# Running a Water Line to the Barn



## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

Ditchwitch (rented) and pvc pipe to a frost free hydrant. About as cheap as you are going to get it and have it keep working. Make sure to dig down below the frost line, about 3 feet in your area? It's 18 inches here, but I always go 2 feet anyway. When refilling the trench make sure to put a pebble bed covered with sand around the hydrant a couple feet up, then a wide concrete collar around the hydrant about 4 inches thick and about a foot out all around to stabilize it. Then finish your fill with the dirt. The sand and pebble is to insure good back-drain from the hydrant so it doesn't freeze.

Can you tell I have done this before? :smile:


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 19, 2010)

squirrelfood said:


> Ditchwitch (rented) and pvc pipe to a frost free hydrant. About as cheap as you are going to get it and have it keep working. Make sure to dig down below the frost line, about 3 feet in your area? It's 18 inches here, but I always go 2 feet anyway. When refilling the trench make sure to put a pebble bed covered with sand around the hydrant a couple feet up, then a wide concrete collar around the hydrant about 4 inches thick and about a foot out all around to stabilize it. Then finish your fill with the dirt. The sand and pebble is to insure good back-drain from the hydrant so it doesn't freeze.
> 
> Can you tell I have done this before? :smile:


 
Agreed! That is how we did ours. We ran it from to house to the barn which is about 300 feet. My unlce is a plumber and I got the hose from him its black pvc stuff, its called water line pipe. They will know what it is at the harware or plumbing store. It was 300 for that much line and we had some extra. And it was 50 for the frost free hydrant at tractor supply. Mine is in my hallway and we poured concrete in the hallways so we boxed out the hydrant about a foot around it and filled it in with crushed stone so extra water will go through it, that way if it ever broke we wouldn't have to dig up the concrete to fix it.


----------



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Our water line is down close to 8 ft to avoid frost in our neck of the woods. A backhoe was used to dig and fill the trench. The line runs from the house and a good quality hydrant was put in (you don't want to skimp on this part as it's a pain to replace the cheaper, less well made one when it freezes up or breaks down).

Our line was put in years ago now so I'm not remembering the costs (which would be irrelevant anyway unless you calculated in inflation). If I had to guess about your situation, I think a budget of $1,000 would get you the backhoe (with operator), water line (it doesn't have to be heated; I'm sure your local home stores would carry appropriate line), hydrant, and couplings. This cost is based on you providing some of the labour such as in laying out hose and doing the connections. 

It's a great thing to have water in the barn. Best of luck with the project.


----------

