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Iron water pipe question Steve Barker 07-24-2007
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Posted by Steve Barker on July 24, 2007, 11:43 am
I'm having the foundation replaced on a house we just bought. The existing
water line is now exposed and is 3/4" (what was originally galvanized iron).
IF I can't cut this pipe off clean and re thread the end, what are my other
choices for adding on to it? Going all the way back to the meter is not
really an option due to distance, expense, and a sidewalk it goes under.

thanks for any and all ideas.

--
Steve Barker









Posted by Chris Lewis on July 24, 2007, 12:23 pm
> I'm having the foundation replaced on a house we just bought. The existing
> water line is now exposed and is 3/4" (what was originally galvanized iron).
> IF I can't cut this pipe off clean and re thread the end, what are my other
> choices for adding on to it? Going all the way back to the meter is not
> really an option due to distance, expense, and a sidewalk it goes under.

If you can't get the pipe out completely, and you can't rethread it,
you're out of options. You can't connect to iron pipe without
threads. It won't solder, and it won't take any sort of compression
fitting.

I suppose you could get it welded, but they have to be real good
at it, and it won't cost much less than excavating to the meter.
Having a weld joint fail later means you dig it up again.

If you really can't get that pipe out, get it rethreaded, and go
directly to thickwall copper at least to the first accessible point
in the basement (eg: so you can reestablish at least part of
the building ground via the pipe). You'll need a dialectric
union between the iron and the copper.

You should run something like a skewer or a screwdriver into the
end of the pipe and see what the inside of the pipe is like. Chances
are that the insides are so badly crudded up`that the flow rate
is quite restricted. I've seen 3/4" pipe crudded to an inside
diameter of 1/4" or less. That's why people don't use iron any more.

It's sometimes "fixable" without removing the pipe (water company
has "thumpers" to jar crud loose), but that:

1) Doesn't always work
2) Sometimes doesn't last very long
3) May rupture it and you have to dig it up anyway.
--
Chris Lewis,

Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

Posted by jmagerl on July 24, 2007, 1:00 pm
speaking as someone who just had to do it, bite the bullet and go all the
way back to the street. . My house was built in 1967 with galvanized iron
coming in. By the time 2006 came around it was leaking at every joint. When
you thread a pipe you strip off the galvanize. So rihght at the joint there
is no rust protection. It took 40 years to rust thru . You'd be surprized
what they can do to not disturb the landscape. THese guys drilled thru the
basement wall, and dug a hole at the connection point (it was straight shot)
andf they sledge hammered a pipe thru from the basement. THey said they had
a machine to do it but they left it at the shop. I now have a blue plastic
pipe going out. Estmated cost $3000 but I havent got the final bill yet.

>> I'm having the foundation replaced on a house we just bought. The
>> existing
>> water line is now exposed and is 3/4" (what was originally galvanized
>> iron).
>> IF I can't cut this pipe off clean and re thread the end, what are my
>> other
>> choices for adding on to it? Going all the way back to the meter is not
>> really an option due to distance, expense, and a sidewalk it goes under.
>
> If you can't get the pipe out completely, and you can't rethread it,
> you're out of options. You can't connect to iron pipe without
> threads. It won't solder, and it won't take any sort of compression
> fitting.
>
> I suppose you could get it welded, but they have to be real good
> at it, and it won't cost much less than excavating to the meter.
> Having a weld joint fail later means you dig it up again.
>
> If you really can't get that pipe out, get it rethreaded, and go
> directly to thickwall copper at least to the first accessible point
> in the basement (eg: so you can reestablish at least part of
> the building ground via the pipe). You'll need a dialectric
> union between the iron and the copper.
>
> You should run something like a skewer or a screwdriver into the
> end of the pipe and see what the inside of the pipe is like. Chances
> are that the insides are so badly crudded up`that the flow rate
> is quite restricted. I've seen 3/4" pipe crudded to an inside
> diameter of 1/4" or less. That's why people don't use iron any more.
>
> It's sometimes "fixable" without removing the pipe (water company
> has "thumpers" to jar crud loose), but that:
>
> 1) Doesn't always work
> 2) Sometimes doesn't last very long
> 3) May rupture it and you have to dig it up anyway.
> --
> Chris Lewis,
>
> Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
> It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.



Posted by Steve Barker on July 24, 2007, 2:01 pm
Thanks for the reply.

--
Steve Barker







> speaking as someone who just had to do it, bite the bullet and go all the
> way back to the street. . My house was built in 1967 with galvanized iron
> coming in. By the time 2006 came around it was leaking at every joint.
> When you thread a pipe you strip off the galvanize. So rihght at the joint
> there is no rust protection. It took 40 years to rust thru . You'd be
> surprized what they can do to not disturb the landscape. THese guys
> drilled thru the basement wall, and dug a hole at the connection point (it
> was straight shot) andf they sledge hammered a pipe thru from the
> basement. THey said they had a machine to do it but they left it at the
> shop. I now have a blue plastic pipe going out. Estmated cost $3000 but I
> havent got the final bill yet.
>



Posted by Steve Barker on July 24, 2007, 1:59 pm
Thanks Chris for your reply. I haven't really taken a real close look at it
yet, and the foundation man and I haven't talked about it yet. It's just
folded back (by the track hoe) and smashed right now, so I can't see the
condition of the inside of it. I was going to hacksaw it to get a good view.
Also,I was going to consult with the foundation man, then proceed. He MAY
have an idea about going to the meter after all.

--
Steve Barker







>> I'm having the foundation replaced on a house we just bought. The
>> existing
>> water line is now exposed and is 3/4" (what was originally galvanized
>> iron).
>> IF I can't cut this pipe off clean and re thread the end, what are my
>> other
>> choices for adding on to it? Going all the way back to the meter is not
>> really an option due to distance, expense, and a sidewalk it goes under.
>
> If you can't get the pipe out completely, and you can't rethread it,
> you're out of options. You can't connect to iron pipe without
> threads. It won't solder, and it won't take any sort of compression
> fitting.
>
> I suppose you could get it welded, but they have to be real good
> at it, and it won't cost much less than excavating to the meter.
> Having a weld joint fail later means you dig it up again.
>
> If you really can't get that pipe out, get it rethreaded, and go
> directly to thickwall copper at least to the first accessible point
> in the basement (eg: so you can reestablish at least part of
> the building ground via the pipe). You'll need a dialectric
> union between the iron and the copper.
>
> You should run something like a skewer or a screwdriver into the
> end of the pipe and see what the inside of the pipe is like. Chances
> are that the insides are so badly crudded up`that the flow rate
> is quite restricted. I've seen 3/4" pipe crudded to an inside
> diameter of 1/4" or less. That's why people don't use iron any more.
>
> It's sometimes "fixable" without removing the pipe (water company
> has "thumpers" to jar crud loose), but that:
>
> 1) Doesn't always work
> 2) Sometimes doesn't last very long
> 3) May rupture it and you have to dig it up anyway.
> --
> Chris Lewis,
>
> Age and Treachery will Triumph over Youth and Skill
> It's not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.



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