There seems to be a leak in pipe as I received an extremely high water bill today. Plumber can’t come till Wednesday so turned water off and on once a day to store some for use. Had pin hole in same pipe repaired last May and at the time it was suggested i replace whole pipe and dig the trench myself to save expense. This leak seems more than a pinhole as meter is really ticking I over fast. Now I am wondering what it would cost to have this trench dug. Anyone know.? The distance is about 35 ft
zak410,
Feb 3, 8:38am
How short is it ?
eljayv,
Feb 3, 8:40am
About 11 or 12 metres
trade4us2,
Feb 3, 7:28pm
I'm very old and I still dig my own trenches. I bought a coil of that nice blue pipe and installed it myself.
lythande1,
Feb 3, 7:33pm
Have you checked for leaks elsewhere first? Could be in house, at appliance end, HWC, any number of places.
eljayv,
Feb 3, 8:05pm
Yes, but unfortunately it is in the middle of the lawn and obvious by the large wet area. It could be the identical spot where a piece was replaced last May.
eljayv,
Feb 3, 8:32pm
I wonder how old you have to be to qualify as being very old. maybe I am there too
hammer23,
Feb 3, 8:46pm
Your plumber gave you good advise. The way to dig 12 meters of trench is say 3 meters a day for the next 4 days and it turns into an easy job. Early in the morning is the time to do it , so off you go now before it gets to hot.
So it seems all I need is a good clay digging spade for old ladies.
eljayv,
Feb 3, 8:52pm
This looks promising thanks
trade4us2,
Feb 3, 9:18pm
Chorus decided that my land was too hard to dig. It was mostly scoria with limestone on top. So I dug 600mm down with my pick axe and spade and put a 100mm drainpipe in for them to put their fibre cable. That took them a few minutes. I will put other cables in the pipe one day.
tibby1947,
Feb 3, 10:04pm
Corrections dept have several fit, young guys doing their “community service†in local areas. Mainly walking or bike tracks but they work hard and only reward a few bacon butties! Shame this muscle could not be used in such as your case as “Community Service†means just that.
tweake,
Feb 3, 10:16pm
really ? you want those young guys casing your house ? you will be their no1 target to be robbed.
eljayv,
Feb 3, 11:03pm
All I was hoping for was an idea of the cost involved.
trade4us2,
Feb 3, 11:51pm
Four hours to dig the trench at $20 per hour. Or free if you do it yourself. Or $400 for the plumber to do it.
zak410,
Feb 4, 2:19am
Yes, student search maybe OK, could also try rugby clubs or similar in your area, they often do jobs for fund raising.
supernova2,
Feb 4, 9:43am
Pop a post on neighbourly. You will be amazed at the number of replies. Either none or lots.
mrcat1,
Feb 5, 2:23am
The most a plumber should charge to dig the trench is only $200, a 200mm wide trench 500mm deep and 12 meters long should take no more than 1/2 hour to dig with a small machine. Minimum charge of 1 hour $100 machine and a transport cost of $100 would be the very most I would expect or charge, I only charge $50.00 transport for my machine if its local.
elect70,
Feb 5, 5:03am
Get a 300HP digger dont muck around more power arh arh .
eljayv,
Feb 5, 7:18pm
Thank you, makes it seem fairly reasonable.
tmenz,
Feb 5, 7:24pm
I see what you did there.
colin433,
Feb 6, 4:03am
or put an advert on your nearest buy/sell/freebies which is an offshoot of facebook and you will surely get a reply. Even the qualified guys are on the lookout for jobs via that medium, and offter them cash. You'll be surprised at the response you'll get Depending if you're reasonably computer literate because you'll have to go to messenger as well probably for the privacy of your address etc.
sanders4,
Feb 6, 8:27am
It is possible to run the pipe along a fence or only a few centimeters underground if you run the water pipe through a 40 mm waste pipe - check with your plumber. This has worked for me.
pauldw,
Jan 1, 4:58am
On our hill a lot of the new blue water pipe is run up or down from the street on the surface without any other cover. Once it goes underground I believe it has to be buried 450mm or 600mm to protect it from spades or traffic.
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