water sewer connection

[skata]

what are the normal requirements to be able to connect water and sewer mains? i'm referring to connecting from building to street.
pay permit fees and be bonded and registered with the sanitation district, is that all?
do some areas require you to have a plumber's license?

[murray83]

All the times I've ever done water/sewer on the side was from the shutoff to the home,call the city to shut it off and get to work,they come to inspect my work when i'm done,I get the ok then I backfill.

No license in my parts,the city looks after the shutoff to the street which to me is great as I'm not interested in digging up city streets.

[digger242j]

There are probably almost as many answers to that question as there are municipalities and water and sewer authorities. They all have their own standards.

I'm no plumber, but I replaced my neighbor's sanitary sewer, and all I needed (aside form the proper permits) was to have the township sewer guy inspect it. In the next county over, I'm not even allowed (technically), to help the licensed plumber handle the pipe. The county plumbing inspector has to look at it before it can be backfilled, and depending on the municipality, so might the municipal inspector.

The rules on water services are just as varied.

Your best bet is to talk to the building inspector in every jurisdiction you plan to work in....

[dumptrucker]

Just check with the water/sewer dept. they will tell you the requirements. Some towns you don't need anything and some towns you need a pipe layers licence.

[Electra_Glide]

I'm no plumber, but I replaced my neighbor's sanitary sewer, and all I needed (aside form the proper permits) was to have the township sewer guy inspect it. In the next county over, I'm not even allowed (technically), to help the licensed plumber handle the pipe. The county plumbing inspector has to look at it before it can be backfilled, and depending on the municipality, so might the municipal inspector.

Digger and I are from the same neck of the woods, and I've had the same experiences as him. The county we live in doesn't require much in the way of licensing for building trades.

I've done sanitary sewers and only had to have the inspector from the sewer authority see that the pipe met their spec, witness the pressure test, then witness the backfiling with the required amount of gravel.

Also installed ductile iron water main for a sprinkler feed, and it was basically the same procedure, although in that case, the sprinkler company handled the pressure test.

In most cases the municipal authority will deal with installation of taps to the mainline, and leave you with a stub or shut-off valve to connect to.

Hey Digger, I assume the "can't touch the pipe" statement is the case in Allegheny County?

I'm working on a bid right now for a sewer connection, but at 8ft deep, and only 25ft long, it's not one I really want to mess with. When the holes start to get that deep, they give me the willys...:eek:

Joe

[digger242j]

Yep, that's Allegheny County. (The county Pittsburgh is located in, for those not from the area.)

...but at 8ft deep, and only 25ft long, it's not one I really want to mess with. When the holes start to get that deep, they give me the willys...

I'm not as comfortable in deep holes as I once was. That's probably due to having been too well educated on the hazards involved. Ignorance is bliss. 8 feet isn't really too bad though, especially if you have enough room to bench both sides. I've been as deep as 23 feet, with 2 trench boxes stacked, and benches outside of that. Even with the boxes, I wasn't at all comfortable with that...

[mflah87]

The last thing you want to do is create a hazard for you or someone else to get hurt or killed in. Very rarely do I not use shoring. It's not worth the fine or even worse having someone killed. The deepest sewer I've done was a 30 foot easement. We had to drive sheeting for it. We did about 1000 feet at 30 feet. Took a while to do it, but still got it done on time, safely with no accidents. If your doing an 8 foot connection and theres no utilities in the way a trench box would be ideal. The problem with trench boxes are that you have to have nothing really in the way for them to work.