Sorry, I am double posting this from the Home Improvement forum in case I can get a quicker response here!

Our front sidewalk is wet...I would say the water started leaking two days ago. We usually have wetness on the sidewalk sometimes because our neighborhood has drains that come from the back yards into the front and drain on spots on the sidewalks sometimes.

This time, though, the water isn't drying up. It's not very much...it just now is enough to start slowly making it's way down the curb and into the street. It's just making the curb and street wet, there is no standing water.

I looked at our meter and the little red triangle is slowly spinning, and since there is no water running in the house right now I assume that means we have a leak somewhere? How do I tell what is causing it? Is it a sprinkler head maybe from the freeze? We have checked all the pipes and hose connections on the side of the house and the sprinkler main valve...none of those are leaking.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Oh and the house is only about 3 or 4 years old...and the last number on the meter hasn't changed in the last 15 minutes so it looks like we aren't losing a huge amount of water.

Could you post a picture of what you are looking at? Can you actually see the water running, or is it just a wet spot? Is it a large area, or centralized in one general area? Do you have any knowledge of what the underground lines leading to and around your house are like?

I can go get a picture real quick, yes. The water is not running, the sidewalk and the curb are just wet but the water is slowly (over the past two days and nights) now making it's way down the street a few feet...still just wet, though, not running.

I have no idea about the layout of the underground pipes around our home unfortunately, neither does my husband. Home improvement is so not one of our skills. Let me go get pictures.

[This message has been edited by rachag03 (edited 1/14/2011 10:53a).]

Here are the pictures, and I checked the meter again and the last number has rotated to be between 4 and 5 now (was on 4 about 45 minutes ago). There is nothing running inside of the house.

Please excuse the weed and the child...





[This message has been edited by rachag03 (edited 1/14/2011 11:04a).]

OOOOOOOOO you has a cracked pipe. time to find the wettest spot and start diggin.

[This message has been edited by aggiemike02 (edited 1/14/2011 11:06a).]

There should be a red cutoff valve for the sprinkler system on the side of the house. It should be near the backflow metal piece that sticks up. Turn the valve to off and see if the meter is still spinning.

Good Lord I hope it's not a cracked pipe...if it is, who would we call to help us fix it? I doubt that is something my husband and I could do.

I'll go turn the valve off on the sprinkler...I know where it is, but I'll have to unwrap it. May take me a while to report back.

Thank you guys for helping me.

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There should be a red cutoff valve for the sprinkler system on the side of the house. It should be near the backflow metal piece that sticks up. Turn the valve to off and see if the meter is still spinning.

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This but you also want to find if you have a main cut off switch for the house as well. If there is, turn that off also. Realistically, you should not have a leak under your foundation (downstream of the house's cut off), but this will isolate the leak between the meter and the house main/sprinkler system.

Okay, ours has two blue valve handles like the one in the pictures on the thread about the busting from last year. I'm trying to read it and understand, but I'm not sure which one I am supposed to turn? The one on the top next to the bell-looking thing on top, or the one below it?

There does appear to be a tiny amount of water leaking from the top of the bell-looking thing on top. Very very little, though...just enough to make the towel around it slightly damp. Not enough to be running down and through the grass and all the way to our front yard. That may be a whole other issue we need to fix now that I have unwrapped it, though!

Main valve to the house...I think that may be in the garage but I'm not sure. My husband finally called me back and is on his way home to help so maybe he will know where it is. I know the inspector showed it to us when we moved in, but I'm pregnant and my memory is just awful right now.

Is this the main valve for the house? This is in our garage. Man this makes me feel like an idiot that I have to ask these questions...I want to take some home improvement classes or something so I don't feel like such a moron.



[This message has been edited by rachag03 (edited 1/14/2011 11:37a).]

Turn the blue handle closest to the street, should be below the metal backflow thingy. Try just shutting off the sprinkler valve and looking at the meter. If it's still spinning, then find the valve to the house (looks like you found it in the picture, but I'm not sure on that one.) to see if it's between the house and the meter.

If it's a busted sprinkler pipe or sprinkler head, there are many very helpful videos on Youtube. Repairing pvc is pretty simple.

Okay, I turned it. And ours is installed backwards, the inlet valve below the top of the PVB is facing our backyard...but I know I got the right one because the outlet valve has the arrow pointing to it and it's to the left (side) of the bell-thingy on top.

Now I'll go check and see if the meter is spinning.

Rach, don't be hard on yourself - there are lots of things that the school of trial and error can teach you, most without risk of bodily injury (you don't want to hear the kinds of scrapes and mishaps involved in my first u-cart/concrete pouring project...).

This is going to take some running back and forth. Turn on a sink faucet in the house that is close to the one pictured in your post above. Leave it running and then go turn off the valve pictured above. If the sink faucet stops, you should turn on a few other sink faucets just to double check. This might introduce some air into the plumbing, but it is nothing to be concerned over. If none of the other sink faucets go, then you found your main valve.

Don't forget to turn off all the sink faucets...

Alrighty, arrow is still spinning on the meter...the last number is still on 5 (was on 4 when I got home 2 hours ago).

Arminius, thanks...I'll go do that now to find out if that is the house valve.

If you turned the water off to the sprinklers, which it sounds like you have done, then you have isolated it to the house line. Now if there is water leaking out of the top of the backflow, that is a separate issue but should not be putting out the amount of water you see on the sidewalk.

That was the main valve for the house...I turned it off and the sink stopped flowing, and tried the bathroom sink and it stopped.

The arrow on the meter is still spinning at the same slow pace. So that means it's somewhere between the house and the meter?

Stupid question of the year...is that bad? Like worse than a leak in the house? I'm assuming yes.

