Building our Dream Home a.k.a. Delusions of Retirement

[Don P]

Do you not need to lift all the drain lines 6" as well?

[EOTE]

Do you not need to lift all the drain lines 6" as well?

When setting the pitch of the sewer plumbing, we followed the standard rule of 3" drop per 12' run (1/4" per foot).  Following that rule, we measured the depth of the pipe entering the septic tank, and working backward up the main trench to the clean out on the far side of the forms, the difference was almost 30".  We realized that the plumbing would be laying in the concrete pad instead of under it at the farthest point so we had to change the elevation of the top of forms to maintain the correct pitch and keep the PVC under the concrete.  It meant adding an additional 2" x 6" to the forms and backfilling an additional 5" to 6" over the whole site.  The branches off of the main sewer line also followed the pitch rule but each was laid out according to the elevation of the joint where they connected to the main sewer line.  All pressure piping (water) and electrical conduit were left as is since they are not affected by the pitch rules.  All the pipe was laid out using a green laser level to ensure that we maintained the proper pitch and elevation.  
The last thing anyone wants is sewage problems.  At my house in central Texas, we had problems where one of our oak trees breached the sewer pipe in such a way that it blocked our sewer from draining easily.  In that particular subdivision, the houses are paired together on the sewer branch to the main so when the neighbor flushed the toilet, our shower and bathtubs filled up with their sewage.  Totally disgusting.  So I was adamant about maintaining the correct pitch and elevation throughout the site for all of the sewer plumbing.

[EOTE]

Today we added a 4" PVC pipe to the south side of the building site for the HVAC copper lines to be routed through and a 1" conduit stub for the power feed to the units.  This will make a much cleaner installation. The stubs will all terminate in the location of the exterior wall so when the framing is done they can be extended to the second floor for the HVAC units.

We will add a 3/4" iron pipe stub as well for the propane infeed (not in the same area, it will be on the east side of the house.)  

[Magicman]

We will add a 3/4" iron pipe stub as well for the propane infeed (not in the same area, it will be on the east side of the house.)

I would not.  Yellow "PE" Polyethylene gas pipe should be used.  LINK and LINK  I would install black rolled pipe, etc. that would be used as a conduit for the PE.  This would be very similar to how you see fiber optic cable installed.

[DWyatt]

We will add a 3/4" iron pipe stub as well for the propane infeed (not in the same area, it will be on the east side of the house.)

I would not.  Yellow "PE" Polyethylene gas pipe should be used.  LINK and LINK  I would install black rolled pipe, etc. that would be used as a conduit for the PE.  This would be very similar to how you see fiber optic cable installed.

This may vary with location. Where I love in Ohio, it is standard to run black iron pipe for the propane feed and the propane provider expects you to have threaded black iron pipe sticking out of the house for them to connect their regulator and copper feed line.

[thecfarm]

Black iron here too. Wife had the propane guys hook up the pool heater for her.

[Tom King]

Black iron here too, and not only stubbed out of the house, but with a pressure gauge on it that has been holding pressure over a weekend, that they can screw off, and hook their end up to.

Put in a manifold with enough hookups for all the cookers you'll ever want, with ball valves, and just plug the ends that won't be used for a while.

I use standard lengths, and when I get to an end where I need a specific length, I go buy that piece from Home Depot, and they'll thread it for no charge.

[EOTE]

We will add a 3/4" iron pipe stub as well for the propane infeed (not in the same area, it will be on the east side of the house.)

I would not.  Yellow "PE" Polyethylene gas pipe should be used.  LINK and LINK  I would install black rolled pipe, etc. that would be used as a conduit for the PE.  This would be very similar to how you see fiber optic cable installed.

It might be a local thing here where the propane distributors want black iron pipe installed with it pressurized for a few days to test for leaks.  Then they will hook up a tank and regulator to it.
For me the whole pipe and stub length is only 10' so the expense of iron pipe is minimal compared to PE.



 
I got my HVAC stubs in as well. I used 4" PVC as a conduit to pull the copper tubing through.  When the tubing has been installed, I will plug the ends so critters can't get in.





