Replacing water service to house

I found out last week that I have a leak somewhere between our house and the meter at the street when the meter reader left a notice that we had consumed about 5 times more water than usual. After making arrangements to have it fixed by a plumber and subsequently finding out that his "backhoe guy" was out of town for a couple of weeks, I decided that I would dig the trench myself and now that part of the task is about 85% done. I was discussing with the plumber some of the particulars of the plumbing part of the repair and he indicated that he was planning on running "poly pipe" between the meter and the house. There is a valve just outside our foundation (with a long square rod that comes up to ground level) and then galvanized pipe goes through the foundation into the crawl space (where I recently installed a gate valve). The plumber said that, if the pipe going through the foundation was in good shape (he has not seen it yet) he would just connect to it, otherwise the pipe would need to be replaced with copper.

So a few questions:

Is "poly pipe" recommended for this purpose?

Should I insist that the 1" pipe entering the foundation be replaced too, whether or not it is in "good shape"?

That galvanized pipe is in good shape on the crawl space side of the foundation and the hole surrounding it has been filled with concrete. What is a good technique for removing it in preparation for replacement?

Ross

If installed properly poly would be okay. I use either soft copper or Wirsbo for water services.

sounds like you have a ground key outside, I'd get rid of it. when the new line is laid have them drill a new hole in the foundation and tie into your new valve. Replace as much as you can while accessible.

valve

How would they be able to get rid of the "ground key" or "curb stop"? That is the water company's control valve.

There is a shut off valve at the street on the street side of the meter. I was barely aware of the ground key until I started to dig the trench. I am not sure that ground key valve is required, especially now that I have installed a valve inside the crawl space. I am guessing that my neighbors have a ground key too but the ones that have seen mine did not know what it was or whether they had one. I do not think that any of the houses in this area have shutoff valves inside their houses.

Where I’m at the ground key is between the main line and the meter. If you cut that off you will be swimming before you get out of the hole.

shut off valve

my cousin had similar problem, had to install shut off valve on property owner side of meter and fix leak in pvc,,just added the galvanized pipe with shutoff valve at point of leak in pvc. how much should this job cost? a friend helped me out with it ,,being in different city,,didnt want to short him? one older man told me $1000 at first then when I questioned him ,, he said maybe $300-$1000
the inspector from city came by to check it, originally didnt know they had to have shut off valve on this side of city meter. My cousin had to repair another spot in pvc couple years ago. probably better to do the whole line,now I think about it.

thanks for any input

hj said:

How would they be able to get rid of the "ground key" or "curb stop"? That is the water company's control valve.

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in the City of Bellevue, the city installs their stop on their side of the meter (which is at the curb). Then there is a shut off valve at the house, which needs to be accessible. in this case that shut off valve is a ground key type valve. This is pretty common in the Seattle Metro area. Bellevue is a pretty strict juristiction so I don't think the valve in the crawl space would be enough, you'd need one outside in a box, for access.

Most curbside installs I see have shutoffs on either side of the meter, for easiest replacement.

Just another example of how different local authorities can be. The city has a shut off valve on their side of the meter, but it takes a curb key that is not sold in stores. After I broken my inside shut off valve off and flooded my basement because I couldn't shut the water off, I had a curb key made. (A 1" copper line under 90 psi can dump an amazing amount of water while waiting for the city man to arrive.) I have used the key a couple of times when working on my irrigation line.

I was told by the City (private water company) not to ever touch their valve again, if I wanted to turn the water off, to install a valve on my side of the meter. A pair of visegrips makes a pretty good specially made wrench for their valves.

Rancher

just a side note about valves on the owners side of the meter..if your in a freezing area..always use a full port gate valve..if a ball type valve is in the closed position and you get a freez..the valve will split,due to expansion..where a gate valve will not split in the closed position

Poly is becoming more popular but I still prefer K copper. The difference in price is huge though, poly is probably $60 or so for a 100ft roll of 1in while K copper is about $800.
Defiantly, absolutely, 100% bring the copper/poly into the basement. They should be able to drill a new hole in the foundation for it.

I have not informed the city that I have a curb key. The rod the key fits on is inside the manhole and the valve is so stiff that vise grips and crescent wrenches don't give enough leverage. I certainly don't abuse the valve on the few occasions I have to use it. There is no other shut off until I get inside my basement.

Gary Swart said:

Just another example of how different local authorities can be. The city has a shut off valve on their side of the meter, but it takes a curb key that is not sold in stores. After I broken my inside shut off valve off and flooded my basement because I couldn't shut the water off, I had a curb key made. (A 1" copper line under 90 psi can dump an amazing amount of water while waiting for the city man to arrive.) I have used the key a couple of times when working on my irrigation line.

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I've had luck smashing copper pipe with two hammers and then folding it back and smashing it again to stop a leak. Got it down to a trickle.

Hey Mike Hammer

I saw You doing The Hammer Smash on U TUBE, Loved it