Trying2keepitReal
Almost Self-Reliant
we have everything but the pond
water
- Thread starter Perris
- Start date
CrealCritter
Sustainability Master
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Capt Obvious here... Ducks love ponds.
Jesus is Lord and Christ
Jesus is Lord and Christ
- Thread starter
- #13
thanks all; lots of good and useful advice here.
This is the basilica cistern built by the Romans, as one of many under the city Byzantion/Constantinople/Istanbul.
And this is my son gobsmacked by the Piscina Mirabilis near Naples, built before Vesuvius erupted of course
These were both lined by Roman hydraulic cement.
It is piped from a reservoir at the top of the hill behind us. There was an issue with the reservoir, and once the engineers fixed that and turned the water back on, apparently it caused 9 bursts on the line to us (we were the 9th). Pipes laid in 1949, clearly need a revamp! But that would be massively disruptive. They kindly dug down by hand to avoid felling my 20 yr old pittisporum, next to which the water was bubbling up, but I can't see them doing that right through the garden!
You have reminded me of the ancient solution to this issue.
This is the basilica cistern built by the Romans, as one of many under the city Byzantion/Constantinople/Istanbul.
And this is my son gobsmacked by the Piscina Mirabilis near Naples, built before Vesuvius erupted of course
These were both lined by Roman hydraulic cement.
tortoise
Wild Hare
Was it Orangeburg pipe?
- Thread starter
- #15
flowerbug
Sustainability Master
i just had to look it up. basically wood pulp infused with tar/pitch. sold in the USoA during WWII years instead of using metals which were needed for the war effort. oh ghods, what a mess that would be...
i doubt that kind of pipe made it over the pond.
tortoise
Wild Hare
Yep, its a mess! Couple years ago we had to take a jackhammer to the basement floor and remove my patio to replace orangeburg sewer pipe. It had completely disintegrated in spots and was blocked with roots and dirt. Previous attempts to roto-rooter had put holes in the pipe and more spots for roots and dirt to enter. Not a fun time.
flowerbug
Sustainability Master
when reading up on them earlier today it looked like the least expensive recommended approach for replacing them is to do some kind of recoating using an epoxy type resin mix and a an air bladder to basically put a brand new plastic pipe inside the existing pipe. sure would beat having to dig up and replace it otherwise.
note, i am not a plumber and know nothing about this sort of thing beyond some slight experience in the past and knowing that both poop and water go downhill (in theory
)...- Thread starter
- #19
ours isn't that, as you guessed, but another post-war quick and dirty material: asbestos cement. Since they are replacing the broken bits with a plastic pipe that fits inside, I was thinking the same thing about replacement. Though of course now it would snag at every repair - and there's loads of them! 
Alaskan
Almost Self-Reliant
ours isn't that, as you guessed, but another post-war quick and dirty material: asbestos cement. Since they are replacing the broken bits with a plastic pipe that fits inside, I was thinking the same thing about replacement. Though of course now it would snag at every repair - and there's loads of them!
The first house I owned .... down in Texas, had those WW2 pipes, we called them tar paper pipes.
Whatever... had to dig them all out and replace them.
