Replace copper piping?

Hi all !

Ever since we moved into our house around 6 years ago, we have always had water pressure problems during the summer months. We have put up with it till now.

What's happening is that the pressure drops in the morning to such an extent that our combi boiler will not kick in when we try to have a shower upstairs and also sometimes our toilet cistern will not fill back up after flushing. We have to open and close our sink tap to give it a bit of a kick to fill back up again.

We had united utilities come out a few weeks back and after some initial checks (and explaining about demand in the summer months) he said that it is not a pressure problem it is a flow problem. He explained that pressure wise it should be 1 bar, our's is 2.5 bar and flow should be 9 litres per min and our's is 6 LPM. He said that it is a flow problem caused by a restriction or blockage.

He told me he will check in a few weeks flow at the property boundary stop tap and if it below 9 LPM they will rectify the problem but if the flow is over 9 LPM he recommends that all internal lead pipes be relaid.

Now I know that under our house there is a plastic water pipe, but under our front garden to the stop tap this is probably going to be lead, so somewhere they have joined the two together. He recommended that this be replaced if the flow is under 6LPM.

Is this an easy task for the compatent DIY er?

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any responses

KazGaz

As far as I can recall the water regs say the work must be done by a competent plumber.
The work itself is not too difficult once you get the correct MDPE fittings.
Have a look at the regs for guidance and your water suppliers website as they usually have details of what is required.
Pete

Sorry, the post title should be Replace LEAD piping not copper!

Doh!

Hi Pete

Thanks for your reply.

I've just had a peek at their web-site.

As long as the works up to a certain standard it's OK. I've re-plumbed a lot of my house, so doing it doesn't concern me too much!

My main question for this post is how do I connect the new plastic pipe to the stop tap in the street, taking into account that it is over my boundary, and should I really be touching their stop tap? Do I dig under my small boundary wall to get to it or is there a simpler way of doing this? Also, which are the best fittings/couplings/joints to use?

Thanks.

GazKaz said:

My main question for this post is how do I connect the new plastic pipe to the stop tap in the street, taking into account that it is over my boundary, and should I really be touching their stop tap?

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You should discuss the problem with your water company. They may have a lead replacement scheme under which they would replace and upgrade their lead supply pipe FOC if you replace yours, which your planning to do. In any event you should see if the water company will make the new connection to their stop tap for free or a modest charge.

Hi chrishutt

The guy who came to check the pressure/flow from our supplier never mentioned anything about the replacement scheme, but then again it wouldn't surprise me anyway if he didn't know either!

I'll certainly chase it up tho.

Thanks.