Buried supply lines

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BjRooo

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Hello,
Remodeling contractor/landlord by day, newbie member/ poster with question to plumbing forum by nite.

I have a rental house built in 1920 that I've made various improvements on for several years. Including updating the plumbing to the laundry room and bath 6 years ago and replacing a new 1" copper water supply from the street to the house 10 years ago.

Current tenant is about to move out and I want to complete the plumbing upgrade and add new pex supply to the hot water tank and a new hot water line to the kitchen sink and I wanna do it an not open up walls which would be a COLOSSAL pain in the wazzu to move cabinets/doors etc. to repipe it. And going in un insulated attic is not an option.

The existing supply from the new 1" copper to the hot water tank and the hot return to the kitchen is lead and is /was routed through the crawlspace. The crawlspace sets the bar for the definition of crawlspace. If it's 12" in places I would be surprised. I've never had a busted pipe due to freezing but there have been many a winter night here in Seattle I didn't get much sleep worrying about it. Probably helps that the old decrepit HVAC ducts are in the crawlspace parallel to lead pipes and leak like crazy and keeps the crawlspace essence of warm.

So I'm entertaining the idea of tying in to the 1" copper where it enters the house under the kitchen sink where I have hook up access to from the outside and route a new 1" pex supply outside the footprint of the house to outside the laundry room where the hot H2O tank is. Then return a new hot H2O line back to the kitchen in the same trench but separated by a couple inches of fill. I'm thinking of insulating the hot return and put a tracer wire on it and I'd even run the hot pex through pvc or ABS if it needs additional protection. Is this doable? Any problems you foresee? I've talked with a few plumbers and they didn't say I couldn't do it. But I'm open to a few more ears and eyes on the idea. I have a crude drawing on an excel spreadsheet but I not sure if it's readable here. If somebody can walk me through how to land an excel spreadsheet here
Plumbing drawing 1.jpg
Plumbing drawing 1.jpg then you can better see what I'm trying to do.
Thanks
 

Terry

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You can bury the lines. I like to use closed cell foam on the hot line at least. You can do it on the cold too. I would not run them on the outside wall when you bring them back in.

Water lines don't freeze in a crawl space in Seattle unless there is a cold wind blowing on them. The ground keeps the pipes from getting too cold.
You might also consider making a chase below the ceiling for the pipes. The attic is not a good place in Seattle.
I have seen lead waste and vents in Seattle, but not for water supply. I have seen plenty of galvanized steel for water.
 

BjRooo

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You can bury the lines. I like to use closed cell foam on the hot line at least. You can do it on the cold too. I would not run them on the outside wall when you bring them back in.

Water lines don't freeze in a crawl space in Seattle unless there is a cold wind blowing on them. The ground keeps the pipes from getting too cold.
You might also consider making a chase below the ceiling for the pipes. The attic is not a good place in Seattle.
I have seen lead waste and vents in Seattle, but not for water supply. I have seen plenty of galvanized steel for water.
I actually meant galvanized instead of lead pipes. Habit.
I would put them in a chase if there was room. Long story short, the ceiling height in the kitchen is 6'10". Like I said, long story about a barn being converted to a residence generations before we bought it. They will land back under the house just in the crawlspace and under the kitchen sink on the outside wall. If I get this permitted do you see any problems with getting it inspected?
 
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