What does entail to have my water service line replaced?

Question

My house was built in 1944 with lead water service line from the watermain to the house. Now after 63 years, the lead pipe has burst beneath the house and water is welling up from beneath the floor. How is this repaired?

Answer 1

The old way is to dig a trench from the house to the street and lay the new pipe in it. A newer way is to use a special machine to kind of drill through the ground at the level that you need to be at. You are drilling the new pipe horizontally as opposed to digging vertically.

Once in place, a relatively small pit needs to be dug out to connect the new pipe to the stop box, near the street. Hopefully, that stop box is relatively new so from there to the street will not have to be replaced.

The part of the stop box that you can see is the thing that sticks up from the ground. The top of it is typically four to six inches diameter and it is steel or iron. What you see is actually a cover and not really part of the stop box, i.e. the valve.

Sorry to tell you, but we are not talking a few dollars here. Depending on many factors, a couple of thousand is probably a minimum, perhaps a lot more.

Not too many choices, it has to be done ASAP. Not only is it causing damage, the water company is loosing revenue and they are not going to put up with that for more than a day or two.

As others have said, if you have lead pipes in the house, you will want to replace them also. Even short lengths are not okay.

Not good news, but you need to know.

Answer 2

Depends on what you mean by water service. The line from the meter to the house or the plumbing under a slab? If its the line from the meter to the house it has to be connected at the meter and buried at the depth required by local code, then connected to the main supply line on the house end. Codes mandate which size and type of materials need to be used and burial depth. If your pipes are lead, or even galvanized inside your house you really need to have the house repiped. You will need a professional co. for this. In most cases you need a permit and the work is inspected. when houses are repiped the pipes are run in the most inconspicious places possible, if done right, such as in cabinets, closets, depending what you have to work with. If ANY of the pipes in your water system contain lead, have them replaced immediately! If you havent heard about lead poisoning you are living in the dark. No matter the cost, if you or your family or friends get sick you will have big problems! With a house that old you are most likely going to need it to be repiped anyway. Even if you fix one leak it is only a matter of time before you will be calling a plumber again.

Answer 3

Puppies, you've got a problem. The solution is to excavate the entire line from the street main to the point where it enters your house and replace the line. There is a way of sleeving the pipe, but that may reduce your water pressure and volume, and can be more expensive than excavating the line. Call a plumber!

Answer 4

You have to dig out all the lead and replace with copper. Call in afew plumbers to get 3 estimates then choose the lowest one.

Answer 5

the length and corners ,digging up, and shut down water at meter! remove the old .replace with new ,wrap pipe if needed ,turn on test ............ ?
cost of material .. estamating what and how much .finding and fitting . TRANSPORTATION .
Permits if required by your city !!!
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Answer 6

Good luck getting 3 estimates before you die of thirst, your neighbors must have had similar problems, ask for a recommendation. They dig it up and put copper in, it ain't rocket science.

Answer 7

MOST LIKELY THEY WILL HAMMER DRILL THROGH THE WALL AND PIPE OVER TO YOUR EXISTING PLUMBING AND TIE IN THERE.