2004-5 Pipe

2005 01 11 Pipe Install

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The first thing that happened today was the arrival of two more truckloads (six sections) of pipe. The first truckload arrived very early (perhaps even before it was light) and was unloaded by 7:45. The second arrived shortly after that and was unloaded by 8:30. We got 5 sections of straight pipe and one that is a "tee", for a manhole or grate. We will have a 2 or 3 foot wide grate a couple of sections down from the head end of the pipe.

We have run out of room along the road, and since the trench is headed in that direction anyway all the new pipe and a couple pieces that were already there had to be moved to the back of the yard. They were put on the part of the yard already torn up. They move each pipe section as far as they can with the excavator that unloaded it, and then they put it on the ground, and the other excavator takes it off for storage. In the picture below a section is being handed off.

I think that is the pipe section with the manhole opening just being set down. The section of pipe in the foreground is a reject. It was dropped while being unloaded and has cracks running from end to end at the top, bottom, and one side.

So, that's over and the truck is gone. The last bend can now go into the place that was made for it at the end of the day yesterday. That's our gas line trailing off to the lower right of the picture below. We'd have a fine mess if that were cut. You can see the water line trailing off to the upper right. It has been severed and will be reconnected later, this time using the proper brass couplings. At the far left you can see a couple of heavy wires (really three) hanging out of the side of the trench. These appear to be the power lines for the old house that was here. They were dead and were cut and ignored.

The last bend being positioned.

And being held in place by one excavator while the other drops gravel into the trench. There are 3 people down there.

Being held in place by the front excavator while the other dumps more gravel to the other side. I have not taken any photos of them but I think we have had 5 or 6 very large dump trucks of this gravel delivered.

The last bend is in place and digging can get underway for the last straight run of pipe. I think this is 12 or 13 sections total. This shot is the "front" end of the trench box, where new pipe will go. You can see the other side of the three dead power wires.

The next shot is the back of the trench box, and you can see our gas and water lines being buried. They do this very gently, wanting to make sure that the lines are filled in underneath before they put any weight on them.

Looking down into the trench box as they flatten the bottom of the trench so they can dump in gravel. I think they try to have about 8-10 inches of gravel under the pipe. The floor of the trench is about 15 feet down here and I took this by just reaching out with the camera. I was quite close to the excavator arm. You can see the laser gadget that they use to get the pipe in straight and at the right angle of descent.

A straight section of pipe being lowered into place. You probably can't see it, but each side of the lap joints is coated with about an inch of this really nasty looking black gunky sealant. It's like gritty tar, and is really stiff. One of the excavators backed over a 5 gal can of the stuff today. I am sure this made a very fine noise as it got squashed.

So, the sun comes out at the end of the day and the excavators get their third fuel and lube. Once a week, it seems.

More tomorrow. It appears that this project actually will end.

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