I was digging a hole to plant a tree in front of my house last night (it was still light but the sun was down). The home is only a year old and is in California.
When I got a bit over a foot down, I came across a layer of rocks. Below the rocks, I hit something else.
I thought I might have hit the sewer line but when I look at it this morning, it just looks like clay pots – one inside another.
Reasons I am still concerned:
It may be some new funky pipe I never seen.
The rocks may have been an indicator.
The line/pots are perpendicular to the front of the house.
The line/pots line up with the closest bathroom.
Why would there be two pots (one in another) buried that deep?
Reasons why it's probably just pots:
The land was previously a large single home site with junk everywhere.
It looks a lot like a clay pot – about 8 or 10 inches wide.
Seems to be a really bad material for sewer line – I thought it would be PVC.
I thought the sewer would be deeper.
So can someone confirm that there isn't any kind on sewer or other line in or out of my home that looks like this? The piece in the upper right fits into the missing piece in the circle – I moved it to show there was more underneath.
I would have to dig up a lot more to get a better idea of what it is and am trying to avoid that.
Best Answer
Clay has been used for a long time for sewer pipes - and for transporting water in general (google "clay sewer pipe California"). It could also be a drain tile installation - like a french drain. The simplest way to tell would be by having someone flush the toilet, or take a shower (something that will generate flow in the sewer) and look inside the pipe to see if there is more flow. You could also call 811 (Digsafe) or look up building records with your local town hall to see where the sewer line is on your property.