Okay, you found the main valve and turned it off. You also turned off the sprinkler system.

So, yes, you have a leak somewhere upstream of those valves but downstream of the meter.

It is most likely a pinhole leak or a separated joint in the PVC. Most contractors that come out will give you the option of running a new line (more expensive) or fixing the leak. Since you don't have big trees in your front yard, the problem of digging around the base of a tree and its roots will help to keep down the time (and therefore the cost) of the leak itself. Regardless of the type of leak, it should be very simple to fix and the least expensive portion of the bill unless there is some sort of nominal transport or estimate fee.

Oh, and like gillom is talking about...I didn't realize I didn't write this here...there is a very small amount of water seeping from the top of the PVB valve. It wasn't very much, just enough to make the metal wet and the towel around it slightly damp. None running down to the ground or anything.

Should we try to fix that and see if it's letting water leak out of that sprinkler head closest to the wet spot before we dig up the yard?

it might suck, but it's not the end of the world.

my neighbor had something similar going on for a couple of months. i tried telling him a few different times but i guess he never realized the wetness was coming from HIS yard, not mine. it didn't end up being a major expensive fix, just made a mess in the yard digging up stuff.

you could probably start by calling a plumber (get a rec from someone, probably on here)

Okay so it's probably the PVC line that goes from the meter to the house? And if I ask for a plumber rec I just need a regular plumber?

Sorry for all the questions, I really appreciate all the help!

i doubt pretty seriously that water leaking by at the sprinkler PVB could make its way all the way to a sprinkler head near the wet sidewalk and ALSO have that leaking as much as is seen in the pic..

Have the husband fix the PVB but it is not a major factor in this - if it is only making the towel damp there is not enough flow to make the whole yard wet. As a previous poster commented, look for the softest spot in the yard and start digging.

Check the yellow pages, internet or ask a neighbor if they have had a similar problem. Usually, if one plumber built-out the neighborhood with the developer/builder, *most* of the houses will be set up the same between the meter and the main. The last time I had a pipe burst I called a company and the guy who came out had fixed the neighbor's leaking pipe. He found the leak in my yard in less than a minute and had it dug up within the next five - knew right where to look.

Otherwise, most plumbers that work on this sort of problem will know how to handle it; call around the get some prices.

With this cold weather we had, you may check the pipe where it comes out of the ground and goes into the house. You should not need a whole new line unless the leak is that difficult to locate.

Sorry, I was at lunch between responses. Sounds like what some of the other people have said is correct that the line from the city meter to your house is busted. Did you buy the house new? If so, who built it and when? You may have warranty still for this. If not, then you can call just about any plumber. It may cost you some, but it wont be as bad as you may think. If there is still active construction in your neighborhood, look to see if you can find a plumber in the neighborhood who would be willing to do it. Dont call Rescue Rooter or one of those people, they are ridiculously expensive. Look in the phone book for a regular old residential plumbing contractor, and they can fix it no problem. If your husband has any handy man skill at all, it wouldnt be that difficult to fix. The worst part is going to be the digging. Once you have it dug up, and locate the problem, PVC repairs are a breeze. Let me know if you need any other assistance.

Okay, I'm back...my husband got home and I had to go get older kiddo from school.

My husband found another valve in the yard a couple feet up from the sidewalk where the water is. The yard is wet around there, but not higher (closer to the house) than that. He turned this valve off and the arrow is still spinning on the meter, but it seems the amount of water on the concrete is decreasing.

Is it possible the leak is between this valve and the sidewalk or meter?

Here are some pictures...

close up of hole...husband said the water is coming from in front of it when he scoops it out (between meter and this valve)


pic to show relation of this hole to the sidewalk and meter


My husband does say if it's just PVC he should be able to handle it fine. The house is only three or four years old but we bought it about a year and a half ago, so unfortunately I don't think there is a warranty. Good to know it should not be too hard or expensive to fix.

[This message has been edited by rachag03 (edited 1/14/2011 1:54p).]

Good job! All this home repair stuff makes me happy I have a condo!

That is your isolation valve for your sprinkler system. He will need 1" in fittings and a new 1" ball valve. If you have problems you can call me at 281-380-1059.

So does that isolation valve have anything to do with the main line? Or could we still have a leak in the main line since we shut that valve off and still have the arrow spinning?

I'm pretty sure the leak is coming from this valve or close to it, though. My husband is out there digging and found some air bubbles coming up in the water around that valve and the pipe coming out of it.

It's very possible the leak is between the meter and the valve.

Ah, I think we found it...water is spraying from a joint in the PVC line between the valve and the meter. The sprinkler line and the house line are side by side, and it's spraying from the sprinkler line. My husband just left for the hardware store to get the stuff to fix it. Hopefully that's the only leak!

And just because I've already posted so many, here's another picture. The leak is where the arrow is pointing, but about 6 inches below that where the line makes another 90 degree turn. We turned the water off at the street so the hole would quit filling with water.



Thanks everyone for helping me narrow down where the leak was coming from before my husband got home...it made it much easier for him to figure out exactly where it was and hopefully he will get it fixed tonight!

Now I will start hoping we caught it before our water bill got too outrageous.

[This message has been edited by rachag03 (edited 1/14/2011 4:57p).]

great job! bet it feels good to save money and figure it out yourselves.

Couldn't have done it without you guys!

One more question...my husband is worried about the new pipe setting in the cold weather and rain this weekend...will it be okay if we do it first thing in the morning and it's cold and rainy tomorrow? He doesn't want to do it tonight since it's going to get down to 34 or so.

It will set just fine this evening or tomorrow.

Great, thank you!

No surprise on my part that the leak was at an elbow.

Bail out as much water as possible and leave the hole open overnight but put a board over it so nobody trips.