We are evaluating a 150-space park that is very attractive by all counts except the sewer, which tragically is Orangeburg. We would normally just pass on the deal but everything else about the park is so compelling. Does anyone have a rough order of magnitude estimate to replace an entire sewer system in a park that size?
What size are the sewer mains? How deep are they? Where would the new sewer mains be placed (in the streets, in green space by the homes) Are the streets paved? How many feet of sewer mains are in the park? Are the conection pipes from the main to the homes orangeberg as well?
Once you have the answers to these questions call a few utility contractors for quotes. Pipe price is relatively constant across the country however labor is all over the map.
Report back so all can learn.
Phillip Merrill
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I’ve never undertaken such a large project, but I would assume a key driver of your costs will be whether the pipe runs under the mobile homes, or behind the homes in what is hopefully a wide ‘breezeway.’ If the pipes are under the homes, then the new pipes will need to be hand-dug under the homes. That’s hugely expensive, but still cheaper than moving a home out to the middle of the road, digging with a backhoe, and then moving the home back into place. On the other hand, this may be a perfect time to explore using the new pipe bursting technology to replace the orangeburg. On the other, other hand, perhaps you could simply trench new sewer lines in the breezeway, if any, and abandon the old pipes.
Interested to hear what your situation is and what bids you receive from contractors. That’ll be a key piece of diligence to help you decide if you want to buy this park.
My 2 cents worth,
-jl-
You will want to check with your city or county for system requirements. A sanitary sewer system is run totally by gravity, preferred ‘fall’ or slope is 1/4 inch per foot or 2%, same thing. If your park is dead flat you can run lines anywhere you please. The system, when drawn on paper, will resemble a tree in winter with a single entry point into the city system. If yourark has a slope or grade to it your design professional can take advantage of that, thus saving installation costs. Check local codes for preferred materials. A consultant or design engineer can give you ballpark costs. For a contractor, you will want someone who does storm and or sanitary sewer systems and knows how to properly place and bed the pipe, no bellies or siphons or lift pumps. The city may want you to dig up and abate the orangeburg since it may leach into the water table after it is abandoned. A better and cheaper way would be to flush it then fill it with 1 or 2 bag slurry. As Phillip noted below, please report your outcomes so everyone can learn.
Jim Allen
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Could you just use a trenchless relining contractor instead replacing?
I was wondering if you purchased the park and if so, what was your experience like replacing the Orangeburg.
I was wondering how your Orangeburg has fared so far? I am looking at a park with Orangeburg.
Thank you!
Update - We ended up buying this park about 2 months ago. Turns out the Orangeburg was already replaced in 2/3 of the park. For the final 1/3 we broke the project up into three phases - each affecting about 15 homes. Ultimately we discovered that we could run new sewer lines in front of the homes without digging up the roads and then simply retire the Orangeburg lines which run underneath the homes. We have proceeded using two teams with trenchers to dig and lay new sewer line. From there individual lines are dug and laid to the homes. 30 days into the project we have successfully completed phase 1. We’re pushing to have this park Orangeburg-free by the end of the summer.
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Are the trenching teams professionals or your guys? Employees or independent contractors? Plumbing license or no? Who’s doing what? (If you care to share…)
Our park maintenance man is a licensed plumber and is leading this effort. Most of the rest of the crew is temporary labor with no particular specialty in plumbing but experienced in construction. So far this labor configuration has enabled us to come in under budget.
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Do you mind sharing the cost?
We’ve budgeted $250K for the project. With about 40% of the project completed we’re into it $80K. The lead plumber is our employee on a fixed salary, otherwise our costs would be much higher.
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