Digging trench for PVC water line, advice on potential obstacles

[Mark E.]

Running the risk that this should be a new thread . . .

I have a similar task to do, except mine is a new 1-1/2" supply line from well shack to the house.

What material do you use to seal around the water line where it breaches the foundation?

I have a century plus home with a stone foundation. While that will make the drilling process interesting I am assuming the material to seal between the new poly line and the foundation wall will remain the same.

Thank you for your replies.

 

[Sidney71]

I'm going to be tapping into my house's cold water line, coming out through a foundation wall, and then making my way to our chicken and duck pen, which is about 75' away. About 30' to one side of where I will trench are a buried 240v line, telephone, and a copper propane feed. I have a good handle on where those are.

What I don't have a handle on: My 1" well line and well power line are somewhere in the area, but I don't know exactly where (house was built 20 years before I bought it, no diagram available). I can get a little insight from the inside of the basement, because I know where the well lines come into the house, but what they are doing outside the foundation, I have no idea. In places where I know I'm clear, I'll use my tractor mounted backhoe. But for places where I think the water line might be, I'm thinking I should dig by hand. I also have a handheld metal detector, was planning to scout with it. It won't penetrate deep enough to find a properly deep well power cable, but as I dig, I figure I can stick it in the trench before digging deeper.

I'm in GA: Our frostline is almost non-existent, so I'm only going down a foot, will be using either 1/2 or 3/4" PVC, terminated at a freeze-proof spigot inside the fence of the animal pen.

Any tips or tricks appreciated.

Calling 811 will get you someone to check for utility lines going to the house ( at least that's what I was told by the 811 guy ). They will not locate the power line to the water well. If you elect to do any digging without knowing where the power line is - Please be sure to turn the power off to your well. I'm sure you will do that but just a reminder.

 

[Tony H]

Use witching rods along the trench path. It will get you close believe it or not.

Two welding rods bend 90 degrees in L shape. Hold short leg loosley in each hand pointing in direction you are walking. When you cross the power line/water line they will turn towards each other. The line will be underfoot.

No, REALLY? like a dining rod looking for water.

 

[cwbyeng1300]

I have yet to try it, but have heard that a strong pressure washer can trench, without cutting lines. If you have some vague idea of location, this might be worth a rental. ( and a full hazmat suit with eye protection)

Called Hydro-excavation. Oilfield uses it exclusively in gas plants. Big truck with vacuum pump & tank, uses high pressure to cut the soil out & the vacuum to suck it up. Ditch with makes a smaller version that is trailer mounted.

 

[meackerman]

having just hand dug 100'+ for some new irrigation lines, its not fun. But we didn't know where the previous owners ran lines and I didn't know there were private companies that came out and found them for you. soaker hose on the ground for a day, let the water soak in, dig down 4-5". fill the trench with water, come back the next day, dig as far as we could. rinse, repeat. Took us a few weekends to get it all dug, but we got it done.

while rototilling out dirt for our front walkway, I cut through an abandoned PVC line, still don't know where its going or where its coming from. Its direction makes no sense, maybe a sprinkler line, I dunno..
while hand digging a trench under where the new walkway will be, to run some 4" pvc for whatever we might want to run under the walkway in the future, I ran into the electrical line for my shop...only about 8" deep (installed by a previous owner). good thing I didn't hit that with the rototiller. Then there's the well electrical line, the house water line, the telephone line (I know where that is since I installed it) and who know what else under where we were digging.

I only have one utility line coming onto our property, the phone line. the power comes overhead and there's no city water or sewer. so when we're away from the house that makes things easy....there's no utilities to hit when digging.

 

[cwbyeng1300]

No, REALLY? like a dining rod looking for water.

Yes REALLY! Like I said - believe it or not. I can find a line most of the time within a foot. Lay an extension cord out on the ground & try it. you'll be surprised.

 

[bigtiller]

I have yet to try it, but have heard that a strong pressure washer can trench, without cutting lines. If you have some vague idea of location, this might be worth a rental. ( and a full hazmat suit with eye protection)

For the past week or so, a large electrical contractor has been doing just that on our county [gravel] road. Every place there is a phone junction tower in the ditch, they make a hole about 8" round and 30" ~ deep. I don't know why or what the project is.

On a 16' trailer they have a power washer with about a 300 gallon tank of water AND a vacuum with a hose about 3" in diameter.

One guy blows high pressure water towards the ground making a hole and a second guy sucks the water and mud out of the hole.

 

[EddieWalker]

Running the risk that this should be a new thread . . .

I have a similar task to do, except mine is a new 1-1/2" supply line from well shack to the house.

What material do you use to seal around the water line where it breaches the foundation?

I have a century plus home with a stone foundation. While that will make the drilling process interesting I am assuming the material to seal between the new poly line and the foundation wall will remain the same.

Thank you for your replies.

Foam pipe insulation.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-1-2-in-Wall-Thickness-x-3-4-in-Id-x-6-Ft-Foam-Pipe/1001277258

 

[jaxs]

For the past week or so, a large electrical contractor has been doing just that on our county [gravel] road. Every place there is a phone junction tower in the ditch, they make a hole about 8" round and 30" ~ deep. I don't know why or what the project is.

On a 16' trailer they have a power washer with about a 300 gallon tank of water AND a vacuum with a hose about 3" in diameter.

One guy blows high pressure water towards the ground making a hole and a second guy sucks the water and mud out of the hole.

Oh hell yaw,rbstern could pick one of these up and have that ditch knocked out in no time atall. Guy down the road here cut's railroad track and such every day with a mixture of water and sand. Bin thinking bout asking where he got his rig and get one for myself if it doesn't take too much room in my shop.

 

[DieselBound]

Tip: run some caution/burial tape in your trench above your lines, preferably about mid way between bottom and top of trench. That'll allow the next person who comes a digging to hit that tape before hitting the pipe.

At my place folks tossed various trash material. When you're digging and a bunch of odd crap starts popping up you know that there's a line/pipe under somewhere.

Usually, folks run stuff in a straight line. Go out from end points a ways and slowly dig perpendicular to that imaginary line. Good chance that you'll run into what's buried.

Just got done digging about 15' of trench to run a garden faucet. Every time I do something like this I swear that it's the last time...