# Digging up a broken underground drainage pipe is pure misery **URL:** \ **Category:** Winnipeg\ **Tags:** plumbing, drainage, pipeline\ **Created:** [May 13, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579 "2026-05-13T22:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Defizyn](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/defizyn/32/12468_2.png) [@Defizyn](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Defizyn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/1 "2026-05-13T22:19:07Z")
![1000147250](https://renovation-reviews.storage.googleapis.com/original/2X/b/b1cc5331ccd0a56782324c117f3e4a9cdef8efc6.jpeg) A massive pool of stagnant, foul smelling water suddenly bubbling up in the middle of the side yard made it obvious that the main underground drainage line was completely done for. The pipe was totally collapsed under the weight of some old tree roots, which meant the only fix was to dig a massive, four foot deep trench to rip the broken plastic out and replace the whole section. The digging phase was an absolute nightmare from the first scoop. The soil along the side of the house is tightly packed dirt mixed with old construction debris, buried bricks, and thick roots that my basic shovel couldn’t even dent. I spent three hours swinging a heavy mattock in a tight space, completely drenched in sweat and breathing in the awful smell of trapped sewer gas. By the time I actually exposed the broken pipe, I was standing knee deep in a muddy hole with water slowly seeping into the toes of my boots. Cutting away the shattered PVC and slipping the new rubber couplers onto the muddy pipe took way too much wrestling. Everything was coated in slick clay, so my wrenches kept slipping and I kept scraping my fingers against the raw dirt walls of the trench. Getting the new pipe pitch perfectly angled so the water actually flows downward without pooling required checking the level over and over again while stuck inside a claustrophobic trench. Shoveling all that heavy, wet mud back into the hole took another two hours of back breaking work. My lower back is completely locked up, my favorite boots are totally ruined from the muck, and I have a mountain of leftover wet clay sitting on my lawn that I still have to figure out how to haul away. I am completely skipping dinner tonight and going straight to bed because my arms feel like lead weights. ---
**Author:** ![Johnson](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Johnson](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Johnson)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 10:20pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/2 "2026-05-13T22:20:45Z")
This should be done by a professional and not just anyhow it has to be carefully done ---
**Author:** ![Muller](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Muller](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Muller)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/4 "2026-05-13T22:41:28Z")
I tell you, anything that involves the digging of the ground to fix a broken or leaking pipe is always breathtaking It has happened to me once ---
**Author:** ![Bobby\_Michael](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/bobby_michael/32/2057_2.png) [@Bobby\_Michael](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Bobby_Michael)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/5 "2026-05-13T23:32:35Z")
Nothing is worst than trying to fix a broken pipe that’s underground, it take time, swear and so much more ---
**Author:** ![Abdul\_Rahman](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/abdul_rahman/32/832_2.png) [@Abdul\_Rahman](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Abdul_Rahman)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 5:21am UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/6 "2026-05-14T05:21:38Z")
Thank you for sharing, now I know the kind of DIY renos I should not do ---
**Author:** ![Joker](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/joker/32/14888_2.png) [@Joker](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Joker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/7 "2026-05-14T15:47:00Z")
Fixing it meant digging a deep trench which was exhausting, messy, and full of hard soil, debris, and thick roots. ---
**Author:** ![Treasure](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@Treasure](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Treasure)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/8 "2026-05-14T15:47:46Z")
It would have been easier if you made use of heavy machinery, alot of time would have been saved. ---
**Author:** ![Jonsnow](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jonsnow](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Jonsnow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/9 "2026-05-14T17:09:13Z")
Thanks for the information, worth looking into ---
**Author:** ![Trent](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/trent/32/15133_2.png) [@Trent](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Trent)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/10 "2026-05-14T17:46:57Z")
That sounds absolutely brutal. Underground drainage repairs are the kind of jobs that look straightforward until you’re deep in mud, roots, and collapsing soil trying to keep everything aligned correctly. Replacing a damaged line by hand is exhausting work, but getting proper drainage restored before things got worse was definitely worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![Paulinho](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/paulinho/32/14923_2.png) [@Paulinho](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Paulinho)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/11 "2026-05-14T19:13:08Z")
That’s one of those jobs where the “simple pipe fix” turns into full excavation reality fast. Nothing humbles a DIY plan like clay soil and a collapsed drain line. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelRobert](https://home.renovation.reviews/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MichaelRobert](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/MichaelRobert)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 8:09pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/digging-up-a-broken-underground-drainage-pipe-is-pure-misery/47579/12 "2026-05-14T20:09:06Z")
Digging a broke pipe is one of the most bad things I have done