SPAM

Before you begin this project let us review your plan a bit. Be very careful when selecting your "Hydrant Valve" because hydrants are made as both "Frost Proof" and "Freeze Proof" hydrants. In both instances the actual valving mechanism is at the bottom of the riser where the supply line attaches to the hydrant however, in a "Frost proof" hydrant when the valve is turned off there is still water in the riser up to the faucet spout and that water is subject to freezing just as if it were an ordinary riser and hose bib. A "Freeze Proof Hydrant" has the valving mechanism at the base of the riser but it also has a waste function which means that when the valve is turned off it will drain the water out of the riser, thus there is no potential for freezing. When installing a "Freeze Proof Hydrant" the hole for the hydrant valve should be about a foot deeper than the desired elevation of the valving mechanism and supply pipe. The hole is then backfilled with pea gravel up to the valve and supply pipe elevation, the supply connected to the hydrant, the continue to fill the hole with pea gravel for about another foot, then fill will dirt in the common fashion. In this manner when the hydrant valve is turned off the residual water in the standpipe can drain back into the pea gravel from where it will eventually leach into the surrounding soil. No doubt you decided upon a 3/4" line because that is the size of the input on the valve you have in mind. Typically the hydrants used in residential applications are 1/2" and 3/4" inlets. A 1/2" inlet valve is rated at 5gal/min while a 3/4" valve is rated at 12gal/min. The length of your run from the source to the proposed hydrant location is 200' so in order to insure an adequate pressure at the hydrant we must also consider the "Friction Loss" of the pipe. In addition, as the volume of flow increases, the velocity of flow must increase proportionally but if the velocity of flow exceeds certain defined limits we start to see pipe wall erosion which leads to premature pipe failure. For that reason the pipe friction loss tables define not only the loss of pressure but also the velocity of flow and they define the acceptable limits for each size of pipe. A 3/4" Polyethylene type SDR (standard dimension ratio) pipe is rated for a maximum flow of 8gal/min which would yield a velocity of 4.80feet/sec and a pressure loss of 5.84psi/100ft. The 3/4" hydrant is rated at 12gpm and at 12gpm in a 3/4" pipe the velocity of flow is 7.21fps and the pressure loss is 12.37psi/100ft thus with a 200ft run the pressure loss would be 24.74psi. If you were to then increase the size of the supply line from 3/4" to 1" the friction loss would now only be 3.82psi/100' x 2= 7.64psi and if you increase the supply to 1-1/4" pipe the friction loss would only be 1.01psi/100' x 2 = 2.02psi loss from the source to the hydrant. In regards to how to et the pipe through the footer wall. The Plumbing Codes are very specific about how to pass a pipe through a masonry wall. When passing a pipe through a masonry wall the pipe MUST BE sleeved. To make a sleeve you begin with a short piece of pipe 2 nominal trade sizes larger than the desired pipe and long enough to pass through the wall with 2" extending on each side. (The sleeve may be any type of pipe, I.E. Copper, black iron, galvanized iron, cast iron, ABS, PVC, vitreous clay, etc.) During new construction the sleeve could be inserted in a concrete form and cast into the wall, or we could have the mason set the sleeve while erecting a block, brick or stone wall. In a situation such as yours where we need to install the sleeve after the wall has been constructed we would first drill, bore or punch a suitable hole through the wall, then insert the sleeve and seal the sleeve to the wall by any suitable means. This may include cement mortar, tar or pitch or what is more commonly done today, expansion foam. Once the sleeve is set in place we can then pass the desired pipe through the sleeve and seal the space between the outer wall of the desired pipe and the inner wall of the sleeve with expansion foam to make it water tight and to prevent insects or vermin from coming through the sleeve. Code requires that we must lay a pipe a minimum of 6" below the average frost depth. As was stated in the previous post when you get to your footer wall you may discover that your pipe depth is actually below the footer wall and at the footer depth. I would be very reluctant to make any holes in the footer which could ultimately weaken the footer. Instead, keep in mind that a residential footer is typically only 18" to 24" deep. I find it is much easier to just dig down a bit more and pass the pipe under the footer rather than go to all the bother of drilling the concrete and making a sleeve.

Tents aren't expensive. If you'd plan to have a larger group only occasionally, better get one whose size fits the ones usually going - or probably a little larger than you think you'd need, which I think you'd appreciate later. Then get a second tent to accomodate the occasional travellers: if two other families were to alternate, they could share the cost and own it between them, unless the second family would need it at the same time as the first accompanying family. Campgrounds, which aren't expensive, have sites without power supplied, which would mean that you'd need a gas-powered lantern, but you can get sites with power for a slightly higher cost. Then you'd need power cords and lights. A propane-powered campstove isn't too expensive, either. You'd almost certainly want sleeping bags - do you have any now? Most folks also want air mattress(es) (but they tend to spring leaks) or a slim foam pad on which to lay the sleeping bag(s). However - if you want to get a motor home, they're pretty expensive. My kids have one for sale, following the death of their mother - asking about (Cdn)$50 - 60,000., I think. Any takers? Might be more attractive if, after upcoming retirement, you plan to do a lot of travelling. But if you could find return on alternate investment of 4%, on $50,000. that's $2,000./yr., which means a cost of $1,000./wk. if you use it only for an annual vacation of 2 weeks. Before you consider extra costs for renting space at motor home parks or gas for the larger vehicle, in many cases not just during the vacation, but for at least occasional use all year long. Plus insurance surcharge, maintenance, depreciation and other costs. Many folks consider camping rather primitive - but our forefathers experienced a lot worse, so you can be sure that, in most cases, it wouldn't kill you, as most of them survived. Camping people share a lot of good-will, also - you'd find that you make a lot of friends. But then, my ex- did while travelling in her motor home for three months in winters plus occasionally in summer, previously to and during almost all of 10 years of retirement. If you're used to and desire most of the comforts of home, better rent either one of these alternative systems for a trial run before you decide to buy - remembering that with rental stuff, usually when you've rented things three or four times, you've paid most of the cost of purchase. Good wishes for making a choice that you won't regret - well, not more than marginally, anyhow. ole joyful

You should be able to go outside of the house and determine if the building sticks out over the foundation. More likely a house build that early had a very thick stone foundation ....12"-36" thick. Thus the foundation is much thicker than the wall. Most of the extra wall thickness is on the inside of the house. It sounds like it might be built with the studs resting either on the foundation or on a sill plate. The joist cavities were commonly filled with brick mortared in. Sometimes I've seen plaster and lathe. The filler is for insulation and not building support. The trick is to remove whatever you can between those joist and reach up in there with a right angle drill and a small bit. You should first drill down from above on the edge of the baseboard with a tiny pilot bit and stick a piece of wire through the tiny hole so you will know where the wall is. Then from below try to go about 3" out (toward the outside of the house) from that marker. That would put you inside of the wall. If you can't get up into the bay with your drill you might try an 18" bit at an angle. After all this if you just can't get through anywhere then you are stuck with running wiremold from an inside wall to the outside walls. Or tearing into the wall from the floor you are working on. Some people would suggest that you remove the baseboard, but you are definitley going to get into a lot of carpentry work if you do that. They never come out that cleanly...especially in an older house.