Keep water out of conduit in concrete footer
Jim2425
| Posted in General Discussion on
I set a piece of plastic electric conduit in concrete to act as a sleeve to hold an iron sundial in some landscaping. I forgot to put some kind of barrier between the end of the pipe and ground and am getting water filling up the pipe. I tried pumping it out, but it fills back up overnight. I was thinking about pouring some dry concrete down the hole (if I mix it, some may harden on the sides of the pipe and prevent sliding sundial into it), but not sure that will prevent water from coming through. My main concern is the water in the tube rusting out the pole attached to the sundial. Any suggestions to prevent water from filling up the conduit would be appreciated.
Replies
Not sure where you are, but my thought is that water that fills this will freeze and break up your concrete.
would be better to have it drain well under the concrete.
How big is this concrete chunk? can you get under it from the side?
I am located in Ohio. The plastic conduit is in the middle of a 2ft concrete footer dug in the bed of some landscaping. I planned slide the hollow pole on one end of the sundial inside the conduit. I would prefer not to dig out all the plants and landscaping to get under the concrete. Is there anything that I could put down the conduit to prevent water from getting in? I could try putting some kind of plastic around the sundial pole before sliding it in to prevent rusting, but it's a pretty tight fit. I also considered trying to close the opening of the hollow sundial pole and painting it to protect from the water. A rubber lacrosse ball would fit really tightly inside the conduit too, but I would think that would eventually rot. Thanks for your help.
If you seal the bottom, it will fill from the top.
At this point, I think your best bet is to focus on making sure the pole has a good coating of paint, inside and out, and perhaps seal the top of the hole after you install the pole.
You could also try some spray zink coating to help delay the rust. (cold galvanizing)
One more thought.
You could use running water to clean out the bottom of the hole, and clear out enough space under the cement until it runs out cleanly. a hose pushed down the hole should work.
Then wash some clean sand into the cavity.
of course, this will only work if one way or another there is good drainage in the nearby soil.
Fill it with pond and stone foam then insert the sundial post.
https://www.greatstuff.dupont.com/products/greatstuff-pond-and-stone.html
A. What is the diameter of the sleeve pipe?
B. How big is the sundial post? Square or round?
C. Fill bottom of the sleeve with hydraulic cement. It will provide a watertight seal, since it expands as it dries.
D. Alternate: Use a test plug to seal the bottom of the pipe. You can turn the screw using a cylinder with slots cut into one end to engage the plug's wingnut.
https://www.google.com/search?channel=cus2&client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Cherne%C2%AE+Inside-of-Pipe+Gripper%C2%AE+Plugs
E. To keep water from entering the pipe at the top end, once the sundial is inserted, use Great Stuff foam.
F. Alternate sealer is lead wool. You may have to rig some sort of shoulder as a stop when packing lead wool.
Frankie