Slab Foundation/Water Softener

[Atomsk]

I recently purchased a water softener, to install in my 1965 vintage slab foundation ranch house.

I hoped that the pipe that fed the hot water heater (in the garage) also fed cold water the the rest of the house. No such luck. Both pipes go streight into the foundation.

Now I'm faced with a dilema. How do I find a place to tap into the cold water system, so that I can feed treated water to the inside plumbing, but not the outside. I've thought of reversing the pipe that feeds the heater. That way, all I'll need to do is find were the cold water circuit connects to the main supply line, cut and cap it on the circuit side, and run a new pipe to supply water to the softener.

However, I don't know how I'm going to find it, because everything's encased in concrete. Even if I do find out where to splice in, do I have to jackhammer a hole in the foundation to make the connection?

Haven't these people in Texas ever heard of basements?

Signed,

New York boy, a long way from home

[mdshunk]

[FONT=TahomaEven if I do find out where to splice in, do I have to jackhammer a hole in the foundation to make the connection?
No, you should never have to jackhammer the foundation. You may, however, have to jack out a little bit of the slab. This is really not as big of a deal as it sounds. A small electric chipping hammer and 1/2 hr of time does most tasks. After piping changes, a bag of fast set concrete will have you fixed back up in short order.

Wait for moderator Dunbar, but I think that it's quite possible that many houses of your type have absolutely no place to connect to inside piping only without softening the hose bibs. Often, the hose connections are just tapped off of whatever piping is nearby.

[flickit]

I recently purchased a water softener, to install in my 1965 vintage slab foundation ranch house.

I hoped that the pipe that fed the hot water heater (in the garage) also fed cold water the the rest of the house. No such luck. Both pipes go streight into the foundation.

Now I'm faced with a dilema. How do I find a place to tap into the cold water system, so that I can feed treated water to the inside plumbing, but not the outside. I've thought of reversing the pipe that feeds the heater. That way, all I'll need to do is find were the cold water circuit connects to the main supply line, cut and cap it on the circuit side, and run a new pipe to supply water to the softener.

However, I don't know how I'm going to find it, because everything's encased in concrete. Even if I do find out where to splice in, do I have to jackhammer a hole in the foundation to make the connection?

Haven't these people in Texas ever heard of basements?

Signed,

New York boy, a long way from home
...locating the pipes, consider using a metal locater. They can save money as well as find it!

[Atomsk]

mdshunk:

Yeah, by "jackhammer" I kinda meant "device intended to make holes in my concrete floor".

flickit:

do you mean the "find coins on the beach, in your spare time, to amuse your friends" sort of metal locator?

[Mr T]

A metal detector will also find your rebar.

Where is your meter at? (inside, or underground outside) It may give you a idea of where the water comes in. Sometimes your water dept may have maps of tapins. (We had to mark on a map where our sewer line left the house at, where our old septic tank is, and where they lines go through the yard, when they installed sewer in our neighborhood.)

Also may want to try getting your utilities marked.

[DUNBAR PLUMBER]

Be careful when exploring into the concrete locating copper water lines; they can be easily damaged by movement of broken concrete, which can create a larger area to uncover until you have good pipe to tie back onto.


By the way, how did your project turn out?