OT: Water Leaks

[BonzoGoesToCollege]

You guys have never let me down before. Here goes...over the last 9 months, we have noticed a lot of water pooling up between our home and the house next door. Both houses are on a hill and drain into a narrow passage between the homes. I have dug up both sprinkler lines and there doesn't appear to be a leak in either sprinkler system. We have turned both sprinkler systems off at the meter and the area hasn't dried out. I have started trenching between houses for a French drain and water appears to be seeping from my neighbors side into the trench. Bear Creek Water came out and wasn't much help saying that a leak can't be detected. We are speculating that water is coming from under my neighbors home.

Do any of you know of anyone or anyway to possibly find a leak?
Thanks

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Has your water bill changed significantly? A small leak will have a big impact on your bill. If you have a leak big enough to keep the yard soaked, your bill will let you know.

 

[engie]

Both don't be running any water and go look at both meters. Any leak significant enough to make the ground wet will still be wrapping the meter. As far as chasing it down, that part is pretty easy and self-explanatory until you backtrack to the foundation. Then it gets complicated in a hurry.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

When water gets underground it can snake a long way before visibly bubbling up. Could be his runoff or from someone else even higher. Had something like this before and I'll be damned if it wasn't water from a drainage ditch funneling through either a dead tree root canal or a hell of a chipmunk den.

ETA- If it is a leak, nondestructive leak location is cool. They turn off your water, drain the line, pressurize with air(?), and use sensitive equipment to listen for the hiss of escaping gas. Shockingly accurate. A friend had this done for a line under his slab and was dead nuts on. Saved him a bundle on foundation demolition.

 

[skydawg1]

Both don't be running any water and go look at both meters. Any leak significant enough to make the ground wet will still be wrapping the meter. As far as chasing it down, that part is pretty easy and self-explanatory until you backtrack to the foundation. Then it gets complicated in a hurry.

Engie explains how to get your neighbor to turn off their water.**

 

[engie]

easy enough to do without discussing, if discussing on the front end is a problem...

 

[cowbell88]

If neither your or neighbors water bill has increased, then it may be main pipe from water association or a natural spring popping up.

 

[Sienfield]

I had the same problem. About drove me crazy. Turns out I had a natural spring in my yard. Put in a french drain at the source and that solved the problem.

 

[BonzoGoesToCollege]

If neither your or neighbors water bill has increased, then it may be main pipe from water association or a natural spring popping up.

No appreciable increase in bills. That being said, can anyone recommend a reliable, trustworthy plumber in the Madison area?

thanks

 

[vhdawg]

No appreciable increase in bills. That being said, can anyone recommend a reliable, trustworthy plumber in the Madison area?

thanks

Someone on here recommended Weiand Plumbing to me a few years ago when we had an issue. They were great...601-540-5972. Stay away from DrainGo, they're crooks.

 

[The Peeper]

In other words, the little red triangle will be noticably spinning around

 

[xxxWalkTheDawg]

When water gets underground it can snake a long way before visibly bubbling up. Could be his runoff or from someone else even higher. Had something like this before and I'll be damned if it wasn't water from a drainage ditch funneling through either a dead tree root canal or a hell of a chipmunk den.

ETA- If it is a leak, nondestructive leak location is cool. They turn off your water, drain the line, pressurize with air(?), and use sensitive equipment to listen for the hiss of escaping gas. Shockingly accurate. A friend had this done for a line under his slab and was dead nuts on. Saved him a bundle on foundation demolition.

there is another way to fix it besides busting up the foundation. Back when I was younger, one of dads neighbors built a house. They finished it out, hooked up the utilities, turned the water on, and it sounded like an outside faucet was running. Water started seeping up outside of the foundation.

The guy and a friend did the rough in for the slab and dad told him he shouldn’t have used fittings under the slab. Neighbor said he didn’t an used soft K copper throughout and protected it with sleeving anywhere near concrete.

Turns out, lightning struck the site just after the concrete was poured. It hit the copper and busted it under the slab. Didn’t know it until house was built. His neighbor just casually said lightning had struck and knocked out some stuff at his house. This was same time House was being built.

instead of busting up the concrete on a new house, they bored out about a 1.5 inch hole diagonal lay down through the edge of the foundation behind the first spot where the lines came up from under the slab. It was behind the kitchen sink. They then did the same down the home behind where the lines came up in wall again. Bored a hole there.

Then they ran a line outside of the home from one header to the next and bypassed the pipe that had split from The lightning. Put sleeve on the pipe running through the hole and then put a stiff foam surrounding it. Buried the outside bypass line a couple of feet deep.

No concrete busting. Was it up to code? Nope. But he lived out to where it wasn’t inspected anyway.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Check your PM

 

[patdog]

Dusty Welch Plumbing. Good, honest guy from a good family. I also used someone else a year ago and was impressed. Think it was Wright Plumbing, but not sure. If I get a chance today, I'll see if I can find it in my checking or credit card statements online.