Paper Trail

Trenching For a New Water Line

Back in September after fixing a pipe that a tree root broke, I wrote in a post, “I have to wonder how many more spots there are along the system of pipes under my back lawn that are slowly being pulled apart …” (by roots). Well, the next installment arrived, only this time it was much more serious than a broken sprinkler pipe. It was the supply line to my house from the water meter. Amazingly, our water pressure seemed OK, and there was no evidence of a wet or spongy lawn, but our bill for last month was $800! Usage was 168,000 gallons for the month! That’s like filling up three 25 x 50 foot swimming pools, 6 feet deep!

I knew this day would arrive eventually, but I wasn’t prepared for it. We’re the seventh or eighth house on our cul-de-sac to replace our main water line. I’ve been told that the plastic line they used 20 years ago wasn’t very good. The truth in that statement is evident, as one-by-one, main lines are failing in the neighborhood.

The best fix is to run a completely new line. There’s no sense trying to find where it’s leaking and just fix the leak. Soon it will leak again in another spot. My neighbor found that out. I was lucky to get ahold of Mario, a contractor I’ve used in the past. He’s very talented and very reasonable. He’s done several of these jobs and is careful not to tear up the yard more than absolutely necessary. He even tunnels under sidewalks instead of breaking them. (I’ve read a few horror stories online about contractors who come in and rip and tear, fix the leak, and then leave the mess for the owner to clean up.) In addition to replacing the line, Mario replaced the shut-off valve, the sprinkler valves, and the anti-siphon valve. Might as well, since most of the plumbing was all torn up anyway. Mario did a nice job of putting the yard back together, as shown below.

If you’re in the Las Vegas area and need someone to do this kind of work, contact me. I’ll get you in touch with him.

Together Again

The Bushes That Broke the Original

Old cordless drill turned into a new 12-volt drill.

Cheap cordless drills seem to last longer than the batteries that come with them. The problem is, a replacement battery is usually more than half the price of a new (cheap) drill. As far as I’m concerned, I might as well buy a new drill, which usually comes with two new batteries. The batteries usually last for 12 to 18 months. This presents a problem, though. I now have a small collection of cordless drills and no way to power and use them.

One solution is to find an alternate power supply, like I’ve shown in the picture. Shown is an old 12-volt Sears drill, perfect for running from a 12-volt autotive battery. I gutted the old battery and soldered a two-conductor cable to the battery shell’s connectors. On the other end of the cable, I attached battery clips. I now have a drill I can carry in my vehicle and power directly from the vehicle battery.

My next challenge is to figure out how to re-power my 18-volt drill.

Maybe it’s time to quit buying the cheapies and invest in a professional-grade tool.

The root grew around the pipe, finally breaking it.

It always amazes me how powerful tree roots can be. They can heave up sidewalks and driveways and break water and sewer lines. It’s also amazing to see to what lengths they’ll go to find water.  Here in Southern Nevada, growing downward isn’t usually an option for tree roots because of the hard soil, so they typically stay near the surface and compete with lawn and other plants for their water. The center tap root usually wanders around in the hole the tree was planted in, looking for a way down. It changes direction several times in its quest, resulting in a gnarly ball, then it gives up and heads sideways like the rest of the roots.

Traditional tree diagrams usually show the root system as a near reflection of the canopy, with the limits of the roots roughly coinciding with the tree’s drip line. Maybe in ideal soil and climate conditions, but certainly not here in the desert. This weekend, my back yard developed an underground gusher as a tree root 20 feet beyond the edge of my apricot tree’s canopy finally succeeded in breaking a section of sprinkler pipe. The root had made nearly a full twist around the pipe, and as it continued to grow, it pulled the pipe on both sides of a joint in opposite directions, finally breaking the joint. I know that’s not as impressive as heaving a section of concrete upward 8 or 10 inches, but it was unexpected, since the damage was so far away from the tree.

As it grew, the root developed a perfect impression of the pipe.

Looking at the root without the pipe, it’s evident the two have been close companions for years. There’s a perfect impression of the pipe in the root. If you look closely, it’s not too difficult to even see where the pipe joint was. I have to wonder how many more spots there are along the system of pipes under my back lawn that are slowly being pulled apart by their thirsty companions.

Old Black & Decker 3/8" Drill

Today I tackled a project I’d been putting off for over a year: fixing my old drill. It’s not a terribly valuable drill; it’s old, probabaly of about 1974 vintage. It wasn’t very expensive to begin with.  I saw one like it on e-Bay for $3. However, this drill has sentimental value, so I wasn’t about to just throw it away. Besides, it’s variable speed and reversible–kind of handy as a second drill when working on a project. I’d abused it pretty badly one day, trying to mix a batch of mortar with one of those big mixing paddles. It just didn’t have the power for the job and got really hot! Since then it would only run when held in certain positions, and sometimes I’d have to jiggle it to make it go. There are three screws on the back that allow the back cover to come off. This gives access to the brushes, the switch, and the wire connections. (I wish I’d remembered to take a picture of the disassembled drill. It would have been much more interesting, but I’m not taking it apart again for a picture.) Upon inspecting the brushes, I found that they weren’t making good contact with the armature. There was plenty of material left, but the brush springs had lost their tension and weren’t pushing the brushes firmly against the armature. Getting the drill too hot that day had ruined them. I replaced the springs with some old alternator brush springs I had lying around, and now the drill runs again, good as new!