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free pvc

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:21 pm
by djt
my friends dad is an excavator so my friend knows alot about that kind of thing because he works there sometimes. He told me that the construction workers will sometimes cut a few feet off of a ten foot length of PVC and throw the rest away if it is most convenient for them. if you just go to a construction site you can find all kinds of pvc in the garbage and many other materials too if you just look. I found ten feet of old sch 40 five inch pvc, 10 feet of one inch and assorted lengths and sizes of other sch 40 pvc. if you like getting materials free like me just open your eyes next time you go past a construction site.

Re: free pvc

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:29 pm
by huse_spud
djt wrote:my friends dad is an excavator so my friend knows alot about that kind of thing because he works there sometimes. He told me that the construction workers will sometimes cut a few feet off of a ten foot length of PVC and throw the rest away if it is most convenient for them. if you just go to a construction site you can find all kinds of pvc in the garbage and many other materials too if you just look. I found ten feet of old sch 40 five inch pvc, 10 feet of one inch and assorted lengths and sizes of other sch 40 pvc. if you like getting materials free like me just open your eyes next time you go past a construction site.
you'd may want to consider why they threw it out as well. look at the labeling and check for cracks and other damage. i gotta do some more bargian hunting and dumpster diving. this may help thanks.

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:37 pm
by djt
yeah thats true. i think the 5 in i found was mostly buried in mud and either they forgot about it and left it or they just didnt want to dig it up. it was in good shape though.

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:12 pm
by PCGUY
Don't forget what your doing is totally illegal unless you ask for it.

Large diam PVC is fairly worthless unless you have the $ to buy huge fittings.

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:26 pm
by Andrew52
And the large diammeter pipes are not usually pressure rated there for water drainage or sewage (i know my dad owns a construction company) i have hundreds of feet on one icnch tw o inch sch 40 pvc lots of dwv and conduit and 12 inch water pipe its pretty cool

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:11 pm
by benstern
I totally agree with pcguy!
Before taking any pipe, ask the foreman or the person in charge of the construction if there are any unneeded pvc pipe and if you could take it.
Remember, it is better to stay legal than ruin it for the rest of us.

Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:16 pm
by sgort87
Okay dude, do you know what to do with that 5" pipe? With a wooden plug on one end modified to hold a 4" end cap, that gun is a 2 liter pop bottle cannon. I have been meaning to find 5" pipe for a looong time. Lucky bastard...

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:45 am
by CS
If its in the trash, its free game. To my knowledge most houses dont require PVC over 2" pressure rated pvc. Schools, and other large buildings have all sorts of large diameter plastic pipe. Most people would think "O they cant be throwing this away because its freakin' X amount of dollars at Lowes", but really the truth is that the labor required to transport it to the next site can be more then that of whats being transported. I do construction in the summer and they chop up 2x4's like mad. You will have boards 4' long that could be used to frame up a window or something, but we just throw them away because once you consider the time spent sorting threw the scrap you can just buy a new 2x4.

I mean there is tons of cool stuff in dumpsters... Gazillions of plywood, 2x4's, 5 gallon buckets, saw blades, etc.

Gort I dont think it was actual 5" just that he measured and it was close to that.

Ive always thought of being a hobo and go dumpster diving for lumber for a house...

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 9:24 am
by djt
it actually said 5" on the side and its pressure rated to more than 100 psi. its at my friends house down the road now so i couldnt tell you exactly what its pressure rated to but i know its more than 100. It was in the trash by a restaraunt in a shopping center. now that i think about it how would they even use 5" pressure rated pipe at a restaraunt anyways?

and pc guy your right, the pipe would be very expensive to buy but its not like i could sell it and the fittings for it would probably all be over ten bucks each.

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:57 pm
by PCGUY
If its in the trash, its free game.
Not totally true... well depending on your area. Around here people were always goin through the trash on spring/fall pickup, so they passed a law making it illegal to rummage through trash anywhere unless permission was granted beforehand.

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:08 pm
by )DEMON(
You'll look through the trash here and find some dude sleeping in it.(sorry but I couldn't hold it back)

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:52 pm
by Atlantis
There is an area by my school that has been cleared out for condos, their is a huge pile of dirt on one end of the cleared out area that blocks the view of the school's main drive entrance, I found 20 feet of 4' PVC between the hill and the schools property. it looks like most of the sewage if not all has already been laid, the drains are buried. I'm wondering if they need it anymore. It's the kind with a flange in one end to connect it to another piece of 4" pipe and it's pressure rated. I'll have to ask the workers.

P.S. If you want cheap PVC, go to Home Depot and look for a wooden box in the plumbing section, that's where they throw the scraps, they can be anywhere from 3" to 2 feet, they sell it by the inch at a low price.

P.S.S Are 4" fittings expensive?

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:54 pm
by CS
There is dumpsters in South Africa? I thought it was a bunch of clay huts, and cannibals with spears... (sorry but I couldn't hold it back) :wink:

PC arent the laws like super anal where you live? Never thought about that though, passing laws to keep bums out of the garbage. Although you would get in trouble for being a bum instead of stealing. Seeing as where young teens and dont cruise around on bike with a trailer for pop cans.

Seriously though, some of the stuff they throw in the garbage is illegal. Like paint, its illegal to throw in the trash. This obviously stuff that they are done with and dont want anymore, and seeing as cops dont patrol construction dumpsters, you should be alright. Think first off why such a law would be passed, would they really care if you were removing plastic pipe that would most likely go to a landfill and take "forever" to biodigrade? A cop would much rather pull someone over then mess with a kid for digging threw a construction dumpster.

A-4" Pressure rated fittings are somewhat expensive. Normally a pressure rated Tee costs $12 but I suppose after DR has given him several cannons he takes a liking to spudders and offers us contractor prices so I got it for 7$.

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:57 pm
by djt
yes but it depends on what you call expensive. most of them are around four to seven dollars around here

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:59 pm
by CS
djt- Your not talking about Lowes are you? In which case there stuff is not pressure rated.