I am preparing to replace the 100+ year old lead water line on a project home I am working on. We dug a 48″+ trench last night and uncovered the existing lead. Began hand excavating around the main in the alley but ran out of daylight to uncover the connection point at the shut off. I have never done one of these before so I am hoping to understand what to expect. What grade of flexible copper should be used “K” or “L” or other? Secondly, what type of connection to the gate valve should I expect to find? Like I said above, the existing line was 1″ lead from the house back to the gate vlave. I am trying to get a good picture of what to expect as we move along on this.
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I just re-did my sewer and water lines. 3/4" soft K copper. I was told that K was required for direct burial. Used flared fittings to the valve. Good luck.
Bear
Well we found the shutoff under ground last night. The lead runs right up onto the brass gate valve. No flare nut to be found. THe lead just goes over a nipple. There is a bulge in the lead about 2x the diameter (kinda like a snake eating a chicken) just prior to the valve. Is this a connection like the old time laddle and molten lead type thing? The house is 1860-70. The age of the water system is unknown but likely turn of the century. The brass valve has a definate hole in it just down from where the lead attaches. It will need to be replaced for certain. WOnder if that can happen without disturbing the actual tap?
Seems like it would make sense to ask your water company what the deal is. Likely they will send someone out to check and advise.
Dan's right, time to call your local water supplier. If there are no threads on their side, the whole valve may need to be replaced, which means shutting off the water on your street. Mine was real old, too, but galvanized rather than lead. The brass valve out by the street was threaded for 3/4" fittings, and we were able to loosen it up without destroying it, so it went pretty smoothly. Bear
Doesn't sound like an issue in your case, but make sure you replace ALL the lead pipe. Taking out 40 feet of lead pipe but leaving a foot can make things worse if the lead is anodic to the new copper pipe.
And even a foot a lead pipe is enough to taint your water supply for decades to come, depending on water hardness (soft is bad) pH (low is bad) and pipe corrosion due to dis-similiar metals.David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
Definitely talk to the water company. They will have reqirements as to what can be hooked to the system. Generally 3/4" copper with flared fittings. Soldering won't be allowed underground. I think you should have the water company install a new valve in the main so you'd be good for another 100 years. My village charged $89 for the valve (called a "curb stop") and a "cage" (the long handle sleeve that reaches from the ground surface down to the valve). That price did not include labor. They can install a curb stop in a main line without shutting the main line off. They have special equipment to do that; it's done all the time.
If you coordinate the schedule you should have your new line layed in the trench, through the wall in the house, and hooked to your new meter with a shutoff valve on either side of the meter. Then, the water company can install the new curb stop, hook up your new line to it, and check the whole thing for leaks. Then you're good to go on the new meter, and you just switch the inside of the house over to it at your leisure.
Fill a few jugs with water before you start, so you'll have something to drink and flush with.
You may be able to recycle the lead for cash.
Here in LA they use rigid type K, and they do solder underground. I just got done re-routing my water service. It used to come up out of the ground and then turn in thru the cripple wall. I dug down and drilled thru the foundation stem wall below grade. I put 10 mil poly tape over my new solder joints, and used 1 1/2" pipe instead of 1" for slower flow and slightly thicker walls. Now I gotta go eff with a regulator problem, probably got crud in it doing the re-route. And I made the mistake of opening the relief valve manually to drain the system. Now it leaks just a tiny amount, just enough that I'll have to replace it.
-- J.S.
I WOULD DEFFINETLY CHECK WITH THE PLUMBING INSPECTOR & WATER DEPARTMENT