Best place to buy field tile?

[phylodog]

I've put it off for two years now, it's time to replace the tile running under my pasture. It's a mess, found a fresh sink hole a few days ago plenty big enough to swallow a horse's leg. We're also planning to move some fence so I penciled that in as well for a clearer picture of the goal.

So the yellow circle and yellow line is where I need to install a drain and tile out to the drainage from left to right. That drainage goes under the road directly into the creek. The new tile will be about a 500' run.

The blue is the existing septic field perimeter overflow drain. It needs to be dug up and attached into the main (yellow) tile.

The red is another tile I would like to put in if and when money allows.

The green is the new location we want the fence. The white is the existing fence that's coming down.

I intend to buy the biggest drain and tile I can afford, wrapped, perforated and laid in a gravel trench. Ain't gonna be cheap but it's gotta be done. I've never really paid attention to the tile, where would be the best place to buy it? I haven't done any searching yet so maybe I can get it all at Lowes, Home Depot or Menards but even if I can, is that the best place to go? Do they sell inferior quality stuff?

This is what I have to work with so I haven't a clue if it's gonna make life easy or if it's only big enough to make it take forever and a month lol. It's been worth it's weight in gold for several projects but this is a big undertaking (I think).

I also have a 16' dump bed trailer so I can go pick up four tons of stone at a time but I don't be able to get the trailer into the pasture (way too wet until mid summer or so) so I'll have to run it out a bucket at a time with the front end loader.

Any and all advice is appreciated. I've never done this before, there is ample elevation change for the tile run so the angle of the tile shouldn't be too difficult to get right.

 

[Creedmoor]

Rent a ride on trencher for the weekend, do all your trenching in one shot.
Use your trailer to move it back and fourth.
Buy yourself a trenching shovel for the width of the trench to ease the work in cleaning out where its needed.
A trencher is faster and much easier to keep the fall and the depth of your trench.
Use your loader to backfill.

 

[phylodog]

Rent a ride on trencher for the weekend, do all your trenching in one shot.
Use your trailer to move it back and fourth.
Buy yourself a trenching shovel for the width of the trench to ease the work in cleaning out where its needed.
A trencher is faster and much easier to keep the fall and the depth of your trench.
Use your loader to backfill.

Hadn't considered that, thanks for the recommendation I'll be looking into local options.

 

[phylodog]

So I'm watching videos and it doesn't appear gravel is usually involved, maybe that's a french drain? Either way, less money spent is always good.

 

[Kernal1984]

I’ll second the ride on trencher or even a walk behind, you could have the trenching done in a couple hours and use your tractor for the rest.

I borrow a kubota backhoe(actual 50hp backhoe not the tractor with a backhoe attachment)from a family member regularly for small jobs but any kind of distance and a trencher will save you a huge amount of time. I just ran 1000’ of water line for my new place last fall and used a walk behind trencher. I had the 1000’ foot trenched, laid and buried in almost the same time I spent running a 120’ branch to my barn with the backhoe. A mini excavator is significantly faster than a backhoe as well but a lot more expensive to rent, but you have to consider the fun factor.

 

[Farmerjon]

In Indiana, Francesville Field and Tile.

 

[LongRangeBushy]

I have had several clay field tiles replaced with plastic field tiles and that tractor was all that was needed..

 

[Creedmoor]

I’ll second the ride on trencher or even a walk behind, you could have the trenching done in a couple hours and use your tractor for the rest.

I borrow a kubota backhoe(actual 50hp backhoe not the tractor with a backhoe attachment)from a family member regularly for small jobs but any kind of distance and a trencher will save you a huge amount of time. I just ran 1000’ of water line for my new place last fall and used a walk behind trencher. I had the 1000’ foot trenched, laid and buried in almost the same time I spent running a 120’ branch to my barn with the backhoe. A mini excavator is significantly faster than a backhoe as well but a lot more expensive to rent, but you have to consider the fun factor.

The ride on will give you the option of going with a larger pipe and its faster, easier and much easier on the back.
Most walk behinds are setup for 2"-3" pipe and a lot less HP to work with.

While you have the machine you can think about needs down the road and trench in pipe to pull wire or water lines in.
Like run pipe from the house and barn downspouts away from the structure.

 

[phylodog]

The ride on will give you the option of going with a larger pipe and its faster, easier and much easier on the back.
Most walk behinds are setup for 2"-3" pipe and a lot less HP to work with.

While you have the machine you can think about needs down the road and trench in pipe to pull wire or water lines in.
Like run pipe from the house and barn downspouts away from the structure.

We don't have any gutters on the barn but if I get a trencher I'll be putting in as much as I can squeeze in in one day. The rentals are steep.

As far as downspouts away from the house, how/where do you terminate those if you don't have much slope to work with?

 

[Creedmoor]

We don't have any gutters on the barn but if I get a trencher I'll be putting in as much as I can squeeze in in one day. The rentals are steep.

As far as downspouts away from the house, how/where do you terminate those if you don't have much slope to work with?

Some rentals if you pickup on sat morning it doesn't have to be returned until opening on monday morning and you only pay for one day.
Is there a ditch by the road or anywhere away from the home you can get.
Some dig a French drain but that comes into more money.

