Hello everyone,
While looking for some helpful advice for my current issue, I came across this forum and hope to find someone who can give me a good tip or suggestion.
Here is some background information:
A few months ago, I purchased a multi-family house. In the basement, the following two jobs need to be done in the next days or weeks:
1. Replacement of the first main water shut-off valve because it is continuously dripping.
2. Replacement/renewal of the water pipes, since it was recently discovered that there is a section of lead pipe before the water meter (and possibly underground outside the building).
My plan was to first have the leaking shut-off valve repaired to avoid the basement flooding if the valve fails. Afterwards, I intended to proceed with the replacement of the lead pipes.
Now to the problem:
After about two weeks and several on-site appointments with my plumber and the local water supplier (they have been here three times), it turns out that no one knows where the water can be turned off—either outside or in the basements of the neighboring buildings. Without shutting off the water, the repair work cannot be carried out.
The approximately 100-year-old building is located in a backyard on private property, and the water pipes were apparently privately installed many decades ago. No one seems to have any further details about where and how the pipes run underground—not even the previous owner. They are also not marked in local utility maps since they were privately laid at some point.
At this point, I really don’t know what to do next and am seriously considering either a) starting to dig everything up from the building outward to track the course of the water pipes or b) having a completely new official connection installed by the local water utility (at my own expense) and, if possible, decommission the old still-active pipe.
Does anyone here perhaps have advice or a similar experience and can tell me the best way to proceed?
Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time to read this long message. Many thanks!
Best regards,
Anton
While looking for some helpful advice for my current issue, I came across this forum and hope to find someone who can give me a good tip or suggestion.
Here is some background information:
A few months ago, I purchased a multi-family house. In the basement, the following two jobs need to be done in the next days or weeks:
1. Replacement of the first main water shut-off valve because it is continuously dripping.
2. Replacement/renewal of the water pipes, since it was recently discovered that there is a section of lead pipe before the water meter (and possibly underground outside the building).
My plan was to first have the leaking shut-off valve repaired to avoid the basement flooding if the valve fails. Afterwards, I intended to proceed with the replacement of the lead pipes.
Now to the problem:
After about two weeks and several on-site appointments with my plumber and the local water supplier (they have been here three times), it turns out that no one knows where the water can be turned off—either outside or in the basements of the neighboring buildings. Without shutting off the water, the repair work cannot be carried out.
The approximately 100-year-old building is located in a backyard on private property, and the water pipes were apparently privately installed many decades ago. No one seems to have any further details about where and how the pipes run underground—not even the previous owner. They are also not marked in local utility maps since they were privately laid at some point.
At this point, I really don’t know what to do next and am seriously considering either a) starting to dig everything up from the building outward to track the course of the water pipes or b) having a completely new official connection installed by the local water utility (at my own expense) and, if possible, decommission the old still-active pipe.
Does anyone here perhaps have advice or a similar experience and can tell me the best way to proceed?
Thank you in advance to everyone who takes the time to read this long message. Many thanks!
Best regards,
Anton
MayrCh schrieb:
Methods to locate active water pipes,That’s right, I recently had a sewer camera inspection, and they were also able to locate the pipe underground.Do you have a rough idea where the water pipe enters the house?
If so, before tearing everything up, I would first try to locate the pipe using a simple dowsing rod. No, this is not a joke. Just bend two welding rods at an angle and then slowly walk over the suspected path of the pipe outside at a 90-degree angle. Hold the rods loosely in your hands—when you are above the pipe, the rods should twist and cross each other. It’s best to look up more information on Google.
We had a similar situation. The old house scheduled for demolition still had the water connection, but no one knew where the shut-off valve was. So, the utility company came, shut off the water supply to the area for 2 hours, and drained the pipe. Then they inserted a probe into the pipe, and someone on the surface walked along with a detection device tracking the probe. Eventually, we found the shut-off valve. We grabbed a spade and after digging through about 20cm (8 inches) of soil, there it was. They immediately recorded its location and left.
If so, before tearing everything up, I would first try to locate the pipe using a simple dowsing rod. No, this is not a joke. Just bend two welding rods at an angle and then slowly walk over the suspected path of the pipe outside at a 90-degree angle. Hold the rods loosely in your hands—when you are above the pipe, the rods should twist and cross each other. It’s best to look up more information on Google.
We had a similar situation. The old house scheduled for demolition still had the water connection, but no one knew where the shut-off valve was. So, the utility company came, shut off the water supply to the area for 2 hours, and drained the pipe. Then they inserted a probe into the pipe, and someone on the surface walked along with a detection device tracking the probe. Eventually, we found the shut-off valve. We grabbed a spade and after digging through about 20cm (8 inches) of soil, there it was. They immediately recorded its location and left.
T
T_im_Norden14 Jul 2020 06:20If there are lead pipes appearing in several places, I would expose them anyway and check thoroughly throughout. Nobody wants lead in their water.