SewerRatz
Illinois Licensed Plumber
I been doing sewer repairs for well over 20 years, my father well over 50 years, and we always used snap chain cutters to cut the clay sewer tile as well as cast iron. Age of the pipe has nothing to do with how well the cutters work, its how well maintained the cutters are. Also putting plastic pipe into a bell of a clay pipe will not work well. Its best to snap the bell off and use a non-shear coupling as I posted in a previous post.
Man I need to raise my prices, I have done whole sewer line replacements for under 10k on a 100' sewer. Only time I would charge more is if there is special circumstances, like going under a driveway or digging in the village right of way and defiantly more if I have to open a street. But if its all in the soil on the home owners property I would charge anywhere from 4k to 8 k depending on the length of the sewer.
As to needing a transit or a laser level, that is over kill, just a good old torpedo level will work fine. just make sure you are breaking the bubble in the right direction. Another simple way to ensure you have the right pitch is to run a string line with a string level along the length of the trench and just measure every 8 feet that you dropped the pipe 1" or more from the level string. The 1" per 8 feet will get you the minimum required 1/8" per foot pitch. As to digging to the proper depth just dig till you hit the top of the existing sewer line. If you over dig its not a big issue, code around here wants a minimum of 6" of compacted stone under the pipe So if you dig a little deeper than needed you will just need more stone. Be sure it is well compacted be fore putting the pipe in the trench. Then there should be stone packed on the sides of the pipe, and 6" above the pipe. Then you can backfill your hole with out fear of the backfill material causing your pipe to deflect or getting damaged.
If this is an open area not under a driveway you can just allow natural compaction which will be adequate. Just fill it in and pile all the spoils on top of the trench. It should look like a grave mound. To help speed settling of the soils you can water it down as you backfill and or even after its done being filled. If it is under a driveway or sidewalk, then you would want to dispose of the spoils you dug out and back fill with stone all the way to the top. The proper way to backfill with stone is to put in no more than 12" of stone at a time, then use a tamper to pack it down.
Man I need to raise my prices, I have done whole sewer line replacements for under 10k on a 100' sewer. Only time I would charge more is if there is special circumstances, like going under a driveway or digging in the village right of way and defiantly more if I have to open a street. But if its all in the soil on the home owners property I would charge anywhere from 4k to 8 k depending on the length of the sewer.
As to needing a transit or a laser level, that is over kill, just a good old torpedo level will work fine. just make sure you are breaking the bubble in the right direction. Another simple way to ensure you have the right pitch is to run a string line with a string level along the length of the trench and just measure every 8 feet that you dropped the pipe 1" or more from the level string. The 1" per 8 feet will get you the minimum required 1/8" per foot pitch. As to digging to the proper depth just dig till you hit the top of the existing sewer line. If you over dig its not a big issue, code around here wants a minimum of 6" of compacted stone under the pipe So if you dig a little deeper than needed you will just need more stone. Be sure it is well compacted be fore putting the pipe in the trench. Then there should be stone packed on the sides of the pipe, and 6" above the pipe. Then you can backfill your hole with out fear of the backfill material causing your pipe to deflect or getting damaged.
If this is an open area not under a driveway you can just allow natural compaction which will be adequate. Just fill it in and pile all the spoils on top of the trench. It should look like a grave mound. To help speed settling of the soils you can water it down as you backfill and or even after its done being filled. If it is under a driveway or sidewalk, then you would want to dispose of the spoils you dug out and back fill with stone all the way to the top. The proper way to backfill with stone is to put in no more than 12" of stone at a time, then use a tamper to pack it down.
I cut my clay pipe with a recipricating saw and a long diamond blade. If the clay is fractured, I would think the chain snapper would just crush the pipe. I'm not sure I'd trust it on good pipe though either. You know, sometimes the old joints just come apart easily, and if that's the case you should be left with the bell end of the pipe that you may be able to join to.
I've only made spot repairs, but I'll tell you it's tough working down in the hole/trench. In a hole it's like bending at the waste and threading shoelaces in your shoes in the dark while wearing them. You definately want to make certain that the walls are shored up well or cut back enough that it won't collapse. You'll probably want at least 2' down there and that will be tight. What kind of soil do you have?
I think you said 37 feet....that's not too bad. I think mine is 80 feet and I got a rought estimate of like $12K once upon a time.
As far as being without sewer service, that kind of sucks. When I did my last repair I just left the hole open and I took a shower (couple actually) ... water came in one side and flowed out the other side. It was already wet down there and the clay soil other than being slippery didn't go anywhere. I did check the pipe with a light and a mirror to make sure it wasn't obstructed by dirt before I closed it up.
You're going to need a transit or at least a good laser level too for checking your elevations. It helps to have someone checking this while you're digging. You don't want to over excavate it for risk of settlement which could cause bellies where it's been filled.
I don't know about the official backfilling procedure when done, but I've used water to help it settle. Fill some, water it down, walk on it, fill some more, add water, etc. I still always end up with more dirt left over than when I started and I still have no appreciable settling at the surface.
Make sure you get someone to locate the actual pipe for you. The last thing you want is to dig up your yard all over because you can't find the dang pipe!
Good luck.