esctave

I have searched all over and cannot find a good resource for a step by step guide on how to replace an existing water line and install a new one. My friend does it with his company and will be helping me but I wanted to know if anyone has a good resource regarding that. My house has low pressure and we are going to run a 1" service instead.

Thanks

Daniel Holzman

In many locations, the water service is owned by, and installed by, the utility company up to the meter. In at least a few towns I have worked in, the homeowner pays for the line from the street shut off valve to the house, but the line is installed by the utility. I have never actually worked in a community where the homeowner installs and owns the line from the street shut off to the meter.

Of course, if you own a well, you own the water lines (I am on a well). But I would suggest talking to the utility and the town engineer to see what specifically they want you to put in for a service, and exactly how they want that service connected to the street shut off.

By the way, installing a 1 inch line versus I assume a 3/4 inch line that is in there now is not likely to increase pressure much, since the pressure at your house is controlled by the pressure at the shut off valve. The only pressure change you will see is that there will be a smaller pressure loss between the street shut off and your house due to the larger line, but typically the loss is less than 1 psi per hundred feet, so unless you are really far from the shut off, you aren't going to notice a change in pressure. If the pressure at your house is too low due to the utility supplying water at too low a pressure for your fixtures, you can talk to the utility to see what the problem is. Normally the utility supplies water at somewhere between 70 and 100 psi, if the pressure at the street is above 100 psi there may be a pressure reducing valve in the system that is causing you to experience low water pressure.

burnt03

As previously mentioned, installing a new line won't improve your water pressure unless you suspect a serious leak in your water service.

You basically have 2 options, either dig a new trench or pull a new line.

If you're not familar with a puller, check this link: http://www.pollardwater.com/pages_product/TFTW09003.asp

If you can't find a local contractor with the right tools, check with your local water department. They probably know of someone that would have it. You might want to check with them anyways to see what size the line running from the main to curb stop is (no sense in your running an 1 1/2" line if the city only has 1/2" on their side).

The puller is nice since you only have to dig 2 holes (one at the curbstop and one at the foundation where the line enters). Might run into problems if the run is too long or if it isn't a straight shot.

I assume you've already checked your PRV and asked the muni what the system pressure is in your neighbourhood?

HTH