I had a similar situation a couple years ago. I could hear water running at night, it sounded like it was under the house. After investigating found the main water line to the house was leaking somewhere under my concrete driveway. I drilled a couple holes through the driveway and confirmed there was a leak. I was able to determine the path of the pipe by locating both ends at the edges of the concrete. I rented a walk behind concrete saw and cut an 8" path in line with the pipe. Found it was steel pipe and was very rusted, so I replaced the pipe rather than repair it. I ran the new section of 3/4" pipe through a 2" pipe under the driveway section. I figure if it ever leaks again I can pull out the old pipe and slide in a new one. Last step was to patch the driveway.
Richard.
OLD thread, if that was missed, but y'know.. this problem comes up every damned year for LOTS of folks.
That's the right way. Did much the same with a bit of overkill a few years back.
Quarterly water bill for 70,000 gallons whilst I was away for the winter in warmer climes.
Solution involved parallel 37-foot cuts, 28" apart with walk-behind pavement saw, electric demolition hammer to cut 4"+ of rather good asphalt, plus 6" of cement-stabilized subgrade. Previous owner was a paving contractor executive, hence the above norm driveway.
Too bad he didn't realize 9 inches of cover was all that cutting in the driveway left above a 1972 vintage type L copper line that HAD been 2 1/2 feet down before he added the garage & driveway. AND.. that a black-body asphalt driveway picks up solar heat of a winter to melt snow sooner, but.. once bare, also sheds heat faster to the air and night sky than dirt and turf do. On the evidence, that old Type L line had frozen and thawed
several times before it finally burst.
Trenched it four feet deep with a 12,000 lb trackhoe, hand cut another six inches with a mattock, laid new, heavier Mueller "Plumbshield" Type K copper, jacketed with PE foam insulation within 3" medium-wall LPE jacket / pulling sleeve.
Poured 1200-1500 lb concrete pulling anchor at each end.
Added sheet foam insulated above the line, backfilled and tamped in 2-3 inch lifts.
Repaved the gap, penetration McAdam style by hand & plate tamper.
At nowhere less than 46" down, if ever it fails again, hundred years or three out, the pulling anchors will stand pulling Type K Copper just as easily as PEX.
All-up, around $2,700 in equipment rentals, $300 or so for Copper line, jacketing, valves, plus my hours. Call it three thousand?
Neighbour lady, same year, same street, same distance from street, ordinary dirt lawn, no driveway nor even trees or shrubs over, had to pay a contractor.
Her cost was $6,000, and all she got was naked PEX 24 to 30 inches down in ignorant dirt and a few bags of sand. That's "Metro DC area" (Loudoun County, VA) for costs.
Don't dick around with "exploratory" potholes and band-aid patching. Start of a regular and recurring project, those can be.
Just run a new line altogether and be done with it, my lifetime and well beyond in my case.