Lead replacement - non-WS or DIYing it?

[Donkmeister]

I've got a lead mains feeding my house from the rear. I've spoken to the water supplier who have said that they can connect me up to the new non-lead main at the front, but obviously I'm responsible for everything from the boundary back.

Looking at my local supplier (Anglian Water) website, it sounds like WaterSafe plumbers are the people to go with if I have trades in to do it. However, there's only a couple covering my area, and they are pretty large firms based out of industrial units with moling gear at their disposal - my job is pretty straightforward as I just need a 5m trench from boundary to front of house, an insuduct coming up where the MDPE will need to enter the house then it can be connected on to the existing plumbing, so no moling required and I'd like to get it done quickly.

So, does anyone have any experience of DIYing or using a non-WaterSafe certified plumber? Obviously the final connection at the meter in the street is done by the water company, but they won't connect it unless they're happy the rest is done to their standards. Was it a faff or were they happy with a cursory glance at an open trench and the presence of a stopcock?

 

[muggles]

If you use someone who isn't Water Safe, or DIY it, you'll need Anglian Water to come out and inspect your work before it's covered over, which they will charge for. They'll be looking for the trench to be the correct depth and prepared correctly, and if you're in an area where the ground might be contaminated they'll want barrier pipe. Best thing to do is talk to AW about what they'd expect to see if you were to DIY it and have them inspect it.

 

[Donkmeister]

Ah, so one of the benefits of a Water Safe is that they can sign off their own bit of the installation? That makes sense.

I'll ask AW about what they would need to see as you suggest. Contamination shouldn't be an issue as this was agricultural land before they build it 100 years ago but I'll ask - presumably they'll know if their pipes are barrier MDPE or not, and my piping will need to match.