service line depth

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Was hoping for some help ... I get conflicting info from local plumbers.
House built in 30's
Water service line is galvanized and is leaking
I have a "drive under" basement garage.
service line comes up into garage at opposite end from garage door .. this is the back basement wall that has 12 feet of dirt behind it (house is built into a hill)
Frost line is 4.5 ft
This is a summer home for me. I will winterize it in the winters. But someday I will sell it to probably someone who will use it year round.

1) should I replace the whole line with new copper (line pull with limited digging) (pricey)
2) should I just patch the line where it is leaking (one third price of #1)
3) should I replace the line with new copper to juuuust inside the front of the garage ... then come up through slab to relocated meter (one half price of #1) ?

At least one plumber told me #3 is off the table cause it would freeze. City told me I could do #3 if I wanted.

Concerns:
how do I know 70+ year old line is below frost line ... maybe if I get a new line pulled in it will freeze?
on options 1 and 2 what are the risks of damaging the foundation (footer)?

any advice or new ideas would be MUCH appreciated.
 
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I don't see any problem with #3 if it is below the frost line. How cold does it get where you are? 4.5' is frost line but in reality lines that are much shallower don't freeze easily either.
 
I do not understand. usually, the city owns the meter, it is usually their piping to the meter.

after the meter, is your responsibility.

WHO, is telling you you have to run copper?

in less it is a local code, PVC is perfectly legal, cheaper,

as far as the line in the garage, insulate it and build a small box around the pipe

stop the air, stop freezing.
 
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I don't see any problem with #3 if it is below the frost line. How cold does it get where you are? 4.5' is frost line but in reality lines that are much shallower don't freeze easily either.

South Dakota Black Hills ... it gets really really cold. I think code actually calls for 6 ft deep but not sure. Dec/Jan/Feb average lows are around 16 deg F with constant snow on ground. City lists "winter design temperature" as -15F

thanks for the response!
 
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I do not understand. usually, the city owns the meter, it is usually their piping to the meter.

after the meter, is your responsibility.

WHO, is telling you you have to run copper?

in less it is a local code, PVC is perfectly legal, cheaper,

as far as the line in the garage, insulate it and build a small box around the pipe

stop the air, stop freezing.

In this particular locale the city has everything up to and including the curb stop. Everything else including the service line is my responsibility. I was told this by the city and I even looked it up in the city code to make sure. Im actually lucky cause in other parts of SD the house owner has to take care of the curb stop valve as well.

The plumber bidding it was proposing a line pull ... where he runs a cable through the exisiting pipe and uses a backhoe to pull the new line in while pulling the old line out ... without excavating the whole length. He will just dig two holes ... one at the curb stop and one at the end of the service line run inside the garage. This is why he wants to use copper I think.

so if I come up juuuuust inside the garage (inches) ... and I heat the garage .... then I should be ok?

Thanks for the response!
 
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