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What I been up to today.

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regularman

regularman

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For the last 2 weeks or so since we got the big snow here in asheville the main drive has been a sheet of ice. I had been putting salt on it and making headway and the wife could make it out no problem, until I noticed the ice getting worse. Then this.
Bride came home yesterday afternoon and said "we got problems". I had noticed earlier that the water was running a little slow but figured maybe the city water pressure was just low. Well our driveway that was iced over from the snow was much worse because a water line decided to split at the PVC pipe coupling and flood the road where it was freezing and making the road worse.
Yesterday I went up and dug about 3 or 4 places trying to find the leak. The leak was on my side of the water meter so it was on me to fix it or pay someone. I cut the water on and off at the meter and we finally found the split in the pipe and dug down the 2 feet and got to the gushing pipe. It was below 20 degrees and nearing dark so we decided to let it wait until today and just leave the water off to the house.
The hope was that the water would seep down into the ground and I could repair the pipe with a union and be able to glue it without mud and get a good seal.
This morning it was a little under 9 degrees when I got up and was up to about 13 by time I got up there. It was very cold and no fun to play in water at these temps. I put some insulation over the pipe last night to prevent freezing and it worked.
The mud was much abated and I was able to did out the hole clean and repair the pipe and get water to the house but I could not fill the hole back in. The dirt we had removed was hard as a rock and frozen solid. I will have to wait until another day to fill the hole back in. Spent some more time sprinking salt on the ice so hopefully the bride can make it to work in the morning.
She thinks we need another 4wd besides mine. Now its just the wife and I and we only have 4 cars between us right now :wink: Every morning when its slick on the main drive I have been towing her to the top of the drive with my kia so she can get on the main road. She only drives 1.5 miles to work and we don't usually have snows like this. Anyways some pictures of a fun way spent on Sunday :wink: I got a motorcycle I ride year round and a midget and I can't get either out. Sick of driving the 4wd only.
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That brings back painful memories! A couple of summers ago I dug down to fix a water main leak in our yard and ended up with Frozen Shoulder Syndrome! It took over a year for my shoulder to completely heal!
 
PCV? Outside?
City inspectors here would not like that at all!
Has to be steel or corrosion proof coated copper from the meter through the foundation to the regulator.

can be PCV inside the house. Newer homes are.
Our main lines are buried at least 3ft and some 4 ft deep!
Yep, if you have a problem with the main line after the meter, you have a REAL problem {as in your are gonna be diggin` for a spell}
 
AweMan said:
Yep, if you have a problem with the main line after the meter, you have a REAL problem {as in your are gonna be diggin` for a spell}
Click to expand...

I can attest to that:
 

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In this part of Canada all outside lines have to be steel or coated copper and must be 5FT deep.
And as Kerry says, if it's after the meter, it's on your nickel!

I'm glad you're getting it fixed.
It looks as cold there as it is here. About 10 F

Dave :savewave:
 
Heck, here the main pipe from the city is pvc. Most well line pipes are pvc as well. The pipe is over 2 feet in the ground and it never froze, just the coupling deciced to split afte being in the ground since 1994. I Have never had this line to freeze but no doubt the cooler temps make it draw up more and put more pressure on the couplings. Maybe the slip joint union will help in this regard. That PVC will never rot or rust like a metal pipe and is used quite a bit around here. Inside the house I have all cpvc, everything met the code. I built this house. I dug that trench and layed that pipe originally. I have ahd another one of these couplings split. It might be that I got a bad lot when I bought the couplings or that the city is upping the pressure.
 
I would suggest getting rid of the PVC pipe sections and replace it with a 1 piece poly
 
DNK said:
I would suggest getting rid of the PVC pipe sections and replace it with a 1 piece poly
Click to expand...
Whew that is one long ditch and yeah lots of people used some king of flexible pipe/hose or whatever. I will probably just leave it as it. 2 leaks in 16 years is not so bad. If I do replace it I would put another pressure reducer at the meter and use schedule 80 pipe of some kind instead of the schedule 40 like I have now, but the schedule 40 is supposed to handle 250 psi. I put this in when I was 26 years old and nearly broke and trying to finish the house that I built on my own. It took me 4 years with no contractors and taking the tests to do the various things like my plumbing and electric and the wife and I living with my parents. 4 years hard work but no house payments in the end. I will deal with the occasional problem from that. I could tell stories for a long time about building the house. Talked to my neighbor today and he understands my problem with leaving the dirt in his yard. It has the thaw out for me to fill the hole in.
 
Man, I hear you! I built a house when I was that age too...singlehandedly. Because I was short on funds, I couldn't do everything "Cadillac" either, but still, much better than renting.

These days, we have two residences. Our summer house is the one I originally built. Last year, after 30 years, a septic line collapsed 42" under the ground (our Frost Line) and I had to dig it up in the Winter. No fun.

The driveway in our summer place is gravel and it has always had some big rocks sticking up in places. They always snag the MGB exhaust and the undercarriage of the Miata.

So today, I got an electric jack hammer and did ~THIS~ for 3 and a half hours in the cold.
(it was a 4 hour rental :laugh: )
 
Nial, Sorry,but I didn't turn on the sound on that one.
That might be fun (in better weather).Something about
Power Tools!

- Doug
 
Haha! Very funny, wiseguy!

I actually had to Google "Jason Hockey Mask".

My celebrity IQ = zero

I'm actually wearing a hat like the one below with the ear flaps velcro-ed together.......and ear protection muffs over the hat.
grin.gif


This is Lin's first day back at work for 2010 and I'm still off for a while, so I send her this video today as a joke (in case she thought I was goofing off).

What can I say?.......I wish I was rich instead of good looking. :jester:

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