Water line coming into the house has a leak

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Nathan Strahl

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Four years ago we had a water leak in the copper line going into the house. Now it has happened again. How do I decide if we should put down a new line vs repairing again?

North Carolina; house about 30 years old, most or all of a trench can be dug without concrete (just plain earth), maybe 200 ft from the water main, copper line, maybe 3 ft down?
 

Reach4

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Four years ago we had a water leak in the copper line going into the house. Now it has happened again. How do I decide if we should put down a new line vs repairing again?

What was the cause of the leak last time? Was the leak at an end last time or was it in the middle 80%?

Was the leak through the pipe wall, or was it at a connection?
 

Nathan Strahl

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What was the cause of the leak last time? Was the leak at an end last time or was it in the middle 80%?

Was the leak through the pipe wall, or was it at a connection?

Answer:

In the middle 80%.
Through the pipe wall, not a connection.
A pin-hole leak, such that labor was almost all the cost.

For a new line: To avoid cutting through the asphalt driveway we would need to go straight for about 150 ft from the water main, then a sharp left, then 50-70 feet into the crawl space to reconnect.

The leak now is like the last time -- underneath the asphalt, maybe 20 from where the first leak was, close to the house..

To the best of my knowledge, these are the only two leaks we have had ever for the incoming line.

Thank you for your advice and help.
 

Reach4

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I am not a pro. With the leaks in the middle, that would seem to say that the pipe is not up to the job. Maybe the copper was too thin. Under the driveway, maybe the copper was placed over/within sharp rocks and there is not enough protection from weight above. Maybe you have low pH water.

There are ways to drill under a driveway.

I hope one of the experienced people can give you better info.
 

Dj2

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Pin holes in a 30 year old in dirt copper pipe means only one thing: replace, don't fix.

In ground copper pipe is under attack by water and dirt, from day 1. Even if the pipe is wrapped. If you are going to go with a new copper pipe, choose Type L, and if you can re-route so the pipe is not under asphalt or concrete, that's better.
 

Craigpump

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Replace it with 160 psi poly or chase leaks forever. I would also suggest laying a 20' piece of 4", sch 40 PVC in the trench and running the poly through it. We like to cap the ends of the 4" with 4" well seals to keep dirt out.

We have cut asphalt driveways and then had a mason come in and lay a strip of Belgian block to fill the cut.
 

Dj2

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A couple of other things:
In my city the main pipe doesn't have to be 3 feet deep. Check the required depth in your city before digging.
When installing a new copper line, pour sand around it, so the pipe has no contact with sharp rocks.
 
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Reach4

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It is possible to run 3/4 poly through 1-1/4 pipe for an interval. Yes, there is some pressure drop, but it might not be noticeable. http://www.pressure-drop.com/Online-Calculator/ (I use 1 mm for roughness and take defaults for temp and other factors.) That calculator showed a 4.2 PSI drop at 10 GPM for a 40 ft section 0f 3/4.

This is probably not up to city code. I wonder if they would allow an exception for this.
 

xprtplumber

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At Service Experts Plumbing LLC we have had very good success in using an excavator to pull out the old pipe out while at the same time pulling the new pipe back through the same hole for distances up to and including 200'. This method requires only a small trench close to the city tap location and another small excavation back by the house to cut the old pipe and hook the new pipe to the end of the old pipe for the pull back. We utilize a either our Komatsu 100 or Komatsu 120 excavator (10tn or 12tn machine) to pull the old pipe out with the new pipe threading right back into the same underground hole. Utilizing this method we can install a new house water service in just a few hours thus saving the homeowner substantially.
 
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Cacher_Chick

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At Service Experts Plumbing LLC have had very good success in using an excavator to pull out the old pipe out while at the same time pulling the new pipe back through the same hole for distances up to and including 200'. This method requires only a small trench close to the city tap location and another small excavation back by the house to cut the old pipe and hook the new pipe to the end of the old pipe for the pull back. We utilize a either our Komatsu 100 or Komatsu 120 excavator (10tn or 12tn machine) to pull the old pipe out with the new pipe threading right back into the same underground hole. Utilizing this method we can install a new house water service in just a few hours thus saving the homeowner substantially.

We do that with a backhoe all the time.
 
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