We are putting new plumbing in the house. The size of the meter is 3/4".

Can we put 1" pipe from the meter to the house, or should there be 3/4" pipe?

Our contractor put 3/4" pipe from the main and then he put 1" pipe after the cut off.

Is this right?

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Originally Posted by njain

We are putting new plumbing in the house. The size of the meter is 3/4".

Can we put 1" pipe from the meter to the house, or should there be 3/4" pipe?

Our contractor put 3/4" pipe from the main and then he put 1" pipe after the cut off.

Is this right?

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If the fixture demand (calculated by assigning a fixture unit value to each plumbing fixture and then adding up the number of fixture units) requires a 1" feed and the water line from the meter was replaced, then your plumber should have run a minimum of 1" from the meter.

There are other factors involved, of course: Pressure at the meter, length of run from meter to house, rise in elevation from meter to highest fixture in house etc.. .

Growler,
Correct me if I'm wrong but if you have a 3/4" meter would raising the water service to 1 inch increase the volume that the meter would produce? I don't think so. But I value your opinion so I'm asking. I always though a "one inch feed" to the house included a one inch meter. Was I wrong? Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Growler,
Correct me if I'm wrong but if you have a 3/4" meter would raising the water service to 1 inch increase the volume that the meter would produce? I don't think so. But I value your opinion so I'm asking. I always though a "one inch feed" to the house included a one inch meter. Was I wrong? Regards, Tom

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The meter can and should be upgraded -- But doing so will be at the homeowners expense.

But upgrading a 3/4" meter to a 1" meter is not compulsory, at least not in my area.

OTOH, if the fixture unit demand for the dwelling requires an 1-1/4" feed or larger, then the Inspector would likely require a meter upgrade before signing off the job.

Thanks growler, But it would choke down the volume produced Correct? I mean isn't it like "unringing the bell"? Once the volume's choked down at the 3/4" meter you can't increase the volume produced by jumping the service up to 1". Am I correct in assuming this? Regards, tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Thanks growler, But it would choke down the volume produced Correct? I mean isn't it like "unringing the bell"? Once the volume's choked down at the 3/4" meter you can't increase the volume produced by jumping the service up to 1". Am I correct in assuming this? Regards, tom

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You're correct, but you still need to size the water line and water piping inside the house to meet the fixture demand.

What the Plumber did was hamstring the owner from upgrading their water meter at a later date -- Something that definitely wouldn't fly in my neck of the woods.

I agree and thanks growler. Tom

In my area we would install 1" water main even if you have 3/4" meter. Sometimes, water company comes and upgrades meter at no cost to you. 3/4" meter used to be adequate in the 50's but with size of today's houses 1" is minimum. FYI: I have 2" meter in my own house.