I talked with the concrete contractor yesterday and got the price today.  It was within $500 of what I estimated.  We will have to use a pump truck.  We are looking at about 85 yards of concrete and roughly 10,000 linear feet of rebar.  We are probably 2 weeks out from pouring but that gives me time to do some finish leveling in a couple of spots that are low.

I am going to invite my neighbor down on the pouring date so he can do some videos with his drone.

[EOTE]

My neighbor did a test flyover video with his drone of the building site and sent me this video:  

EOTE Building Site Flyover.  

It's interesting to see how the building site looks from the air.  I am going to have him do the same flyover at different stages of building.

[farmfromkansas]

Question about building in Texas, do you not use basements down there?  The soil seems as if it would be ideal? Kansas uses basements, Oklahoma seems not to, only houses I have seen there are slab built. Not all soil in Kansas is ideal, where I live the clay seems to push on basement walls.

[EOTE]

Question about building in Texas, do you not use basements down there?  The soil seems as if it would be ideal? Kansas uses basements, Oklahoma seems not to, only houses I have seen there are slab built. Not all soil in Kansas is ideal, where I live the clay seems to push on basement walls.

I can't speak for all of Texas but in East Texas you don't see it much because of the higher water table and tendency to have flooding and lots of rain.  If you had one, you would need a sump pump and it would probably work a lot.

[Magicman]

That drone video is neat.  ;D

No basements here either.  Older "off of the ground" farm homes occasionally had root cellars for storing taters, etc. but never anything close to living space.  Too much moisture.

[DFILER2]

Back to the subject of the black iron pipe, black iron is what they want here too coming out of the house but you would never use it for ground contact, that can only be PPE or copper. It could be different there but i would make sure before you pour the concrete.

[EOTE]

Back to the subject of the black iron pipe, black iron is what they want here too coming out of the house but you would never use it for ground contact, that can only be PPE or copper. It could be different there but i would make sure before you pour the concrete.

After talking with Propane providers in the area, I decided to go with the PE pipe and protected risers.  I hope to have the materials tomorrow so I can install them.  Still about 2 weeks out before our concrete contractor will pour because he is so busy.


An interesting side note:  I had pressurized the water main and left it for about a week before starting to backfill the trench.  Last weekend while away, the pipe began losing pressure at about 2 lbs. per day.  I decided to change the gauge and repressurize it to 100 psi.  With that, the pipe lost 27 psi overnight.  So I tested all the joints on the pipe that were still exposed and sure enough they were all ok.  So today I began the task of digging up 80' of trench by hand to find the faulty joint.  After 60' of digging, I finally came across the faulty joint.  From the looks of it, the joint did not have a full complement of glue all the way around.  So tomorrow, I will repair the pipe, wait a day and then repressurize it and watch it.  Hopefully, it is the only faulty joint. :-\

Fortunately, the digging was  fairly easy.  Only 60' before I found the leak (the pipe is 2' below the surface).



Here is the culprit!
 

 

[Walnut Beast]

Good luck 👍. Usually when you prime and glue the joints you should rarely have problems if there not contaminated or damaged 

[Walnut Beast]

Nice coworker. Blame it on him 😂

[scsmith42]

Good thing that you found it now and not after the slab was poured! Still, hand digging 60' of trench was probably not high on your desired list of things to do....

[Hilltop366]

I've never seen water line like that, here we use the long length roll of water line (no joints).

For my house I went the extra mile and put my water line and well pump power inside a 4" line to protect it as well as make it a lot easier to replace. I would only have to dig it up at the well to access the entire line.

[Raider Bill]

I've never seen water line like that, here we use the long length roll of water line (no joints).

For my house I went the extra mile and put my water line and well pump power inside a 4" line to protect it as well as make it a lot easier to replace. I would only have to dig it up at the well to access the entire line.

That's what I did on my house.
Mine went from the well down 8ft to the basement and under the drive so I figured I wouldn't want to dig that up ever.
We used the roll pipe to the other 3 dwellings direct burial.

