Water service line replacement

Any recommendations for a reasonably priced contractor to replace a water service line?

I know NJAWC offers the insurance but I didn't take since the line is only 10 years old.  I have no idea where it is leaking from, but my water bill is triple the normal amount and when I shut down the main line inside I can hear the water gushing outside.  But its not visible yet.  Last months bill was a little higher too, so its been leaking for over a month with no sign of water inside or outside.

Ugghh!!!  Couldn't have come at a better time.

Is your meter in the basement?

No, at the curb. NJAWC just confirmed it is on my side of the meter.   The only place I can think it would be leaking is at the foundation, but no way of knowing without digging 6-7' down.  The only plus is that the line is copper, so if we find the leak we can just make a repair instead of having to replace the whole line.

What is the distance from the meter near curb and where the line enters the foundation?

With no water running in the house, can you hear anything when you put your ear up to the pipe entering the basement?

Probably 25'.  Yes I hear it running even after I shut the water off where it comes in.  Definitely outside leak.

A-Absolute in Roselle Park.  908-259-9800.

I used them when the sewer line backed up in my mother's house in Millburn. They were there in a couple of hours and with sewer line camera. Initial work was not completed to satisfaction. Next day, they sent another guy at no extra charge.

Camera disclosed a need for substantial repair. At that point, the water company insurance took over.

As with other plumbers, there are negative reviews but most are positive.

Thanks. I am contemplating renting a backhoe and digging it up myself and just have a plumber make the repair.

EricBurbank said:

Thanks. I am contemplating renting a backhoe and digging it up myself and just have a plumber make the repair.

That's a better idea. I guess it would require a permit for the plumbing repair. How about for the digging?

I will have to wait till Monday to find out about the digging permit.  If I dig in the street I know I need one but may not for the yard.  Definitely need one for the plumbing.

Don't forget to mind the gas line. At my house it's only 4 feet from the water line.

You will have to call 811  or 800-272-1000  for any underground utilities to be located and marked if you are rolling out a backhoe.  

Any chance the leak is right at the meter itself?  Can you inspect / look down the meter hole?

I couldn't see anything when NJAWC came out this morning.  I have a feeling it is going to be right at the foundation.  The house and water line are only 10 years old.  I am thinking maybe the foundation settled or it is at a connection.  If I remember correctly we used 1 roll of pipe so there are only 2 connections.  1 at the meter and one at the foundation.

This is making me second think doing it myself.  If it is at the foundation it is going to be a ***** getting that close.  I just wish I could see where it is leaking, I really don't want to be digging up the whole length with it right above or under the sewer line.  With my luck I will break that pipe too.

The Hoffs. Very reliable and reputable. Their price seemd fair compared to at least one other estimate. I do recall the gas co. having to mark the line before any work started.

If one can be inserted, a water line camera (endoscope) might tell you where the leak was. Weltman's may have a camera. A-Absolute has one.

Do you mean Eric Hoff and his brother?  I haven't seen them around in quite a few years.   I used to deal with Eric but never thought of them.

Thank you.

cubby said:

The Hoffs. Very reliable and reputable. Their price seemd fair compared to at least one other estimate. I do recall the gas co. having to mark the line before any work started.

EricBurbank said:

Any recommendations for a reasonably priced contractor to replace a water service line?




I know NJAWC offers the insurance but I didn't take since the line is only 10 years old.  I have no idea where it is leaking from, but my water bill is triple the normal amount and when I shut down the main line inside I can hear the water gushing outside.  But its not visible yet.  Last months bill was a little higher too, so its been leaking for over a month with no sign of water inside or outside.




Ugghh!!!  Couldn't have come at a better time.

Hi Eric, I replaced mine in 1996 and although copper line now I have the insurance just in case.

Try Anthony Masi  973-444-2122 he has done great work for me.  Todd Williams did my water line in 1996

but I'm not sure what Todd is doing now.   Todd was great as water was coming up thru my basement floor

he got to my houses hours before good old NJAW to shut the water off.  NJAW took hours to arrive even with

my emergency call to them.  I wish you the best   

Todd was my first call, but he is working with Wooley now and they don't do water lines.  He gave me a contractor he uses but I am still flirting with digging it myself.  I have Billy Harrington coming by today to get his opinion on the job.  May use his backhoe to dig and then hire a plumber to make the repair.

Thank you.

GentlemanJim said:

EricBurbank said:

Any recommendations for a reasonably priced contractor to replace a water service line?




I know NJAWC offers the insurance but I didn't take since the line is only 10 years old.  I have no idea where it is leaking from, but my water bill is triple the normal amount and when I shut down the main line inside I can hear the water gushing outside.  But its not visible yet.  Last months bill was a little higher too, so its been leaking for over a month with no sign of water inside or outside.




