BubblegumMom
New Member
We may have to have our water line replaced from the meter to the house. What kind of pipe should it be replaced with?
Loretta
Loretta
water line replacement
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Jimbo
Plumber
copper..............
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Tom Sawyer
In the Trades
Depending where you are you may not have a choice but copper and HDPE are pretty common these days
Hackney plumbing
Homeowner
As Tom Sawyer said it can depend on where you live. In the south we use PVC,copper,HDPE,CPVC or PEX. PVC and copper being most common. Galvanize was used years ago but is not anymore in my areas.
BubblegumMom
New Member
Thank you....I'm kind of fearful of PVC because isn't it toxic?
Gary Swart
In the Trades
PVC is not toxic, but it is a plastic and works well for underground water supply. PVC should not be used inside the home and should be buried or otherwise protected from UV rays. My personal choice is copper, but there are some areas that have minerals in their water that is detrimental to copper. PVC is a good choice there.
Tom Sawyer
In the Trades
Around here most city water utilities are using HDPE because it's rugged stuff and minerals don't bother it
Jimbo
Plumber
Being alive in the world today is dangerous. A nuc plant could get you, something in your plastic water bottle could get you , and the rat bastard chinese will slip melamine into your latte. BUT, you don't have to worry about getting eaten by tyranosaurus rex, and the vast majority of people in the world will far exceed the life expectancy of their grandparent. In the big picture, Darwin will take care of the small stuff, so we just have to worry about who to pick in next weeks foot ball pool.
hj
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The size of the pipe, and the distance it has to travel would be factors as to whether I used copper or PVC. Normally, those would be my two choices.
PVC is only toxic if you burn it and breathe the smoke. Other than that, it's safe for potable water and is used quite often for that purpose. Nevertheless, I would chose High-Density Polyethelene (HDPE), if code allows it in your area. If HDPE sounds like a "scary" toxic plastic to you, you should know that, among other things, plastic milk jugs are made of HDPE.
If you do use any platic pipe for your supply line, make sure the installer lays a tracing wire in the trench with the pipe!
Tom Sawyer
In the Trades
I'd rather go HDPE for a couple reasons. It requires no couplings, it has better freeze protection, UV does not bother it, it's flexible, it costs less and is faster and easier to install.
BubblegumMom
New Member
Thank you, jimbo, Tom Sawyer, Hackney Plumbing, Gary Swart, hj and mliu, for all the pipe information and help. Mliu, a tracing wire in the trench does sound important.
MACPLUMB
In the Trades
plus if you go back with any type of pvc, or plastic pipe please check your house grounding,
you will lose that when metal pipe is replaced with plastic
BubblegumMom
New Member
MACPLUMB 777,
What should we do about the grounding if they put in plastic pipe? Also, is there a meter or something that can detect a leak?
Can metal pipes be located underground by means of some kind of metal detector?
What should we do about the grounding if they put in plastic pipe? Also, is there a meter or something that can detect a leak?
Can metal pipes be located underground by means of some kind of metal detector?
Bluebinky
Member
You would drive two ground rods. Without seeing what you have, it is impossible to say exactly what needs to be done. You would also need to make sure everything (anything metal that could become electrified, such as plumbing, gas lines, etc) is bonded (connected together and grounded) correctly. Ask in the electrical forum, or much better yet hire an electrician.
There should be some kind of "spinner" on your meter that will show if you have a relatively small leak.
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Gary Swart
In the Trades
Metal detectors can find metal underground, that's exactly the type of thing they are designed to do. That's why the tracer wire is important with a plastic pipe. Utility companies use these all of the time. "Call before you dig" prevents disasters. I think you can see there are several good options open to you when selecting the material for you pipe replacement. There are considerations with all of them. Copper underground must be brazed rather than soldered, plastic can mean having to deal with the grounding requirements, etc.. None of these considerations need be deal breakers.
This would be a good time to back up a bit and ask a question that has not yet been addressed: What is the material of the existing pipe that you are considering replacing?
BubblegumMom
New Member
Pretty sure it's galvanized. That's what we mostly have in the house. We've lived here 40 years....house was built in 1920, and only recently have we had any pipe problems.
Homes used to use the water service pipe for the ground. If you replace the water service, you should first have the electrical panel grounded with two ground rods. Plumbers have died during repipes. It's dangerous to remove the ground.
A 1920's home would have an undersized incoming water line at best. New homes in Washington State use at least a 3/4" for a one bath home, 1" for two baths, and when you get to three homes, depending on the plumbing fixtures, could be 1" or 1-1/4"
Copper is always good, however these days more are using a form of plastic. It could be Poly, PVC, or PEX
A 1920's home would have an undersized incoming water line at best. New homes in Washington State use at least a 3/4" for a one bath home, 1" for two baths, and when you get to three homes, depending on the plumbing fixtures, could be 1" or 1-1/4"
Copper is always good, however these days more are using a form of plastic. It could be Poly, PVC, or PEX
I'm sure Terry meant to say, a minimum of two ground rods (depending on the measured ground resistance). A good electrician will know how to do this properly.
An additional advantage of plastic over copper is that the material cost is so low (compared to the labor involved), it adds very little cost to upsize your pipeline. This will really benefit you if you later decide to remodel or put an addition on your home.
