Once the magic smoke comes out, things don't work any more.
John Kasunich
jmkasunich@fastmail.fm
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Fri, 07 Sep 2007
I have "faucets and flushes"! Unfortunately I also still have gaping holes in my yard, which will be there until Monday.
Below is an item that homeowners hope to never see - the curb valve that connects their water line to the water company's line. My line is the nice shiny new copper on the left, theirs is the gray lead on the right. The plumber tells me that once they know I have copper for my part, I go on a list for eventual replacement of their part (at their expense). The valve is normally covered by a "curb box". a long metal tube that ends at ground level. You can insert a long "key" into the curb box to turn this valve on and off. We will be replacing the box, but it needs to stay off until yet another inspector reviews the work. That inspector is the reason the hole will stay unfilled over the weekend.
Below is the new water line, as seen when standing on the curb. The valve is on the bottom, and at the top the line disappears into a wall of dirt that supports the sidewalk. The plumbers had a handy device called a pipe-pusher, which works like a bumper jack to drive a solid steel bar through dirt. They pushed from this hole at the curb to the main trench on the other side of the sidewalk. Then they pulled it back with the copper attached.
My yard will never be the same. This picture was taken after work finished today.
The hole at the curb is partly filled, leaving the valve visible for the inspector. The main trench has been partly backfilled with gravel, but again, inspection requirements mean that the last of the gravel is in a big pile on the grass instead of in the hole. The much bigger pile of dirt and rocks will mostly be going away, although some will be used to fill on top of the gravel, under a final layer of topsoil. All of this is supposed to happen on Monday. I have no idea how much of a mess will be left when it's all finished, but it won't be pretty.
Inside isn't so bad. The big mound of muck is gone, partly hauled out, and partly used for backfill. All it needs now is new concrete - also supposed to happen on Monday.
(posted: 07 Sep 2007 19:53) (permalink)