jon v.
New Member
I live in San Diego, CA, and I'd like to replace the water supply line between our water meter and house. The current setup is pretty simple: there's a 1" copper pipe covering the 20' span through the middle of the front yard in a straight line, and it doesn't pass under any hardscape. It's buried at a depth of 1 ft (no freezing here!). The pipe curves up at the end, where it connects to (in this order) a tee and ball valve feeding the irrigation system, a shutoff gate valve, a hose bib, and then heads into the house.
My wife and I are re-landscaping the yard and want to plant a tree in the center, right where the supply line currently passes. So, I'd like to install a replacement supply line which will curve around the tree zone (maybe with a radius of ~6 ft? We'll plant a tree with a root system that goes deep vs. spreading laterally, but I want to be sure to keep the pipe clear.). I'm fairly handy and want to do the work myself, if possible, but I also want to make sure I'm installing a robust system that makes sense technically and meets code. I've heard of people replacing their mains with PEX, and I'm tempted to go that route for its simplicity and smooth curves, but I don't know much about how the connections with the copper work or whether the pipe has to be installed with some sort of sleeve for protection. I wonder if folks can help me figure out which pieces to use (or point me to another post already answering this question), assuming I don't know much about this type of job. Also, I'm curious whether more experienced plumbers have recommendations about the order of valves next to the house--would you recommend having the shutoff gate valve positioned before the tee off to the irrigation system?
Thanks in advance for any advice, and all the best,
Jon
My wife and I are re-landscaping the yard and want to plant a tree in the center, right where the supply line currently passes. So, I'd like to install a replacement supply line which will curve around the tree zone (maybe with a radius of ~6 ft? We'll plant a tree with a root system that goes deep vs. spreading laterally, but I want to be sure to keep the pipe clear.). I'm fairly handy and want to do the work myself, if possible, but I also want to make sure I'm installing a robust system that makes sense technically and meets code. I've heard of people replacing their mains with PEX, and I'm tempted to go that route for its simplicity and smooth curves, but I don't know much about how the connections with the copper work or whether the pipe has to be installed with some sort of sleeve for protection. I wonder if folks can help me figure out which pieces to use (or point me to another post already answering this question), assuming I don't know much about this type of job. Also, I'm curious whether more experienced plumbers have recommendations about the order of valves next to the house--would you recommend having the shutoff gate valve positioned before the tee off to the irrigation system?
Thanks in advance for any advice, and all the best,
Jon