[EOTE]

Good luck 👍. Usually when you prime and glue the joints you should rarely have problems if there not contaminated or damaged

I suspect what happened was that I normally prime both ends of the fitting but only put glue on the pipe and the end of the fitting I am connecting and that I mixed up which end of the coupling had glue in it when I put it on the pipe.  That would explain why the soap bubbles would span about a third of the diameter of the joint.
I have to blame the coworker (me) for being absent minded. :D

[EOTE]

I've never seen water line like that, here we use the long length roll of water line (no joints).

For my house I went the extra mile and put my water line and well pump power inside a 4" line to protect it as well as make it a lot easier to replace. I would only have to dig it up at the well to access the entire line.

I've worked with PVC  for over 40 years and it is normally problem free.  A leak is usually from not cleaning and priming the pipe or joint thoroughly before assembly.  I have also tended to stay with a slow setting glue as some of the "hot" ones set almost immediately so you only have seconds to get it right.  PVC is normally crush resistant when placed 2' or more below the surface and bedded properly so that the fill doesn't put pressure on the pipe or joints in a way to cause failure.  
The idea of a continuous line from point A to point B sounds like a winner but down here the only pipe I see for that is the black polyethylene pipe which would have to run inside of another pipe to keep from being crushed.  
Fortunately, the weak joint showed itself before pouring.  And fortunately the failure was 30' away from the concrete.    And fortunately I didn't have to dig out the whole 80', 60' was bad enough in 92 degree heat and full sun.

[PineNut]

I had a leak on a 300 ft gas line. Fortunately I pressure tested it before covering it so it was not too much of a problem.

[EOTE]

I had a leak on a 300 ft gas line. Fortunately I pressure tested it before covering it so it was not too much of a problem.

I am putting in PE risers and line this afternoon.  I plan to do the same and pressurize the line.   The concrete contractor has scheduled to be here Tuesday so we will hopefully have a pad by EOD Friday!

[EOTE]

I had a leak on a 300 ft gas line. Fortunately I pressure tested it before covering it so it was not too much of a problem.

I am putting in PE risers and line this afternoon.  I plan to do the same and pressurize the line.   The concrete contractor has scheduled to be here Tuesday so we will hopefully have a pad by EOD Friday!

Well, unfortunately the concrete contractor had to postpone until Monday so I took some R&R.
This is the gas line that was installed and pressurized.


 
So, on my way home for R & R, I stopped along a shortcut road I take to mark my territory and heard a strange noise... As I listened I couldn't identify the bird that was causing the incessant noise.  However, I fixated on a cardboard box about 20' away.  As I approached it, I recognized the sound...


 
Someone had dropped a box of kittens for "disposal" along the highway.  Judging from their condition, I don't think they were there more than an hour.  Being a 90+ degree day, my first instinct was "Nope! you guys are coming along with me".



 

So, I brought home a box of kittens.  My son and his wife fell in love with the grey and white male and named him Freddie.  Gigi initially picked up one kitten and promptly attempted to find its "squeak" like her stuffed toys, so we named that kitten "Squeaky Toy".  However, she fixated on one kitten that she is constantly shepherding... picking it up and carrying it in her mouth from its crate to her bed and keeping it close by her.  We named it Kerf, Jr. after our neighbor's cat that incessantly meows with a "Rod Stewart" type of voice.  He was the one I heard and if it hadn't been for him I would have never known that there was a box of kittens that needed rescuing.  The fourth kitten, the calico, we named Miss Kitty.  While I had been looking for a barn cat, I never expected to have three to take back to EOTE.

So I will have my hands full this week between the kittens and concrete pouring.  Fortunately the kittens are weaned and eating solid food.  I will keep them in the crate until they become more acclimated to their surroundings and then I will slowly enlarge their world to the whole barn.  Hopefully, Gigi will help herd cats and keep them in line.



 

[Walnut Beast]

What a nice guy 👍. Nice pictures and sounds like things are moving along on your project👍