New underground gas & water install

[DJ C]

Hi all, thanks for you help in advance! And sorry i am sure this has been asked a million times but could find the answer in my searches so feel free to direct me to a related post if you'd like.

Scenerio: I am installing a new water pipe and new gas pipe (moving the propane tank from near house to 150' away near the well. I like to overkill things...to make sure i wont have to do it again...ever... so i rented an excavater and dug my trench about 4' deep. I am in northern california and we only get snow every couple years (not sure where the frost line is but its safe to say i am below it). The well is about 150' away from the house and has a relativly new tank...pump is probably 10 to 15 years old.

Question: i was planning to use pvc from well to house but was wondering at what point i should transition to copper? I am going to install new copper pipe throughout the house. I am going to sand the trench and want to make sure however it is done it will last and be zero maintanence in the future. Any suggestions or tips would be great!

Q2: I will be installing my poly propane line in the same trench...what is the suggested seperation for gas and water? How many inches of sand should surround them?

Q3: the gas pipe will be coming up in the side walk (concrete) of the house via an anodeless riser. Do i need to protect it or wrap it in anything so when i pour the new concrete around it there is no direct contact?

Q4: is 1 1/4" pvc for the water line too much overkill? I believe the existing is 1" but was thinking of going larger just to make sure there are no issues with pressure and if we ever needed to tap off of it for irrigation we would have plenty of volume.

Ok any other do's or don'ts would be greatly appreciated! It will not be inspected but i want to do it right and make it last regardless. I am putting tracer tape in the trench for both the gas and water for future identification.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[David McCarley]

Be sure to sleeve the riser in the concrete - just some pvc will do, and fill in void with some sand. The trench separation issue could be dictated by local code, just need to confirm that, if indeed there is any local authority where you are at. Otherwise, most utilities would like 1’ vertical and 2’ horizontal when possible, common trench applications are addressed by individual utility companies. Not an answer I know, but checking into local requirement will be deciding factor.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[DJ C]

Ok thanks!

 

[GTOwagon]

Pvc sleeve the riser using three inch through the concrete and you can do sand in it or spray foam. Anything that allows expansion and contraction and eliminate the riser from friction with shifting concrete. As to the well You can change over to copper inside the building where you like. Some people use white glueable pvc to go to the pressure tank and softener. Others use pex or copper.

You probably don't have a public utility considering you have a buried or above ground propane tank and a private well. I would sand bed those pipes in and keep them a foot apart. If you are a nervous nelly you can cut some xps foam scraps 12" and place them between two pipes. Your climate isn't going to bring you frost deeper than four feet so you don't need to go deeper or use two inch foamabove the water line. Get some of that tape that they bury above power lines. It is a caution tape so if someone is digging there some day they hit that first, and place it above the line. I think it has wire in it so it is metal detector detectable. Also if you want to overkill it, put your pvc line (I assume you are using black flexible) inside a two or three inch conduit sleeve to the pitless so God forbid if you need to replace it then it can be tugged through. I think your one inch pvc pipe will be fine. I am in upstate NY and here the frost can get to five feet. My lines are six feet down from final grade. Also where my pipes go through my foundation I used pvc conduit, and a butyl rubber boot like the kind they use on roofs for the pvc vents. I tarred it really well and through the penetration where my well pipe went and my propane pipe, I filled with closed cell can foam. I think I used three inch for the well pipe and the propane pipe I used two inch. You can drill those holes in the concrete with the proper drill and bit. My house was new so all the sleeves I put in ahead of the pour including my high efficiency furnace and water heater. None of my pipes protrude through the wooden sill area but through the concrete with sleeves. Much cleaner and nicer and no condensation issues against the wood. Picture shows a pvc sleeve going through concrete.

 

[GTOwagon]

Mine were separated about two feet. I also put foam board over the top of my water line which was two inches thick. As I said our frost is much greater. You can see the rubber boot and sleeve Andy the conduit for the pump wires, too. If you notice the hole in the blue foam on the right, that is where the riser later comes up and the steel pipe penetrates through into the basement. The foam board on the foundation was removed and stone veneer was set in its place later.