new drainage pipe system

i saw in HD recently a new french drain piping system called ez drain french piping system. it is the black corregated pipe enclosed in a sock with styrofoam pieces.

my question is can cement be poured right over this? (i would like to use it for an interior french drain)

 

I don't see how it's going to work with cement.

 

The idea is that the foam peanuts work like gravel to allow the water to pass through. If putting it under a slab I would add more gravel around it to further help water get to the pipe. At the minimum I would cover the drainage pipe area with some landscape fabric or plastic to help prevent cement from making it into the stone, clogging it.

 

It should be covered with 6 mil plastic as a moisture barrier. I don't know if those peanuts would be any more likely to be clogged with concrete than gravel would be.

 

I have a basement question regarding my sump pump pit. How do I post a question on this site? My question is that I have two pipes with holes coming into the pit. About 6 inches below these two PVC pipes is another solid pipe tilted down and thi pipe goes out towards my foundation and I'm thinking to the outside. About 100 feet outside in my backyard is a pipe that has a slow stream of water constantly dripping. Is thi the same pipe or are they not connected. When I put a ruler into the pipe inside the pit I can only get s out three feet then it feels like I'm hitting crushed stone. I this ok or should j snake the pipe. Also. The pipe is under water so if it's part of the outdoor pipe shouldn't it flow out quick instead of a slow drip.

 

To post a new question you first go to the appropriate section of the forum. In your case that would probably be Wells, Sump Pumps and Septic Sewage Systems. Then near the top of the page there is a yellow button that says "+ Post New Thread". Make sure to give your post a good title. Just a few words to best describe your question.

It is very possible that the lower pipe in your sump pit is the one you find outside. It may have a joint or a bend along the way which makes it difficult to get a ruler into it. It is also possible that the pipe is partially clogged and the ruler is hitting some debris or a mineral deposit in which case snaking would be a good idea.

If you want to confirm that the pipe inside and outside are the same get some liquid food coloring. Reach down under water and gently squirt the food coloring into the pipe. First you should see if the pipe is sucking the colorant in. If it is, give it a good squirt at a rate that it can accept. You don't want to try coloring all the water in the sump pit. Then go outside with a clear or white container and collect some of the water that drains from the pipe and look for the color. It may take a while for the water to make the trip so be patient. And the color may be diluted by the time it gets to the end of the pipe so a deep thin container that allows you to look through a lot of the water makes seeing the color easier.

 

AJM425
It sounds like the upper 2 pipes in the pit may be from floor drains in the basement and the lower one is coming under the footings from the weeping system. When you are sticking in your ruler, you are hitting the "tee" that joins the perimeter drainage surrounding the house and routes it into the sump pit. The pipe in the yard is probably coming from the pump and it takes a while to empty.

Jim Kuzma
Kettleby Handyman Services