I'd like to inspect the drain tile extending underground from a gutter downspout. The pipe goes straight underground for about 8 feet and then has a right angle joint before continuing on (for 200' or so, all underground until the last foot or so). I wouldn't expect to run a pipe or cable anywhere near that distance, but would like to see if there's any clog as far as I'm able to go. There might not be. Any suggestions on what I can use? I know I might need to hire a pro.

A professional drain company will have a video camera that can go the distance you present (they put the video on DVD for you). It won't be cheap, so call around for multiple estimates on cost, but for sure they have a camera small and long enough to do the job!

How deep is the pipe buried? What kind of pipe? How much are you into DIY?

The pvc pipe is about 8' deep from where it begins below the end of the downspout. It continues horizontally at that depth for 20' or so and then the land above it slopes down and the pipe depth transitions to about 2' deep. I'm into DIY, but digging is not something I'm able to do. I tried a snake camera on another project, but I wasn't working with a right-angle bend.

This is a rain water drainfield. Correct? Follow Marks advice and get back to us with the results. Good luck, Tom

You seem to know a lt about a pipe that can't be seen, did you bury it? What kind of drain pipe did you use for that 200'

This is not a rain water drainfield. A gutter downspout goes vertically into the pvc pipe, which (at about 8' depth) ties into the drain pipe around the house foundation and then angles out and away from the house. An excavator used a backhoe to dig the trench and install the pipe.

Quote:

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A gutter downspout goes vertically into the pvc pipe, which (at about 8' depth) ties into the drain pipe around the house foundation

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That set up is dumber than dog do-do. The foundation drain pipe is perforated to absorb water from the ground at the foundation. Therefore, when it rains, the rain water from the gutters is taken to the foundation and is absorbed into the ground. Trying to inspect the piping is fine but you should really be re-piping the gutter drains so that the water is taken away from the house in a separate drainage system.

I am willing to bet that your real problem is a flooding basement.

I've tried to be brief, but maybe that was a mistake. My house was built in 1971 and drain tile was installed around the foundation at that time. There were no gutters, since the builder said the large roof overhang made them unnecessary, and the pipe tied into the perimeter drain tile was only about 15' feet long, ending in a dry well/French drain underground. This was fine for a few years, but then the basement started flooding and, supposedly, the dry well couldn't handle all the water. In 1984, the underground pipe was extended to the 200' length it is now. Fine for a while... then, more flooding. Gutters installed 1992, with downspout going into the vertical pipe the way it is now. Intermittent basement flooding. Had waterproofing done in the basement (lo-o-ng saga) and now it's fine. Now I want to figure out why the gutter overflows in heavy rain, damaging the wood siding. It doesn't seem to sag, but I will check more carefully in the spring. The roofing-gutter-siding highly reputable company I called said I need new gutters (with covers). I'm not so sure and would like to figure out if the underground pvc pipe is clogged before doing anything else. I've cleaned the gutters thoroughly and wedged 1/4" hardware cloth over the downspouts.

Let me say the my post was not meant to insult anyone. It was worded that way to emphasize how bad it is to take the rain water off the roof to your foundation.

If you have a foundation drain eight foot down that comes to the surface in 200', you must have a pretty good slope to the ground surface. A plumber may be able to run a sewer camera down so you can see the condition of the foundation drain as others have suggested. But it will be expensive. You can also purchase a small USB camera for your laptop. However the longest cable I have seen is 50". Cost $45. That camera, taped to a drain snake and pushed down manually might let you see some of the foundation drain.
In my opinion a house should always have gutters, reguardlesss of the over hang, unless you live in the dessert.
Piping the gutter downspouts simply carries the water off the roof further away from the house. Sometimes it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes the ground slopes away from the house enough that it is not necessary but helps to prevent erosion of the soil.

However you should never dump the water from the gutters into the foundation drain. Normally the water in the ground around the foundation will find its way into the drain piping through the weep holes and is carried away by the piping. When it is raining the water from the roof is flowing through drain piping. Some of it is going out the end of the piping but a lot of it is flowing through the weep holes and into the ground around the foundation. So, just when you need the drainage the most, you are not only not draining water away from the foundation, you are actually adding water to the foundation.

