Disappearing Rain Runoff From Roof Gutters - Question

[teflon6string]

I see a broad cross section of home owners and trade professionals here, so I'm hoping you guys and gals can help me "groupsource" a random off-topic solution regarding rain runoff from my roof and gutters.

Everything is clear and downspouts are flowing strongly when it rains. Problem is, none of that is coming out of the drain under the street-side curb at the bottom of my property like other houses on the hill. I've run enough water with the hose to determine it's not blocked, because that would cause an overflow. Thus, I believe the underground drainpipe is broken somewhere between my house and the street.

I'm hesitant to call one of those rooter companies because I don't know if they'd actually find the problem. Do they do that? Or do they just rooter out clogged drains? And then there's the matter of digging and repairing it so runoff doesn't undermine the terraced bank, or worse, the foundation of my house.

So I guess my question is this:
Without digging up 100' of my yard going to the street (including two fragile rock garden walls), is there any sort of above ground listening or sensing device that would help me locate a subterranean leak?

Ideas/suggestions appreciated. Maybe a good company around western Washington County?

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[jbett98]

Might be a rat hole the waters draining into.

 

[jbett98]

Rescue Rooter could run a camera down the drain pipe and record what it finds. They also have a proximity locator head on the camera and you could spray paint the route and depth of the pipe while it making it's way to the street.
If you have a house built before the 50's, the pipe may be first going to a cistern and then overflowing to the street.
The City of Portland has building permits on record that show where the plumbers initially ran the waste and roof drains.
It doesn't cost anything to look them up, just your time.
If you're located on the West side of town, the City is making older homes cap their existing drain lines and just running the water onto their lawns.
It's to keep less water out of the storm drains.

 

[Joe13]

Be aware, a call from rotorooter plus repair is going to top a thousand dollars.

And yes, most likely it's a cracked pipe or it would be backing up.

Could be a tree or just a lot of settling, depending on how old the house is.

 

[Vendor Hidden]

Rescue Rooter could run a camera down the drain pipe and record what it finds. They also have a proximity locator head on the camera and you could spray paint the route and depth of the pipe while it making it's way to the street.

This.
We've run a camera down our waste pipes whenever we buy a new rental house to see if we need to make any repairs/replacements. It's very common for plumbing service providers to offer a camera's eye view of pipes. It saved us a lot of money more than once.

 

[slimmer13]

Side note, generally if an outfit has "rooter" in its name, bend over and prepare for a good rootering. Ask around for a referral for good honest plumber.

 

[jbett98]

You can rent a heavy duty power drain snake and most times you can hear it rattle and thump as it travels down the pipe.
They run about $75.00 a day, less if you can get it back in under 4 hours.

 

[CoastRange57]

Westside Drain Service. They have ran a camera down my wifes store frain line and cleared the blockage for under $ 450.

 

[Joe13]

You can rent a heavy duty power drain snake and most times you can hear it rattle and thump as it travels down the pipe.
They run about $75.00 a day, less if you can get it back in under 4 hours.

I think that would be the way to go if there was water backing up.

It won't tell you where the crack in the pipe is, which really needs to be replaced.

 

[Silver Hand]

With the water turned on, try running a garden hose up the outlet hole from the street. Then from the house down the drain pipe [with the down spout removed] to the street, this pipe may have a bend that restricts the hose, try cutting the threaded end of the garden hose off [Fix it with a hose repair kit later] and you may make the first bend slightly easier. Keep shoving the hose down the pipe to the clog, You may get lucky, I have fixed sewer drains and in ground drain pipes using this method many times. This won't fix a broken pipe but you may find the clog, tape the hose for distance if you get lucky. Good luck

 

[uscsoldier]

Home Depot rents drain cameras

Drain Camera

I've done it twice, once we found it was running into the city sewer line and the other time we found a 13 foot wide sinkhole

 

[Joe13]

With the water turned on, try running a garden hose up the outlet hole from the street. Then from the house down the drain pipe [with the down spout removed] to the street, this pipe may have a bend that restricts the hose, try cutting the threaded end of the garden hose off [Fix it with a hose repair kit later] and you may make the first bend slightly easier. Keep shoving the hose down the pipe to the clog, You may get lucky, I have fixed sewer drains and in ground drain pipes using this method many times. This won't fix a broken pipe but you may find the clog, tape the hose for distance if you get lucky. Good luck

Home Depot rents drain cameras

Drain Camera

I've done it twice, once we found it was running into the city sewer line and the other time we found a 13 foot wide sinkhole

Good ideas

 

[Silver Hand]

Good ideas

The Home Depot drain cameras were not available when I was in business. That is a great tool, especially if free doesn't workout.
Happy New year

 

[teflon6string]

These are great ideas guys - thanks!

Saw the new year in last night with good friends including an industrial plumber who says the rooter guys are all high tech now with line cameras (like the City had when I lived in Portland). Rather than muck around with renting and risk maybe/maybe not doing it right, I'm inclined to call around and get the best price to watch someone explore the pipe from both ends to find the approximate location. And then buy my plumber buddy a beer or three to be here when I dig and do the repair. Photos when I can.

 

[jbett98]

What year was your house built?

 

[41mag]

perhaps not your situation at all.....I live rural and our gutters drain into their own 'drain field' a rock filled trench designed just for such task

not to mention nowhere near either a sidewalk OR 'gutter drain' of any kind....

of course there are naturally occuring 'swales' and underground run-off channels

 

[teflon6string]

House was built in 1979 or 80 JBett.

To Mrs. Teflon's recollection (it's been hers for decades) runoff used to flow out of the hole under the curb - like others on the hill still do. She doesn't recall exactly when or which company, but remembers a cable or phone company dug a ditch in the yard several years back. Maybe tree roots?

I'm super cautious about underground water runoff because my old house on a steep hill in SW Portland had some foundation erosion damage I had to repair a few years back. Could've been even worse, but that cost me plenty.

 

[jbett98]

Should be all solid wall ABS pipe and a camera is you're best bet in tracking down the problem.
A couple of years back, a house on SW Terwilliger Blvd, slid down the hill and into the house below it after a winter of heavy rainfall.
The owner had some non permitted irrigation work done around his home and the workers had cut through the foundations perimeter drain and blocked it all up.
Lawsuits aplenty and his property is still vacant, as the city won't let him rebuild.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Be aware, a call from rotorooter plus repair is going to top a thousand dollars.

And yes, most likely it's a cracked pipe or it would be backing up.

Could be a tree or just a lot of settling, depending on how old the house is.

Really? I had them one of my homes Friday and it was $99.00.
Must be less over here.
Regards to the pipe maybe being broken, a temp fix is to vacate the old line and run a pipe Tom the downspout, and keep it about 20 feet from your foundation.

 

[teflon6string]

Really? I had them one of my homes Friday and it was $99.00.
Must be less over here.
Regards to the pipe maybe being broken, a temp fix is to vacate the old line and run a pipe Tom the downspout, and keep it about 20 feet from your foundation.

Unfortunately, there are 5 downspouts all connecting underground around the house and then flowing to the street as one. I strongly suspect the break is somewhere in that main pipe under the lawn/garden heading down toward the street. At least I hope so...