Pool Pipe Depth? (Trenton, NJ)
- Thread starter Myuseridisthis
- Start date
Welcome to the forum...Myuseridisthis said:
Though I don't have a clue what the building codes might specify in New Jersey, we have any number of members from the Garden State and some in the trades there... so I think you'll have an answer shortly. Please check back.
Not sure about pool codes, but in new england water lines need to be 4 feet. If i were in NJ, I would blow the lines out in the winter. Then, it wouldnt matter if they were just below the ground. 
- Nov 12, 2009
- 324
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I would think there isn't any such depth code anywhere in the states. My rationale for this unsubstantiated claim is the pipes could run from say 10 foot depth at a main drain, to 20 feet or more above ground (on a roof-top solar). And of course there's the spot where the pipes enter/exit the soil going to/from the pool.
But of course you could also call the building official's office for the city/county where you live.
But of course you could also call the building official's office for the city/county where you live.
OK. I have a clue now. But I think Lee32903 probably has it right--I wasn't able to locate explicit requirements in the URLs and documents I scanned using keywords like depth, deep, PVC, pipe, elevation, frost etc. That doesn't mean such a requirement doesn't exist, only that I failed to locate it. Yet I found one little 2-page doc that I know you're going to appreciate. It's the final link, below.
Visiting some of the gov't websites and forums, I see NJ is in some predictable ways exactly as I remember it... f u b a r
A news item on one site claimed the state was still engaged in a legal dispute with contractors over an amendment that was proposed to the 2006 code; win or lose, it doesn't matter now - the 2006 code was displaced by a new set of regulations: the 2009 code. That one's not available on line, of course.Edited while no one was looking! :jocolor: Here are the particulars:
Exhibit 1 The National Standard Plumbing Code 2006. p. 33/43
Exhibit 2 Source: Uni-Bell Installation Guide for PVC Pressure Pipe
Attachments
In SE Texas we go 12 inches on pool plumbing and 18" on the heater's gas line.
See ya,
Kelly
See ya,
Kelly
That was for water and sewer pipe.
Pool plumbing is treated like sprinkler lines. Since pools are winterized, I could actually run them on the ground, not that I would. When replacing lines, I like to go at least a foot down to avoid issues with lawn aerators.
Scott
Pool plumbing is treated like sprinkler lines. Since pools are winterized, I could actually run them on the ground, not that I would. When replacing lines, I like to go at least a foot down to avoid issues with lawn aerators.
Scott
PoolGuyNJ said:That was for water and sewer pipe.
That's right. As I said, unfortunately I wasn't able to locate explicit requirements that governed the placement or depth of PVC pipe used in swimming pool installations. Even the provisions of the National Standard Plumbing Code are non-authoritative unless referenced by jurisdictional statute. The recommendations (or standards) excerpted from these sources I took to be relevant for general applications of buried PVC—for water supply, collection, distribution or drainage.
Pool plumbing is treated like sprinkler lines. Since pools are winterized, I could actually run them on the ground, not that I would. When replacing lines, I like to go at least a foot down to avoid issues with lawn aerators.
My knowledge of plumbing and landscaping is limited by my own experience. In the rear yard my sprinkler lines are probably a foot down; the supply and return lines the PB ran from pad to pool are at least 18†below finished grade and in some areas closer to 2 ft. When they were being pressure-tested I noticed that after dropping away from the pad the main lines to pool and spa ran level until they swept up slightly to meet their connections. However small diameter lines used for deck jets, pool overflow and the auto-fill supply all nearly abut the concrete deck poured above them. There’s no frost line here to have to contend with.
What’s a lawn aerator?
A lawn aerator is landscaping piece of equipment that looks like a roller with large hollow spikes. Usually gas powered, they pull 1/2" diameter x 3-4" deep plugs from a lawn to keep them from becoming compacted. They allow better penetration of water.
Scott
Scott
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