I have an old house (built in 1898) in a little farming town north of Sacramento, California that I am restoring and would eventually like to move there. There is a little guesthouse attached to the garage in the back. The property has old galvanized steel pipes for the main water line from the water meter in the alley to the house and for the lawn irrigation. The lawn sprinklers have the old manual brass valves with Champion metal sprinklers. Galvanized steel pipes are also used for the water and a gas line from the gas meter next to the house to the little guesthouse in the back.

It is time to replace the galvanized metal pipes because both the gas and water lines are failing. They are corroded, rusted and pitted. I would like to go into this project informed with some idea of what to expect before I reach out to plumbers for bids to run the lines from the meters to the house and guesthouse.

I am fortunate that I have a friend who is landscape irrigation designer that will help me with the design of the landscape irrigation. The plan is to put in drip irrigation, rotator head sprinklers and a control panel to automate the watering. Up until now I have not been able to put in any new plants or trees because there is no automated irrigation system so in the summer they cannot be watered during the week. I will ask the plumbers putting in the lines to stub out an irrigation line for the irrigation system to be installed later.

My questions are:

Does the water line from water meter to the house have to be a straight line with no turns in it?

What is the recommended pipe material for a water line?

What is the recommended pipe material for a gas line?

Anything else I should be aware of when putting in new water and gas lines?

I would greatly appreciate any advice. Attached is a photo with a view from the water meter in the alley. You can see the main house and the little guesthouse on the left.

 

Almost everything underground is going in poly nowadays afaik. A lot of interior potable is pex.

 

Just an Fyi, if you live down in the valley floor (especially near the river), the soil is usually relatively easy to dig/trench. If your able, you could save yourself a lot of money by doing a lot of the work yourself. At least the digging. The pro's on here could help you out if you want to run a lot of the pipe also.

What I'd give to have that loam around me.

 

Thanks for the information XSleeper and Tumble.

Tumble, you are spot on. The town is in the valley floor between Yuba City and Williams. The house is only 4 blocks from the Sacramento River. Having this as a second home means I have to try and save money whenever I can so I am willing to do as much of the work myself as possible. I just need some guidance on what to do.

Would the first step be to find where the current main water line is from the water meter in the alley to the house? I have some scale drawings of the property and I could mark it on those. Based on where the water line is, would the next decision be to determine whether to follow that same path or not?

 

Before you do any digging call to have your utilities located. It's a free service. You don't want to find a gas line by mistake.

 

I second Pilots info. It's free. https://www.usanorth811.org/. I used them about 6 years ago, they were quick. Even identified stuff I didn't even think about. It's interesting to find out how many providers are in your area.

For the water, I'd dig down at the meter, kind of get an idea of where the line shoots off. More than likely it's a relatively straight shot until it gets near the structures. That being said, I'd abandon the lines in place and trench wherever you think is the best route. Doesn't look like you have roots to worry about. Find out where the line enters both structures to serve as an end point. Connecting to the meter and to where the service enters the bldg is a very easy dyi. Contact H20 company, they might be able to provide you with a waterwork fitting for the meter. They might even update an old meter if you provide them access.

I've never done gas, but I'm guessing the same principles apply for routing. Don't know how close the gas/water can be located. I'm guessing, gas has to be deeper. Local bldg dept might be able to give you insight. I'd probably hire out the line install, just do the grunt work of trenching.

 

It's usually worth just abandoning the old lines and dig the most reasonably straight line between the meter and the house.

For water, most areas use PE (black) pipe. But some areas still require copper - so be sure to check with a knowledgeable plumber or the town/city before making final plans. Most houses will use 3/4" for the potable water. For irrigation, check with your irrigation guy. It's usually better to upsize or 1" or even larger based on what's available at the street.

For gas, PE pipe (yellow) is the way to go, again, as long as it's approved in your locale. Not usually a DIY project, but can be if you're experienced enough.

 

Our municipality uses blue poly for potable from the street to the shutoff... Black would usually be a sprinkler system. At least here.

 

Interesting, I don't think I've ever even seen blue poly. Goes to show - always check your city/town rules!