Anyone repaired a water line?

[Jim Oaks]

There is a break in the waterline going in to my house. It's under a concrete slab next to the house. I cut a square hole in the slab and dug that dirt out. The leak is a little farther under the slab.

I've got metal lines from the 70's. Not copper of PVC.

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to fix it once I get to it. The pipe has rust on the surface. Suggestions?

Also contemplated whether I should replace the line from the meter to the foundation with PVC since I've unearthed a bunch of it, but I don't know how I'd connect it to the old pipe.

Also, the house has a crawspace but I can't really get to the waterline that's under the house.

 

[Josh B]

That is not a simple issue Jim. I really can't tell you a whole lot more than you already know, but I have worked on some fairly complicated lines, and they can get clogged, get roots growing through them, any number of things going on down there.
I worked with one outfit in TN that was contracted to repair an entire city system, which had every obstacle you could name running throughout it.

I can't tell you what to do but I think you may need some help

 

[SenorNoob]

So your lines are galvanized? If so you'll have to find the nearest coupling or dig enough to get a pipe threader down in the hole.
IF you replace a significant portion of line, I'd suggest PEX. It's cheap, easy to work with, and has adapters to literally everything else you can imagine. I redid my whole house in it...

Depending on the size of the existing line. It might be possible to use it as a conduit to run PEX thru. Just get to it at the meter and just under the house to make your connections.