Polyethyene pipe from main is leaking.

[shareyourknowledge]

I noticed a leak at the main in our lawn and called the water dept. out to check it out. The leak is on our side, not the street side so we are responsible for it. Anyway the leak is from a blue polyethylene pipe which i think is used for reclaimed water.I think it's been there since the house was built about 23 years ago. I had a plumber come out and look at it. He said the ployethylene is outlawed for residential applications. He said he has tried to fix these fittings before with galvanized fittings and other types but they just don't hold up, maybe about a year.. He wants $1,100 to dig a trench from the main the house and put in copper pipe.with a 10 year warranty.Is there a less expensive way to fix this w/o putting in a new line?

[Rick F.]

You could always do it yourself.. We had to dig a 4' trench about 50' about a year ago and while it was a lot of work, it kept me from forking out about $2000-$3000 for a plumber to do it and replace the pipe hiding underneath (a drain pipe for the side-yards to empty into the street). Overall, I was very pleased with doing that work and it only cost me in parts.. If you're not too handy with tools, I'd just bite the bullet and have the plumber do it.

[HeyBub]

Go to Home Depot and buy two shovels.

As you're leaving the parking lot, pick up two workers for the going rate in your neighborhood.

Budget another $20 for Cokes and burgers.

[Malcolm Hoar]

And some pipe 'n stuff.

[Joe]

Consider renting a Ditch Witch to dig the trench for the new water line. You won't need it for more than half a day at most. Rental places may or may not supply the trailer to haul it home and back. Locally, a half day goes for $75, YMMV. After this, getting a plumber for a couple of hours ought to finish the job nicely if you don't feel you want to tackle it. Buying the copper tubing ahead of time could also save you some $$. Before you proceed, though, check with city hall to make sure you have whatever permits are required and ask for help turning off the water before you start if special valve wrenches are needed. HTH

Joe

[Al Bundy]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Guy here wanted to put in his own sewar line. Called some place in the Yellow pages (not a plumber) just to dig a trench with a Ditch Witch then just did all the work at each end himself. Not sure if this would be available where you are.

You should have a centralized number that will contact the utilities to mark underground lines prior to any digging. There is often no charge for the marking. You MUST get it marked first. If you don't and anything is damaged, YOU will pay the cost of damage and repair.

[Rich256]

Is the line hooked only to a lawn sprinkler system using reclaimed water? Then you might consider just repairing the plastic. But if it is for the house water better go with copper.

Probably about the right cost to put in copper. In my area they put in a 10 foot piece of black plastic between the meter (at the street) and the copper running to the house. The used a cheap nylon fitting to join the two sections. Over the years they have been breaking. I noticed a small leak. It cost me $850 to have that short piece of plastic replaced with copper. They had to dig a trench about six feet deep.

I am real glad I didn't try it. They encountered a white plastic gas line (owned by the gas company). They were so careful not to disturb it. However, when trying to break the fitting loose the guys arm slipped and he cracked the gas line. We had to then wait for the gas company to fix the leak before proceeding. The gas company assured me they would be replacing that line but so far they haven't. I sure as hell would have hit that gas line with a shovel and broke it wide open. With the crack they were able to repair it without interrupting service to the neighborhood.

[46erjoe]

On 10 Nov 2006 17:14:47 -0800, " [e-mail]" wrotF:

Sounds like a fair price to me, especially if the line is deep and long. He'll also make sure it's done to code and that 10-year warranty is attractive. Get it in writing though. I think you'll sleep better knowing that if you didn't do it quite right, you may end up doing it over or getting that plumber anyway. Been there done that.

[shareyourknowledge]