point so far!

 

[texmaster]

thank you all for the replies! Yes that is flex pvc which I wont be using. And I will NOT be putting it under the patio again as it is now. I'm sorry I wasn't clear about what I'm asking. This is a better pic. The one going under the patio is the current flex pvc which I'm cutting off. The other 2 are protentional routes. One being a single 90 degree bend going straight back to the pump and the other hugging the patio but still being on the outside. I didn't know which would be better for water flow.

 

[combatwombat]

I'd do the one hugging the patio. The run is a bit shorter (not enough to matter) and the bends are more shallow, which will result in less loss of flow. All in all, though, I don't think you'll notice a difference in either layout. Go with whichever one is easier.

 

[texmaster]

I'd do the one hugging the patio. The run is a bit shorter (not enough to matter) and the bends are more shallow, which will result in less loss of flow. All in all, though, I don't think you'll notice a difference in either layout. Go with whichever one is easier.

thanks for the advice. The worst part will be going underneath the patio! Still trying to figure that out

 

[Landman]

I don't know if this would work on your patio it's under a sidewalk but it may give you some idea.

 

[texmaster]

I don't know if this would work on your patio it's under a sidewalk but it may give you some idea.

thanks very much! I'm going to follow this