Plastic culvert

[TGIN]

I`m making a road across a ditch and I have a plastic culvert I would like to use . It looks like the 4 inch drain tile but heaveyer and it`s a 24 inch . It will have about 6 ft. of dirt on it and am concerned about it caving in . I`ve got some concrete and metal culvert I could use but thought this may be a good place to use the plastic . Will it stand up to the job , I need to use it somwhere .

 

[Dan-IA]

What are you using to move the dirt? If you put the culvert in and use the bucket on a backhoe to pack the dirt on both sides of where the culvert goes in and then bury the culvert at least 18 inches deep, you should be fine. It's pretty amazing just how well soil packs together and will support weight above it.

Have you ever thought to drive your 15,000-lb tractor over a piece of 6-inch plastic tile? It'd crush it in an instant! But bury it 2 feet in the ground and it might not give you trouble in 100 years. Strange how that works huh.

 

[wijim]

use that kind of pipe all the time for storm sewer in parking lots. Only 1 or 2 feet of cover no problems. jim.

 

[Fergienewbee]

We have an intermittent drain that runs--usually in spring--under our gravel driveway. We had the guy build the drive and when the water washed it out, we knew right where to put the culvert. Haven't had a bit of trouble since.

Larry in Michigan

 

[tractormiallis]

Go right ahead and bury it. Use them 24" all the time at the county road commission under 4, 5, ft of dirt. Just dont pack the soil on it with a backhoe bucket as you cover it or the force of the bucket pushing on the culvert might crush it. Just cover it genntly with soil, and it will work fine.

 

[Billpa]

when its out of the ground the sides will give outwardly causing the top to sink , when it is covered the sides cant move thus the top cant sink , its the arch concept.

 

[Bus Driver]

Use the type with the smooth inner liner. Use sand or fine gravel for the first fill to get all possible under and beside the pipe- so that it cannot bulge outward.

 

[Rollie NE PA]

Never back fill a corregated ADS pipe with anything other than fine gravel or fine crushed stone. The stone will easely fill in around the corregations all the way to the bottom of the pipe. Dirt will not. Fill the excavation to the top of the pipe with the stone and then with your other fill. If you have access to a tamper,back fill six inches over the pipe and tamp. This will allow the stone to better settle around the pipe.

Rollie

 

[Goose]

I have an 8" corrugated black plastic tube through our driveway with about 6" of fill over the top. It's stood up to ready-mix trucks.

 

[Leland]

I used to make plastic pipe in a local factory back fill with dirt only for the first foot or so do not put rock on top of the pipe as it will eat holes in plastic .

 

[RodinNS]

I'd suggest that that pipe is probably a good deal stronger than the equivelant size steel pipe and this one won't rot.
Backfill it with fine gravel and forget about it.
If there's actually some water moving there then crib the ends.

Rod

 

[ohiojim]

do not put fine gravel on the pipe as this will allow water to run around the pipe and you stand a chance of a washout, use good clay, or tight ground,..save the gravel for on top....

 

[Alex-41JDb]

We use them at work to make underground retension ponds in parking lots, if we are talking about the same thing (ribbed on the outside, smooth on the inside) and we could put our case front end loader on a 10 foot long chunk of the four foot tall kind and it would support the front of the loader without even denting the pipe. You should be just fine.