Would be better to dump the water from the downspouts on the surface and let it run off than to put it down the the foundation drain.

Gutters are a pain to keep clean if you have trees. I have just cleaned mine. More leaves have fallen and I have to do it again. Should be doing it now as a matter a fact. The only reason for a gutters to over flow is that they are stopped up. It takes surprisingly few leaves to stop up a downspout. I am thinking about changing my 3" downspouts to 4" to see it that helps. Only takes a small hand full of leaves to stop up the gutter at the downspout. I have had some success with the gutter screens that are solid but have a lip with a small slot for the water to get in. Still have to clean the gutter at the downspout about once or twice a year. But that is better than having to clean the entire gutter. No reason to replace the gutter in order to install the screening. If the gutters are sagging due to the weight of the water from being stopped up, there are large screws that can be used to replace gutter spiles which are simply large nails. The screws are larger than the spikes and screw in and hold much better.
I doubt that the screening provided by the gutter company work much better that the slotted type you can buy at Home Depot.

From what you have described the best thing you can do is pull the downspouts out of the foundation drain. Just let the water run off on the surface until you can pipe the downspouts separately. You very well may find that when you stop dumping the rain water to the foundation, the basement flooding may stop.

I have what you have but without a French drain or dry well, they eventually fail. I ran 3 separate 100" lines running out into my back yard and they terminate in a relatively low spot. The end of the line does a 90 and comes up to the surface with a spring loaded little door that lets water out but keep critters out too. If your gutters over flow is is most frequently a clog in the verticle drain pipe coming from the gutter.

The waterproofing treatment in the basement was successful, so that is no longer an issue. I recently used a snake camera on another project, but thought the cable would be too short to give any meaningful information in this situation. I've done a lot of reading on gutter covers and have decided it's a toss-up as to whether they would help in my wooded setting. I tested a section and it just collected leaves on top and the water couldn't get through to the gutter. When I cleaned the gutters, I also took the downspout apart and it's totally clear. I can just assume the pipe isn't clogged and remove the downspout from the pipe, although I'll have to cap the pipe and figure out what to do with the downspout since it's right next to steps and a flagstone path. I'll watch more diligently for overflowing, although I've generally prided myself in knowing when to come in out of the rain. I really like the idea of a spring loaded door on the end of the pipe. Years ago, I attached hardware cloth there--not very elegant. I've considered the gutter hangers and will try them if my thorough gutter cleaning hasn't solved the overflow problem. Assuming this goes well, I just need to figure out why water rushing off the roof stains the siding on the side of the house perpendicular to it. The roofing-gutter-siding guy said he didn't know.

I bought the spring opener at Menards, green plastic which fits over a 4" pipe. If your long pipe is perforated I hope they put a sock on it.

No Menards here and I haven't located the spring opener yet, but the hardware cloth seems to take care of the critter access issue for now. The long pvc pipe isn't perforated, thank goodness. I've gotten a lot of good information here and really appreciation the thoughtful suggestions. Thank you very much.

Since this is a drain pipe and fittings used for "yard" drainage you may have a problem making turns with video camera. Fitting for yard drainage are often used in different configurations than regular waste water pipe. Also, most of the time, pipe used is thin wall PVC. If you want to insert snake to clean it, snake will not make the turn, instead, it will cut right through the pipe.

Milo

Good to know about the thinner pipe, although I don't know what I have. I may just assume there's no clog. I did run a hose from the downspout to see how long it took for water to come out 200' later. It took around 20 minutes, but I really don't know if that's reasonable. Some may have gone into the foundation drain tile as hkstroud suggested or maybe the slope prevented it from doing that. Water has exited the end of the pipe since it was installed 30 years ago. I'll probably be more diligent about cleaning the gutters and be sure the hardware cloth I wedged in over the downspout is doing what I intended. I'll also check for sagging when I have a chance and install hangers, if necessary. I'll need to figure out a Plan B in case I still have the overflow problem. Invaluable help. Thank you.