Online Blog > Previous Entry 5/11/2016 > 5/17/2016 - 200 Amp Electrical Service Entrance and Building Water Supply > Next Entry 6/2/2016
We have installed the 200 amp electrical service entrance and water supply to our customer's building in Bonners Ferry. Additionally, we have damp proofed the foundation and installed a french drain at the footer level, covered with drain rock and filter facbric. In the following video, we describe all of the details of these items and the construction of the foundation so far, including the installation of treated wood into the concrete so that we can cover part of the concrete with siding:
In the video, we showed where we were installing the hydrant and the stop waste valve. A detail we did not show is that we install the hydrant on two street 90's. This allows the hydrant to get bumped above from multiple different directions without breaking a plumbing fitting, since the street 90's allow rotation of the hydrant multiple directions without placing strain on the plumbing joints. This detail can be seen in this photo:
Here is a better view of the completed plumbing with the hydrant and the stop/waste valve and a cap allowing a future line extension, We usually place tees and an allowance for future line extensions everywhere we place a hydrant. That makes the system expandable without having to undo any of the existing plumbing. All of the plumbing materials are 250 PSI polyethylene pipe and stainless steel or brass fittings. The plastic pipe to stainless or brass are made with "pack" fittings. All of these materials resist corrosion, are compatible with each other, and will outlast the homeowners. The pack fittings alone are over $50, but we think the quality and peace of mind is worth paying more than for a barbed fitting with a traditional hose clamp that is subject to corrosion and subsequently a leaking or failed joint.
After the plumbing connects are made, we plumb the hydrant and then backfill first with washed drain rock. That is because when a 4' bury hydrant is shut off, the water in the pipe drains out of the bottom of the hydrant, and there needs to be room in the surrounding soil for this water discharge. The drain rock grants the space for that water. The same thing happens with a stop/waste valve (the waste part of the name). With that valve, the line beyond the valve will completely empty into the surrounding soil if you make space for that drain to discharge. We cover the drain rock with filter fabric to keep soil fines from clogging the drain rock over time. A cast iron "curb key" provides a riser to the surface, with a locking cap, through which a handle can be inserted (really a 5' extension handle) so that the stop/waste valve can be turned on and off from the surface. The curb key is adjustable to match the elevation of the landscape:
We use Baker yard hydrants, and the head of the hydrant can be rotated and secured in any direction with an allen wrench. The inlet is 1", which maximizes water output at the hydrant when compared to a common 3/4" inlet. When we have completed the first layer of the backfill of the 52" deep trenches (and within 24" of original grade), we install traceable tape so that the water and electrical lines can be located in the future, and the advantage of the tape versus wrapping the water line itself with a tracer wire, is that if the homeowner were digging in the future, they would hit the tape long before they hit the lines, and by seeing the tape be made aware that they are digging over installed utilities.
Of course, the reason we bury water lines and electrical lines over 4' deep is for freeze protection for the water line, and at that depth, it is unlikely that a future homeowner will ever hit the lines, since even fence posts tree plantings are usually buried at a far shallower depth than that.
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