How to Protect Copper Plumbing Underground

[@graceineverything9064]

I’ve had to excavate a length of copper pipe under my concrete kitchen floor recently. It was a relatively shallow channel. There was only a damp proof membrane to protect the pipes which seems to have worked well for 30 + years but I think I’ll add the pipe wrap and insulating foam just to give some added protection. Here’s hoping my soldering holds up! Three days so far so good. Great video. Thank you!

[@NoMoreLeaks]

**crosses fingers** it holds up and really glad to hear this video helped. Was it the hot water line close to the water heater? We had that same situation 8 years ago with the hot water line going to the bathrooms. There was no protective sheathing of any kind when we saw the manifolds in the walls. We opted to bypass our pinhole leak with a PEX run in the attic. I'm not looking forward to a similar situation with the run to the kitchen. I didn't mention it in the video because I was focused on the water main outside, but because I fully anticipate another leak at any point we put Phyn Plus on our house. It is a whole house water monitor and shutoff system, which does a nightly check on our plumbing for pinhole leaks. I have a running series on that system, if it's something you might be interested in: kzbin.info/aero/PLzio78R2Y1xmFsNYxa93fIU9ObTcwchlw Out of curiosity, how did you know there was a leak in the first place?

[@graceineverything9064]

@@NoMoreLeaks It wasn’t a leak. Had a nasty encounter with some cowboy kitchen fitters who cut the line. As the appliances were being moved it wasn’t really noticeable at first. I didn’t realise until I tried to use the washing machine! Took me a minute to work out what had happened. By then they’d had the money and were long gone. I was lucky I hadn’t asked them re-tile the floor otherwise that would have been a disaster! Anyway it’s all done now and it was a good opportunity to inspect the old pipework. It seems to have held up really well. Thanks for the link. It might be worth thinking about in the future.

[@NoMoreLeaks]

Oh no! That's terrible. Good thing you caught it sooner than later, but that's bad. I appreciate your positivity--it's hard to find a silver lining in those situations.

[@larslinebarger6712]

I felt the frustration at that drip at the 5 minute mark

[@NoMoreLeaks]

Nicely done! You saw that. 🧐 That one joint took more time (and was the source of a few choice words) than the rest of the line put together.

[@luissonoma6255]

Your videos are so detailed! Do you have a video explaining the purpose of the tracer wire and it’s installation?

[@NoMoreLeaks]

Thanks for the kind words. Here is the video on tracer wire kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3evn6ejbt-hg80 and another on it's installation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5uue2h-iJuJjbM I hope your project goes as well as it can!

[@luissonoma6255]

@@NoMoreLeaks Thanks, it did didn’t go as planned & I made an inquiry about it on another on of your videos, hopefully you can enlighten me on my dilemma; I’ll check this one out right now.

[@mazechaser]

Dang, even the frog was watching this tape job " 2:30 "

[@NoMoreLeaks]

Nice! You are the first one to comment on the frog. Too bad those pipes didn't have any form of protection especially with how wet soil gets in that part of Texas--with frogs. It's a different house. But the pipes are a good example of corrosion.

[@shannonferrell4295]

You are very helpful

[@NoMoreLeaks]

Thank you for the kind comment. I hope your project goes well!

[@adamdimaggio2237]

@4:56 did you fix your leak ?? you have a pin hole leak.. lol ..

[@DebtFreeCars]

I noticed nothing is used around the hose bib. Anything that looks decent and provides UV and damage protection from bumps?

[@NoMoreLeaks]

Riggt?!? Absolutely none. Even worse, the point of entry into the house is on the side of the house where an RV gate swings open. I will admit I now have an aluminum hood to protect Phyn Plus, a water monitor, out of the sun, but it does not cover the whole riser. The copper really only needs protection from cold. At least here in the low desert of Arizona that's how the builders/code roll. Even the new neighborhood next door has exterior plumbing. It's crazy.

[@foreverkenzie2397]

Anyone know a video for up to -40 celcius and having to dig down 6-8ft

[@JustAnAcre]

Why can't you just sleeve the whole run in a larger pvc pipe?

[@NoMoreLeaks]

The reason I'd want conduit is for easy removal of the line which is not so easy with copper not being flexible at all. If it were PEX I'd do that all day long, which I mentioned in this video on protecting PEX: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pH3RiYdvmpibgZI I'm just not sure if there is a good reason for conduit on copper versus tape or a sleeve.

[@Rodrigo-kg6wo]

Good video. Just a suggestion. Take the music out. It's just distracting to your message.

[@NoMoreLeaks]

👍glad you were still able to find some value in it. Two years later, my production style is different now.