Plastic Pipe Install Issues
Unfortunately, it appears this
contractor wasn't used to working with this type of pipe or at least
hasn't read the instructions. All of these new drain pipes are made
with
sealing devices and are manufactured to be installed in a specific
manner. The
male end of the plastic pipe has a rubber O-ring attached which seals
to a matching female "Bell end" on the next pipe. It's CRITICAL that
the pipe sections seal so that water doesn't leak out and flow outside
of the pipe, eroding the dirt the pipe is set into. Below is a
detail
of the seal and some of the pipe sections. Some have the protective
white plastic over the seal which is important to note.
The next thing you need to understand is
the pipe is supposed to be installed in a certain orientation. The
manufacturer of this pipe (ADS) has specific instructions regarding
this and it says you need to have the water flowing into the bell end
of the pipe so the water doesn't flow into these joints from the wrong
direction making them leak. Here is that
page from the
instructions if you want to see this for yourself . Unfortunately
the 3 sections of pipe directly downstream from the wall catch basin
have been installed backwards. Below are
shots showing first; the male end of the pipe fitted into the wall
catch basin and further down, 2 female ends pointed at each other. You
can tell this is the male end of the pipe into the catch basin by the
white
tape over the seal. I also included a shot of the label on the pipe,
more info can be found at http://www.ads-pipe.com/
The other problem is how the male end was sealed to the basin. For a "Water tight" connection, the pipe is supposed to be sealed to the basin with special fittings (which weren't used) as explained on this page of the instructions. Even if a "silt tight" connection would be acceptable, special non-shrinking grout with a gasket is supposed to be used, but regular concrete with no gasket is what they used. Concrete won't seal to this type of plastic and will quickly crack away. The other problem is; this can't be done when water is flowing at the time when the sealant is applied, which is what they tried to do. This caused the concrete they used to wash out. This is shown as the -patch- in the shot below. It looks like they tried to stuff some bricks with some sort of goo (in that tub) into this gap to plug up the leak? It didn't work...
The other problem is how the male end was sealed to the basin. For a "Water tight" connection, the pipe is supposed to be sealed to the basin with special fittings (which weren't used) as explained on this page of the instructions. Even if a "silt tight" connection would be acceptable, special non-shrinking grout with a gasket is supposed to be used, but regular concrete with no gasket is what they used. Concrete won't seal to this type of plastic and will quickly crack away. The other problem is; this can't be done when water is flowing at the time when the sealant is applied, which is what they tried to do. This caused the concrete they used to wash out. This is shown as the -patch- in the shot below. It looks like they tried to stuff some bricks with some sort of goo (in that tub) into this gap to plug up the leak? It didn't work...
Unfortunately, this isn't the end of the
shoddy work as the fill dirt wasn't compacted in 12 inch lifts nor was
the bedding material the pipe was set into, which is all explained as
being required in the instruction manual for this pipe. We'll continue
with other problems on the next page.