How To Burry a Pipe

14 Sep How To Burry a Pipe

1/2″ polyethylene pipe

For “instructions” on how to dig a trench, please refer to the earlier blog entry of the same title.  For actual non-esoteric and practical information on how to dig a trench, please use an internet search.  However, this micro-crypto essay will indeed instruct and inform the process of burying a pipe with the minor caveat being actual code compliance is not being addressed here.  This is more of a “best practices” approach.

In this situation, we need to supply non-permanent irrigation to new ornamental plants.  We are using 1/2″ polyethylene tubing that is compatible with “drip” irrigation systems.

pipe in conduit and with ribbon

The pipe will pass under an area that will occasionally be driven over, so we’ve armored the squishable black pipe with stronger white pvc pipe. For our climate, and considering the self-draining, self-venting characteristic of drip irrigation, placing the feeder pipe six inches below ground is adequate.

Along with the pipe we’ve placed an orange ribbon.  We’ve also backfilled the trench with fine gravel.  We do this to alert a gardener to the presence of this pipe.

Back-filled with gravel.

If you’ve worked with this material you know how easy it is to repair it- we’re not too concerned about the potential of puncturing it when we plant later this month, but the gravel should alert the digger to the presence of the pipe.  So too the orange ribbon. Same with the geyser of water that soaks the digger when the pipe gets punctured by a mattox: for more on this, please see the aforementioned entry “How To Dig a Trench”