New water service.

The water bills seemed high for abou 11 months so I finally shut off the water in the house and went to the curb where the meter is. It was turning and it's looking like I'm losing about 250 gallons a day. It's real sandy soil so I guess it is just going into the ground. ..

Anyway the plumber is comming to look and bid tomorrow so i would like to sound/appear intelligent. I'm assuming I want 3/4 soft copper?? It'l be about a 50ft straight shot across the lawn, 5 ft for frost, and I'll probably have to replace a chunk of sidewalk. I'm thinking since it is only 50 ft I might have him run a second pipe for future use just because the ditch is open and it would be easy enough to put 2 pipes in.

Do I about have it right?? Anything else I should be concerned with??

Thanks for all the help on this forum.

How many bathrooms do you have in your home? What size/material is coming in now? What size pipes are run in your house? Most domestic water is 3/4 or 1in. I'd stick with whatever you have now. I like 1in since it isn't a whole lot more expensive and brings in a lot more water. If you only have two bathrooms though it's kind of pointless. I'd also recommend copper over poly (you may not even have an option in your area) even though it is expensive . A 100ft roll of 1in K copper is almost a thousand dollars now.

Which side of the street is the main on? It's usually on the side with the fire hydrants although rarely their are two mains. If the main is on your side of the street you'll save a couple thousand dollars as the run will be shorter and you won't need to repair the road.

A well equipt company should have a tool so he can dig one hole by the main, possibly a second in your yard, then cut a small hole below grade in your foundation. They should then be able to pull the pipe through. If you have a lot of rocks in the soil, any obstructions, or have too much of a mud hole it may have to be trenched. You shouldn't have to replace the sidewalk unless the main is located directly under it. They should be able to shoot under it or had tunnel under it.

A second pipe is definatly a waste. It's going to deteriorate about just as fast as the other pipe and they will still have to dig the main up to tie it in if you want to switch. The water company will not give you two taps or allow a tee off the service.

3/4" K soft copper....that way there is no need for connections underground; one straight shot from the meter bracket to the wall into your plumbing system.

I broke the news to a guy today that has plastic Blue-Max piping; get your wallet out because that piping is going to break. I told him of the class action lawsuit being over with.....he was none too happy.

main

The pipe from the main to the meter is usually the water company's responsibility.

hj said:

The pipe from the main to the meter is usually the water company's responsibility.

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That's another question to ask. It's going to vary from one area to another. Here you own everything from the tap in the main right into your house. I've never seen it done any other way.

I'm responsible from the meter/stop box to the house. Most people have stop boxes at the curb and then meters in the house with a remote reader to the side of the house. If I had that I would not have been paying for the leaking water, (about $50/mo), but i also probably would not know about the leak at this point. .

The city tap to the meter is newer and is in copper.

I'd be nice to do it without trenching. I'm in all sand, no rocks at all. I'd be nice to see if we could go under the sidewalk because I would need someone with a sidewalk license to replace it.

Thanks for the help. Plumber will be here in an hour or two. See what he says. At least I have water and I can turn it on at the stop for a few hours a day.

leak

If I had that I would not have been paying for the leaking water, (about $50/mo), but i also probably would not know about the leak at this point.

That is why the line to the meter is usually the water company's. When it is the customer's and they are not paying for the leaking water, they do not have a lot of incentive to find or fix the leak.

hj said:

If I had that I would not have been paying for the leaking water, (about $50/mo), but i also probably would not know about the leak at this point.

That is why the line to the meter is usually the water company's. When it is the customer's and they are not paying for the leaking water, they do not have a lot of incentive to find or fix the leak.

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The city is way ahead of you on that. If they find a leak the customer has X number of days to fix it. If they don't the city will do it for them and send them the bill for the work along with a bill for the estimated amount of water wasted. Don't pay it and the interest starts adding up. Still don't pay it and it goes to collections. At this point you can end up in court where a judge can seize assets, garnish your salary, place a lien on your home, and all kinds of other not so fun things.

Well I went round an round but it looks like a new service entering the house at a different place than original. About 40 ft. from the pit to the entrance. Kicker is the city has a new code that I have to put a pressure reg before the meter and to get everything to fit I need a new yoke, (not sure what that is), and the new reg. Then the plumber caps off at the old service. His bid complete, trenching and permits is $2300.00.

My other option was to bring the meter in the house but I would have to have a floor drain within 6 ft. The old service entrance has a drain but I'd have to tear up $5000.00 worth of landscape etc to get to it.

Oh well, I'll just grab some money of the money tree. Thanks for the help. HS.

Hey Bud

That's no yoke

That sounds like a very reasonable price to me if he is putting in 2 runs of 3/4 K.

I sleeve all my service lines with 4" corrugated drain line. It protects against everything and anything.

Out here the soil can be rocky.