 

[phylodog]

Thanks, I had a sump pit put in my cellar a few months back. Would have gotten more use out of burning 500 $1 bills heating the place cause that sure didn't do anything but take up a corner of the cellar for no apparent improvements in drainage lol.

 

[Indyhd]

For the pipe try EJP which is located on 96th Street west of Michigan Rd. I believe that is short for Edward J. Prescott Company.
Second suggestion would be to check with D7 which is located at the intersection of Rural and Massachusetts down town. I know they handle all sorts of erosion control products, so most likely field tile as well.
Farmers install this allthe time so Co-Op and Quality Farm and Fleet are options as well.

 

[natdscott]

I feel like maybe we should talk about this. Lasers, open trenches in the spring, stone types, filters, surface drains, tile sizes, burial depths, etc.

 

[ditcherman]

To answer your questions…
The closest to you for bulk tile is Drainage Solutions in Lebanon, north side where Carter lumber used to be.
Menards and others is junk IMO. But I’m focused on my stuff lasting at least as long as those who went before us, 100 years. Not worth the drive to Francesville for 500’, I run trucks up there for 6 rolls at a time, 18,000’ of 4”, less on bigger sizes of course.
If you want Fratco tile (the best, arguably) I keep a lot in stock, and neighbors come help themselves but I’m not set up for retail. But I do have the stuff and happy to help a neighbor out. If this is a summer deal and you need an odd amount of tile you can take one of my carts and string off what you need.

Don’t buy tile with sock. You don’t have iron ochre, you don’t have that much sand. That will save you as much money as anything. Landscapers around here just use it to upsell, and because more is better, but it’s not. Regular slot tile.

There’s no reason to go any bigger than what your hooking into, if you’re going into an open ditch I can help you calculate what you need, or search for online water flow calculators. If you’re going in an open ditch you’ll need a permit from the county and $75.

If you want it to last, you need to understand how the tile needs supported, and that a flat bottom trench (hoe bucket) is the enemy of it lasting a long time. It needs supported on its haunches, in other words about 4:30 and 7:30, to maintain its roundness and strength. A few ways to do this, shovel a narrow v shaped trench in the bottom of your backhoe trench for the tile to lay in, or fill with gravel up to the haunches for support, or, and this is the way I like to do it when possible, use your hoe to take out the top half of the old clay, and then pop out the bottom pieces by hand and this leaves you the perfect spot to lay the new tile in - assuming two things, that you don’t need to go any deeper than the old and you’re no bigger than the old.

The problem with a trencher that you’ll rent is that it’s very hard to stay on the line and find anything tying in if you veer off. If you’re sure there’s nothing tying in and you want to go deeper a trencher could be a viable option, but nothing you rent will have great grade control nor a provision to lay the tile in on a clean shaped trench. It can still work, but it’s nice to have a trench wide enough to see and work in.

Gravel; in a pasture situation use all you can. People think big tractors compact the ground worse than grandpas farmall M, but they ain’t got nothin on horse’s hooves. Livestock will seal up that ground hard. Stone is the only answer, but most can’t afford to stone the whole trench to the top. Do it where you can, and you can at least get the water off the low spots in a hurry.

Start at the bottom, not the top. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know that, you’ll only do it once.

One last thing, tile floats. If there’s more water outside the tile than inside, up it comes, all the way to the top of you let it. Get some dirt on it asap, and get it backfilled before it rains.

 

[ditcherman]

We don't have any gutters on the barn but if I get a trencher I'll be putting in as much as I can squeeze in in one day. The rentals are steep.

As far as downspouts away from the house, how/where do you terminate those if you don't have much slope to work with?

With house type settings you can terminate those with what I’ve heard called a “pop up”. Shallow tile, 90 straight up, water runs out on the ground, better than by your house I guess?

“Not much slope”, most I put in is on 1/10 grade, slang for one tenth of one percent, do the math that’s a foot per thousand. That’s how most of the farm fields are drained around here. Tough to do by hand for long runs but it will work.

 

[phylodog]

I feel like maybe we should talk about this. Lasers, open trenches in the spring, stone types, filters, surface drains, tile sizes, burial depths, etc.

This is why I post these threads lol. When it comes to these things I'm pretty much clueless so my caveman brain kicks in.

"I have machine for dig holes".
"I use machine for dig long hole for big pipe".
"I put big pipe in ground and cover back up".

 

[Jaybird1980]

If you use the pop up style termination don't just end it with a 90 and the popup. Use a T on the end with a small section going down into some gravel. The popup will freeze closed in the winter and the standing water in the pipe will then freeze and bust a 90

 

[ditcherman]

This is why I post these threads lol. When it comes to these things I'm pretty much clueless so my caveman brain kicks in.

"I have machine for dig holes".
"I use machine for dig long hole for big pipe".
"I put big pipe in ground and cover back up".

I mean, you’ve pretty much got it.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I know enough to be dangerous, but I'll chime in.

I STRONGLY second the tile shovel. TWICE (Yes, I'm an idiot) Ive said "Meh. Its expensive for a one-off job. I have two standard spades. I'm sure I can make due with what I have."

Lets just say after giving up during the 2nd project and borrowing one, there wont be a third time.

 

[phylodog]

We've got one or two around here but with any luck I hope to not have to lay hands on it much. My shoulders and back aren't down with that sort of things any longer. Gettin old sucks.