Insulating water lines

[Tlhfirelion]

I had two leaks this summer from the water line in my yard and everything has been fixed. 2 shut off connections that were approx. 30 years old finally gave up the ghost. I have dug down and around and made a little more room for the new connections as well as made it easier to access the shut offs as over time, they had been covered in dirt and what not. I am located in very northwest Arkansas near the Missouri line so I THINK my freeze line is 18". (my local building department is worthless as I'm out in the sticks) Both lines are approx. 23" down and there is approx. 21-22" of unfaced R-11 insulation on top of them. Will this be sufficient for my situation or is there more I need to/could do? Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

[Reach4]

You would be fine with no insulation. Adding insulation that can get waterlogged is not going to help.

Looking at frost line maps, your 18 inch frost line number seems about right. http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/attachments/frost-jpg.7458/ is one map.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Tlhfirelion]

You would be fine with no insulation. Adding insulation that can get waterlogged is not going to help.

Looking at frost line maps, your 18 inch frost line number seems about right. http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/attachments/frost-jpg.7458/ is one map.

 

[Tlhfirelion]

Thank you for the reply. I hadn't even considered any water getting the insulation wet. It would appear I now need to just throw that insulation out. lol Oh well, it was free. It was such a hassle to fix those leaks that I'm borderline paranoid to not have some way to keep it warm. Im the first house downhill from my streets well house and it partially flooded my crawlspace when it busted. I lay there at night and I keep thinking I hear water flowing. lol

 

[Reach4]

Thank you for the reply. I hadn't even considered any water getting the insulation wet. It would appear I now need to just throw that insulation out. lol Oh well, it was free. It was such a hassle to fix those leaks that I'm borderline paranoid to not have some way to keep it warm. Im the first house downhill from my streets well house and it partially flooded my crawlspace when it busted. I lay there at night and I keep thinking I hear water flowing. lol

What kind of pipe failed? I suspect it was not poly if it failed from freezing.

Note that in your crawl space, the pipe comes out above the frost line. You can get cheap digital thermometers with an outside temperature sensor. You might put such a sensor by your pipe above the ground and below where it enters heated space. You might find that does not get below freezing. If you get a cold snap and worry this winter, you can trickle water from a faucet. That will keep the pipe from freezing.

If you did insulate, you would do the area above the frost line. I am thinking polyiso https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyisocyanurate is waterproof, but not flexible. A flexible insulation above the crawl space dirt should stay dry enough I think. Maybe wrap a bunch of that free stuff around the pipe. Consider the ground and the house floor to be heat sources to help keep the pipe warm.

Where is the water meter? A leak after the meter could get expensive.

I would get a pressure gauge. You can get one with a garden hose thread for under $20 locally. If the water pressure goes above 80 PSI, you will want to look into that.

Water alarms can be pretty cheap. If that helped you sleep better, that would be good.

 

[Tlhfirelion]

What kind of pipe failed? I suspect it was not poly if it failed from freezing.

Note that in your crawl space, the pipe comes out above the frost line. You can get cheap digital thermometers with an outside temperature sensor. You might put such a sensor by your pipe above the ground and below where it enters heated space. You might find that does not get below freezing. If you get a cold snap and worry this winter, you can trickle water from a faucet. That will keep the pipe from freezing.

If you did insulate, you would do the area above the frost line. I am thinking polyiso https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyisocyanurate is waterproof, but not flexible. A flexible insulation above the crawl space dirt should stay dry enough I think. Maybe wrap a bunch of that free stuff around the pipe. Consider the ground and the house floor to be heat sources to help keep the pipe warm.

Where is the water meter? A leak after the meter could get expensive.

I would get a pressure gauge. You can get one with a garden hose thread for under $20 locally. If the water pressure goes above 80 PSI, you will want to look into that.

Water alarms can be pretty cheap. If that helped you sleep better, that would be good.

Sorry for the delayed reply, life got in the way. I just call the type of pipe that busted PVC but that may not be it's exact name. I don't have a water meter per say. My street has 10 homes and we all share a well and septic system. I have a pressure gauge and connected it to my only outside faucet this past summer. it spiked at about 55-60 when I initially turned it on and then landed at 45 PSI constant.

I've not had the chance to get that fiberglass insulation out of the holes yet but I hope to get to to that this week. I was reading your post and just to clarify, these two leaks are outside of the home and crawlspace. Now one of the holes is next to my house about 15" and the other is out in the far corner of my yard. In case I didn't explain myself well enough initially, does that change your viewpoint about the insulation I put in the holes? I can try and take some pics to better help clarify? Thank you for your reply.

 

[Craigpump]

I use 2" thick foam board insulation when we can't get a trench deep enough. Water doesn't affect it, it has some structural integrity & will definitely hold the heat radiating from below.

PVC really isn't very good for trench work, I'd suggest using 160 psi poly.