Water line replacement mysterious leak

[AGA30075]

I have a mysterious leak between the meter and the main shut off in the garage. It should be under the slab or the driveway because in 16 days 10,000 gallons of water were consumed - the house is empty (we just bought it) - and no one sees water anywhere. The proposed solution is a new water line between the meter and the house - about 70 feet with 17 feet of driveway and several turns. The meter is on the right side of the yard and the water "entrance" in the house is on the left side. My questions:
1. How easy or how hard is it to move the main water shut off and pressure valve ("entrance of water in the house") to another location in the house (half bath or somewhere in the kitchen? if that is possible then the water line would be about 25 feet straight line. I am afraid that in 70 feet of water line a lot can happen in the future i.e. more leaks. I don't know anything about construction or plumbing - but had water main breaks in the past (other houses) they are an expensive repair.
2. Where is all the water - given that we cannot see any of it. Can it be under the slab? would the earth absorb it?
3. The house was built in 2005 - should I contact the builder - I am not the first owner, but it seems too soon for the water main line to break - what could have happened?
I got 2 quotes for line replacement - thinking about how long the line is, the work to go under the driveway, the temporary mess we will have, the idea of moving the line to another closer location came to my mind. Is it even possible or should I just change the line?
Thanks!

[LazyPup]

Before you begin installing a new water line let us examine the facts:

Your water service is alledging that you consumed 10,000cu.ft of water in 16days
, even though the house was unoccupied.

One cubic foot of water is equal to 7.5gallons so they are saying your line leaked 75,000gals of water.

A 40' Tractor trailer tanker holds 8,000gallon so they are saying your have a leak that is equal to the volume of 9.375 forty foot tanker loads of water.

10,000cu.ft would also fill a 1250sq.ft hole 8' deep, which would probably be the size of your basement, if you had one..LOL

Now common sense would dictate that if that much water leaked in your yard, the whole yard would be a mushy swamp by now, yet you find no evidence of water?

Begin by going to your "main water shutoff valve" in the garage and turn that valve off tight. Then go to the meter box and examine the meter. As you look at the meter you will see a round part on top that houses the meter. I may have a hinged brass cover over the actual meter, if so just lift the cover and it will swing up where you can see the face of the meter. You will see a row of numbers across the bottom of the meter that look like the odometer in your car. Those numbers record the total number of cubic feet that have passed through the meter. Every month they record that number and subtract it from the previous months number. The difference it how many cubic feet you consumed during that month.

You will also see a sweep needle that goes around like a second hand on a clock. One complete revolution is equal to one cubic foot and you will see a little hole that has a triangle of bar shape under it. That little indicator rotates whenever any flow occurs through the meter. If there is no movement there is no flow and you simply do not have a leak.

Now for another bit of quick math. They alledge you consumed 10.000cu.ft in 16days so that is 625cu.ft per day, (which is twice the average amount consumed by a family of four per day).

625cuft day equals 26.04cu.ft per hour and a dividing by 60 minutes we find it is 0.434cuft per minute.

Now time the sweep hand on the meter. Is it advancing to .43 every minute?

It is far more likely that the previous occupants of the house did not pay the water bill for the last two months that they occupied the structure, and when the water company read the meter to begin your service that reading got put into the billing computer my mistake and you are being charged for the previous unpaid balance.

On the other hand, if by examing the meter you do discover the line is leaking post another reply and we can offer you information on how to replace your water line.

[AGA30075]

Lazypup, thanks for your response. I did some math myself and I am concerned. The water company said that I consumed in 16 days more than what a family of 4 consumes average in a month. The reading was 10 gallons = 1,336.81 cubic feet. I called the plumbers, they closed the main shut off in the house (garage) and the triangle that indicates water flowing in the meter did not stop, the numbers in the "odometer" kept moving too. Still there was/is no water in the front yard - in fact it is super dry. There is only some moist in the yard on a shady area in the opposite side of the main shut off - the plumbers said that it cannot be from the main water line - that it looks more from lack of sun - and it was not that wet. Between the last meter reading from the water company and my reading yesterday March 29 and April 13 another 12,000 gallons (1,604.17 cubic feet) were consumed (still empty house no signs of water anywhere inside or outside). We did the test of shutting off the main and opening the meter several times and the meter kept moving. One plumber suggested a leak detection company ($300 to $500+), the other said that if there is a leak and we don't see water it should be either under the slab or under the driveway and after hiring the leak detection company, chances are I may need to replace the line anyways. I also thought that if it broke under the slab or driveway - I would be less inclined to drill and more to replace the whole thing. Now, how can I have that much water flowing, going I don't know where and not seeing any of it? Can the meter be malfunctioning? how can I know if there is something wrong with the meter? I would hate to pay for a new line only to realized that the meter was not working properly. My common sense tells me that something is not right. The house is 7 years old from a big builder, the neighbor told me that he pays $30/month in water and never had any problem (my bill was or $113 for 16 days) and still we don't see any water. What should I do next? I was kind of sold in replacing the line but concerned enough to do my searches on the internet and finding this great site. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[LazyPup]

The meter is totally a mechanical device that is powered by a small internal paddle wheel. As water flows through the meter it turns the wheel, which in turn drives the mechanical meter. If a meter malfunctions it stops measuring the flow, but it cannot move without water flow, so we can rule out meter malfunction.

Let us now consider how to minimize your loss.

The first thing we need to do is stop the flow until we can locate and correct the problem. Look in your meter box and on the city side of the meter you may have a "curb Stop valve. (see attached photo). The curb stop valve is a 1/4 turn valve. You can turn that valve with an adjustable wrench (crescent wrench) or a pair of channel lock pliers. When the flat bar on the top of the valve is parallel to the pipe the valve is open and when it is turned 1/4 turn to the bar is at right angles to the pipe, the valve is closed. If you turn that valve off immediately it will not only reduce the cost of the water being lost, it will also help reduce any further property damage while we figure the problem out.

Now let us consider your alternatives for repair:

You just bought this house and you have not moved in yet. I would contact your realtor. In most states the seller is required to fully disclose any known problems and provide a limited warranty against major catastropic failures. Generally the seller will take out a limited insurance policy that will cover major failures for the first 6 to 12 months. If they have that insurance in effect on your purchase I would have the realtor put you in touch with the insurance ppl and let them deal with it. If they don't have the insurance your jurisdiction may still have a specified warranty period where this problem must be corrected by the seller.

Where my mother lives in N.E. Ohio her gas company offers what they call "Line Backer Service" for $8/mo. If any underground line fails, gas, water or sewer they will replace it free with that insurance. She has lived in her house for 9 years and so far they have replaced her water line, gas line & sewer line and the only out of pocket expense she has had was providing the crew hot coffee while they installed her gas line on a frigid day in January.

In a worst case scenario the problem may fall back on you, so how do we minimize the cost?

First get a couple quick bids, even estimates over the phone will work for the moment. You already have an estimate of $300 just to locate where the line is, and no doubt you will get bids in the order of $3- $5K to replace the line.

Now let us think about that for a moment. Digging a ditch and burying a waterline is not rocket science and surely not beyond the ability of an experienced DIY'er. The drawback here is many ppl feel digging ditches is beneath their dignity, but ask yourself this, if you hire it done your paying $3K to have about $150 to $200 worth of pipe buried. If you save $2800 would that offset your loss of prestige?

If it were me, I would get a case of beer. a pile of soft drinks and some steaks for the BBQ and invite a couple friends or relatives to come over help. For that savings you could have them bring their wives & girlfriends and make a party of it.

Now if you find this problem is still on you, then post again and I will offers some hints, kinks and a step by step procedure