How to Install a Perforated Sewer Drain Pipe | Home Guides …

Perforated sewer pipe -- usually made of PVC in modern systems -- is embedded in gravel in an underground trench below the level of the septic tank. Your septic tank is the pretreatment part of your septic system, where bacteria digest the septic solids. The tank releases partially processed liquids to flow down a closed pipe to the septic field, or leach field. While the septic field is at a lower elevation than the tank, the field and the pipe inside it must be level. Permitting authorities in your county or city must sign off on your plans before you can install a septic system, and the plan for the project will show the elevation and layout of the trenches for the perforated pipe.

Dig out the soil in trenches of the depth, width and configuration required on your approved plan. Every plan is specific to the property where it will be built and is dependent of the size, shape, natural slope and soil composition of the property, as well as the speed at which water percolates through the soil and the size of the home the system serves. The floors of the trenches should be as close to level as possible so that wastewater distributes evenly throughout the system. Use a backhoe or similar digging equipment for this job.

Put 6 to 12 inches of gravel in the bottom of the trench. Choose gravel that is larger in diameter than the holes in the perforated pipe. Your municipality may have a specific requirement for the type of gravel you must use and the depth of gravel the perforated pipe must sit on.

Lay out the perforated pipe pieces on top of the gravel with the majority of the holes pointed downward and connect them with PVC self-priming glue. The pipe sections are made with coupling flanges on one end of each pipe, so the next pipe in line will slide inside of the one before. Smear PVC glue on the inside of the female flange and outside of the male end and slide them together quickly, before the glue has a chance to dry; make sure that the perforation holes are all pointed the same way. Cap any terminal ends of the pipes with glued PVC caps. Not all leach field plans have terminal ends on the pipes.

Place a level on the long runs of PVC and adjust the levelness of the pipe by wiggling and pushing high portions against the gravel until the bubble is in the middle of of the glass on the level. You can add gravel under stretches of pipe that are too low. You can also use a transit level or laser level to situate your pipes and some municipalities actually require that you do so.

Glue the incoming ends of the perforated pipe into the couplings on the nonperforated PVC pipe coming out of the system distribution box. A distribution box ensures that the wastewater distributes evenly into multiple runs of perforated pipe.

Place approximately 6 inches of gravel over the pipe, using care to avoid disturbing the pipe placement. Your municipality may require an inspection before you do this.

Cover the gravel with a single layer of geo-textile fabric to help keep soil from infiltrating the gravel, and fill the trench the rest of the way with soil.

Billie Jo Jannen is a politics and lifestyle columnist in rural San Diego County and a senior copy editor for Demand Media. Her writing and editing career spans 23 years, and she specializes in border and environmental affairs. Jannen's eclectic education includes engineering and horticulture, and she represents the Rural Economic Action League in regional economic development planning.

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