Ugghh!!!  Couldn't have come at a better time.

Hi Eric, I replaced mine in 1996 and although copper line now I have the insurance just in case.

Try Anthony Masi  973-444-2122 he has done great work for me.  Todd Williams did my water line in 1996

but I'm not sure what Todd is doing now.   Todd was great as water was coming up thru my basement floor

he got to my houses hours before good old NJAW to shut the water off.  NJAW took hours to arrive even with

my emergency call to them.  I wish you the best   

Last thoughts to try to save you some money:

If your house is new construction less than 10 years old you could try making a claim on the Warranty Insurance required to be provided by the builder. Most coverage ends at 2 years except for significant structural problems. You would have to argue that a sinking foundation broke the pipe. This is a long shot.

Dig down to the meter by hand to see if the leak is at the meter. This would be the least expensive of all fixes and NJAW might even do it for free.

Finally, if you hire a plumber to do this, he may have an arrangement with a contractor for a better excavation rate.  Personally, I've found that Dennis O'Neill  (Right One) has a large number of contacts from tile guys to sewer line excavators.

I appreciate the idea but its just over 10 years, so even if it would be a coverable item its too late.

I have to eat this one, just trying to keep costs to a minimum and make as little of a mess as possible.

truth said:

Last thoughts to try to save you some money:

If your house is new construction less than 10 years old you could try making a claim on the Warranty Insurance required to be provided by the builder. Most coverage ends at 2 years except for significant structural problems. You would have to argue that a sinking foundation broke the pipe. This is a long shot.

Dig down to the meter by hand to see if the leak is at the meter. This would be the least expensive of all fixes and NJAW might even do it for free.

Finally, if you hire a plumber to do this, he may have an arrangement with a contractor for a better excavation rate.  Personally, I've found that Dennis O'Neill  (Right One) has a large number of contacts from tile guys to sewer line excavators.

 

Ok we have a couple of winners here, with me being the biggest one.  I had Billy Harrington come over and we pumped out the meter pit and there it was, a strong flow coming from the connection.  So fomerlyjerseyjack gets the prize for location.

But Billy didn't have a plumber available, and since i had previously called Eric Hoff to give me a price to replace the line I called him and told him the leak was in the pit and asked if he could just do a repair instead of replacing the whole line.  Turns out that most of the work he does is for the water company these days so he was more than capable to do it.  It gets better, when they got here they saw what was leaking and advised me that even though it was on my side of the meter it was the water company's fault.  The meter they put in had a crack at their connection to my line so they would have to fix it. 

The repair was made at no cost to me because I called Eric Hoff who Cubby had reminded me of.  So Cubby gets the prize for recommending the right contractor.

A big thank you to Cubby for recommending Hoff Bros.  I knew Eric very well but completely forgot about them doing this type of work.  And thank you to everyone else who offered suggestions and solutions.

Not to take anything from Fjj, but Truth suggested to dig at the meter.

You are absolutely correct, it was you who suggested that.  You are the winner for the location.  Thank you for all of your suggestion and taking the time to try and help me resolve the problem. 

Sorry Fjj, but truth wins. Lol. But I do thank you for all the reasons mentioned above. 

truth said:

Not to take anything from Fjj, but Truth suggested to dig at the meter.

Sounds like you had the best case scenario in an otherwise not so great situation.  Happy to hear this!  

EricBurbank said:

Ok we have a couple of winners here, with me being the biggest one.  I had Billy Harrington come over and we pumped out the meter pit and there it was, a strong flow coming from the connection.  So fomerlyjerseyjack gets the prize for location.




But Billy didn't have a plumber available, and since i had previously called Eric Hoff to give me a price to replace the line I called him and told him the leak was in the pit and asked if he could just do a repair instead of replacing the whole line.  Turns out that most of the work he does is for the water company these days so he was more than capable to do it.  It gets better, when they got here they saw what was leaking and advised me that even though it was on my side of the meter it was the water company's fault.  The meter they put in had a crack at their connection to my line so they would have to fix it. 




The repair was made at no cost to me because I called Eric Hoff who Cubby had reminded me of.  So Cubby gets the prize for recommending the right contractor.




A big thank you to Cubby for recommending Hoff Bros.  I knew Eric very well but completely forgot about them doing this type of work.  And thank you to everyone else who offered suggestions and solutions.

So, so happy you were spared the cost of the repair! The Hoffs had been recommended to us by the Corraggios who I totally trust. I really do think the Hoffs are trustworthy and reliable. Happy it all worked out.