Marking two pipes in one trench

[Bill Dufour]

I am adding a faucet and some sprinkler lines in trenches in my yard. Some will be schedule 40 some schedule 80, both 3/4 and 1". Any easy way to mark them so I can tell what is what if they get dug up again. Is spray paint safe? how about latex house paint in two colors.
This time I will be more careful and install the pipes with the printed side up
Bill D

[Julie Moriarty]

When I've had to mark PVC conduit I've used spray paint to mark the ends. Sometimes it's weeks before the manhole arrives. No problems that I saw.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Spiral wrap one of them with "caution tape". Just remember which one.

[Wayne Lomman]

I agree with Bruce. Caution tape around one pipe will do it. Make the relevant notes in your property operation notebook ie the book one keeps to remember where services, valves, meters, etc are located. It is common over here to put power, water and phone in one trench. Power at the bottom with correct tape over it, water a foot above it and phone above that. You only need the trencher once. Cheers

[Julie Moriarty]

I'd get some marking say paint and a spray stick tool. Glue up one run, drop it in the trench and spray it. Then glue up the second run and drop it in. Of course you have to remember what the pipe is you marked when and if that time comes you dig it up later.

The caution tape is a good thing for making sure you don't trench through the pipe run. After the pipe is laid, drop in about a foot or so of dirt, lay the tape down and finish filling the trench. It isn't fool proof but it's better than nothing.

[Al Launier]

Should you use the tape suggestions suggested above there are different colored vinyl tapes readily available that you use specifically for each type of PVC pipe. Wrap it around the designated pipe(s) with a long tag, leaving a trace length of the color coded tape in the dirt above the pipe so that, as Julie noted, it shows up before possibly damaging the pipe below when excavating.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I've been told by the local inspector to put yellow caution tape a foot above gas line, red a foot above electrical. It'd be nice to have the water marked with blue or something, but I'm not aware of blue tape, or a code requiring it. In your case though, just spray paint a few fittings to tell them apart like Julie said.

[Tom M King]

Does Schedule 80 PVC come in any color other than gray? If it does, I've never seen anything different.

Take pictures while the trench is open, measurements off of key points on the house-written down, and stored in that drawer in the kitchen, or desk.

[Julie Moriarty]

Grey is for electrical conduit. I've laid thousands of feet of PVC and it's all been grey. I've never seen any other trade use grey.

[Tom M King]

The schedule 80 PVC that I've ever dealt with is a much darker gray than conduit. The two would not be mistaken for each other.

edited to add, and a couple of questions:
https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/PVC-Fittings-Sch-40-vs-Sch-80-s/7615.htm

Has anyone who has posted in this thread ever used schedule 80 PVC pipe, and if so, has it been any color other than dark gray?

[Malcolm McLeod]

Personally, I have never seen Sch80 PVC pipe in any color but grey, however neither have I looked. Lots of sources offer Sch40 in a rainbow of colors.

I have used (or supervised use of) purple (septic), orange (fire sprinkler), blue (process water), and of course grey & white ... for those that I remember.

There are also spools of heat shrink sleeve, sized for common PVC diameter, that can be slipped over a pipe before ends are cemented. The sleeves come in similar rainbow colors.

[Tom M King]

Yeah, I've seen schedule 40 in different colors, but never anything but that dark gray for 80, but I haven't looked either. I can't imagine that a sprinkler installer would be using anything unusual.

edited to add: I have used something similar to this. If you put it close to the top of the ground, you can find it with a metal detector.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ideal-3-in-x-1-000-ft-Detectable-Underground-Tape-Caution-Buried-Electric-Line-Red-42-201/300497520?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal3_rr-_-204109030-_-300497520-_-N

My infallible method of finding old trenches is to scrape the top of the ground off with the loader bucket. You can find a 50 year old trench like that, or at least around here where there is a difference between the topsoil, and subsoil. It gets mixed in the trenching process, and you can't miss it. Of course, this messes up a yard, but if you're going to have to do a lot of digging to find something anyway, it's worth it sometimes.

[Tom M King]

Bill, After the install is in process, please notice the color of the schedule 80 pipe, and come back to post it.