I’m asking because I literally have nothing to lose at this point… I have a 1” schedule 20 PVC sprinkler line that is broken open at a joint at a “T” fitting. Normally I would dig up a portion of the line, cut the offending portion out and replace it with new pieces. But…
There are two 1” lines traveling together, one on top of the other. The bottom line has the tee that is broken at the joint on one side, the portion of the tee that is parallel to the other line if that makes sense. Both lines are literally surrounded with tree roots, as they’re barely 6’ from an oak tree that is probably 24” in diameter. The roots of the tree have distorted and stressed the lines, causing the top line, which is the supply line from my water meter to the sprinkler valves, to flatten out some. The bottom line is under the same stress from the surrounding roots, but because the tee was present the joint on one side of the tee failed. See it here just after we had a good hard rain: http://penoff.com/Photo_Dump.html#1 <http://penoff.com/Photo_Dump.html#1> I can’t possibly cut the roots, as some are as large as 3”-4” surrounding these lines. To do so would risk damaging the rather fragile lines not to mention I would have to do some serious excavating to get enough space to get my chain saw at them. There’s no way I could dig them up and “bypass” the tree, as there’s really nowhere to go in close proximity that isn’t rootbound. So here’s my Hail Mary: Get some of the Flexseal Flex Tape and try to wrap the affected area on the break at the tee. Because the roots have actually grown between the lines slightly, there’s probably enough of a gap that I can slip the tape through to get all the way around the fitting and still partially attached pipe. The gap or break in the pipe is probably 1/4” at it’s greatest width, if that. Anyone else have an idea? At this point I really have nothing to lose as the sprinkler zone that’s affected hasn’t worked for years from what I can tell. -D _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
