leaking main water line


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Old 05-25-18, 07:08 AM
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leaking main water line

So my water bill went from 2,200 gallons a month to 13,000 gallons a month......

Checked the entire house and the crawlspace, couldn't find any leaks and nothing running. I'm assuming there has to be a leak in the main water line feeding the house (my neighbor had to replace his literally a month ago). The question is, how in the heck am I supposed to find the leak? There is no wet spots in the yard and there is no settling, the only indication I even have there is a leak is the leak detector on the meter. Any suggestions? I really really don't want to dig up my entire yard to find it.
 
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Old 05-25-18, 08:32 AM
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Make absolutely certain that nothing in the house is using water. Turn off the shut off valve to all toilets. Then go look at your water meter and note the reading. Check it again in 15 or 30 minutes. If has changed you do have a leak.

There is really no magic to finding a leak. If you can't find it the best option is often to replace the line from the meter to the house. Simply fixing the leak is an option and not a bad one for poly or other plastic water lines but copper, lead and steel water lines have a limited life. When you have one leak others are often not far behind.
 
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Old 05-25-18, 09:03 AM
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Where is your water meter located ?
The "leak" would have to be after the meter.

Is this just one month ? Could it be a possible meter misread ?
 
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Old 05-25-18, 09:08 AM
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I walked through the entire house and made sure nothing was running, checked the toilets as well and all the outdoor spigots. Went back to the meter and it was still running, fast enough I could watch the hand move (plus the leak detector was spinning).

House was built in the 70s so I'm sure it's an old copper line. I was going to try to replace the leaking section but I'm guessing it sounds like the line has just reached its end of life and needs a full replacement...

Very disappointing, the line runs under two mature trees. This is going to hurt, a lot.
 
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Old 05-25-18, 09:23 AM
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So we can assume the meter is at the street ?
 
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Old 05-25-18, 10:53 AM
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If you are located in a larger metropolitan area there are companies that can pull a new line without having to excavate the entire yard. I am in a small town rural area so old fashioned digging is the least expensive but in a city where there are such companies pulling without digging might be cost competitive. Also, a new water line does not have to follow the old or even take a straight path. It can be dug/routed around the existing trees though more digging and more pipe can slightly increase the cost as simply getting the machinery on site is a big chunk of the cost.
 
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Old 05-25-18, 11:24 AM
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The meter is in the ROW of the street. I am in a large metro area so I'll look into alternative installation methods, good call! Makes me feel better knowing I may not lose these two trees.
 
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Old 05-29-18, 09:27 AM
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Main water line, hire a plumber or DIY

I have a leak in my main water line and I'm trying to decide what to do about it, here's what I'm dealing with.

The main water line most likely has a leak, my pressure is fine but it's leaking roughly 10k gallons of water a month. I can't find the leak.

The house was built in 1972 in Alabama, as far as I know the water line is original but I don't know what it's made of.

I've been quoted $350 for a leak detector to come out and find the leak for me, seems awfully expensive for a guy to spend 30 minutes in my yard walking around.

The water line runs through the roots of two mature Magnolia trees and under a sidewalk.

Should pay for leak detection and repair the leak myself or hire a plumber and have him replace the entire line?


-- Mod Note -- I merged this new post into the old thread so it's all together and hopefully easier for everyone to follow.
 

Last edited by Zorfdt; 05-29-18 at 10:21 AM. Reason: Merged Threads
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Old 05-29-18, 10:19 AM
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Depends on the water line type and length.

If it's galvanized, there's really no easy way to repair it, and it's near the end of its usable life anyway, so you might as well replace it.

Since it's 55+ years old, I would probably go ahead and replace it. By the time you locate the leak, dig down (probably in the tree as far as luck goes), and repair it, how many more years does the line have left in it?

It could be done by trenching (in Alabama, I'd assume it only needs to go a foot or two deep), or with a few holes and some directional drilling (with the right equipment).

Is the meter at the curb? Can you easily connect it there? I usually consider water mains on the edge of a DIY project, there are a lot of issues that you can run into that would derail the project. But in the end, it's really just a lot of digging and two connections.
 
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Old 05-29-18, 10:34 AM
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Sometimes you can dig inside the outlet side of the meter box with a garden trowel and get to the pipe leading to your house and see what type it is. You can also usually see the pipe where it first enters your house either in the basement or crawlspace. But... knowing what the pipe is made of wouldn't affect my decision.

Because of your home's age I would replace the entire water line. As Zorfdt mentioned a trencher can be used which tears up the lawn less than but most plumbers in my area use a backhoe or excavator since it can do the bigger digging needed at the meter and house. I'm in USDA zone 7a and the top of the water line must be 12" below the surface so the digging isn't as extreme as it can be further north.

In most areas replacing the water line from the meter requires a permit and inspection. Also most jurisdictions will require you to install a PRV (pressure reducing valve) whether it's needed or not. So those things will add a few hundred to the cost of the project.
 
 

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