Adding a garden tap to a garden some way from the house...

[Blokky27]

Hello all

Slightly odd situation of our house having a garden which is about 25m from the back door. We have to walk down a 15m pathway (covered in centuries old york stone slabs, cross our driveway and then down another 5m pathway next to our garage before we get to the start of the garden.

So the problem then is getting a tap put in. Currently I have a 25 quid tap in the basement which is taking a feed from the supply to the washing machine - one of the ones which just taps into the water feed, so a very narrow pipe feeding the tap. This coming from the main house supply plus running a 40-50m hose off it means the pressure by the time it reaches the garden is pretty pathetic.

The solution I'm considering is a separate feed from the mains using MDPE to a dedicated outside tap, which I understand being for the garden can have higher pressure. The problem I have is getting the feed down to the garden, which would be down the 15m pathway, under the driveway and then back up at the other side, into and through the garage.

I have already dug a channel under the driveway which is about 40cm deep as I was doing this already for an electrical supply to the garage and the building next to it. However, the 15m run from the house to the driveway I really can't get underground because of the york stones I mentioned earlier. There is no way I'm taking them up and also even if I did, no way I'm digging another channel 15m long underneath them!

So the clear challenge is the pipe freezing. It is a slight gradient away from the house down to the driveway, then under the driveway will clearly be the low point before it comes back up and then through the garage. If we were to turn off the supply in October/November before any frosts come, could we drain the MDPE so it's safe from freezing? Would the low bit under the drive cause the biggest problem? If so, I was considering putting some sort of "trace heating cable in the ground with the MDPE under the driveway (like this https://www.traceheatinguk.co.uk/premade-trace-heating-kits-thermostat )

Any thoughts and help would be much appreciated.

 

[Wayners]

Like this.

 

[Blokky27]

Thanks for the link. An interesting watch.

However, as I'm not taking up a 300 year old york stone pathway for this the question remains, mainly about whether I can drain the system enough in the winter to avoid freezing with the first section above ground, leading to the low bit 40cm under the driveway (no point in going any deeper since the first 15m is above ground) and then up to the garage section leading to the garden tap... We may want to put another tap in halfway down the run (just before the dip under the driveway) if that makes any difference to people's thoughts?

 

[CountryFan]

You will need to be asking your water undertaker about this as it belongs to them and the minimum depth you can have is 750mm (water regulations), not trying and come up with your own botch of trace heating.

 

[Mottie]

Have you thought of this?

Moling Contractors Wentworth Moling Services Moling Cost Impact Moling

Looking for Moling specialists then look no further Wentworth Moling Services are based in the south east of England. Locally based and reliable.

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[scbk]

What about just buying a good quality hose (like a gardena) and part burying that? Lay the rest along the surface. Disconnect it in the winter, it'll last years and years in my experience.

You could collect rainwater off the garage too?

 

[lostinthelight]

How long would a 1000l last in the garden. If some time you could have an IBC tank, or two which you could keep filling , roll the hose up in between and take in for the winter.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So the problem then is getting a tap put in. Currently I have a 25 quid tap in the basement which is taking a feed from the supply to the washing machine - one of the ones which just taps into the water feed, so a very narrow pipe feeding the tap. This coming from the main house supply plus running a 40-50m hose off it means the pressure by the time it reaches the garden is pretty pathetic.

50 yards here, and 50 wide at the back. Our solution is twofold. Our summerhouse roof, has gutters, which fill a large water butt, which has a tap at the base. Flowers, are planted in a strip along the left, and along the rear. I have three outdoor taps, one is dedicated to an automatic, timed watering system which I ran all along the left side, and the rear. The system is only enabled, when the weather is especially dry. The pipe work, slopes up away from the house, so in winter, to avoid frost damage, I simply disconnect at the tap, and drop the pipe on the ground, to drain it all.

Should the butt ever run out, one of our three taps has a hose reel, with a very long hose attached, so we could easily top it back up.

 

[foxhole]

Water won’t freeze below ground and will need insulation above ground, plastic pipe rarely freezes and is unharmed if it does.

 

[Blokky27]

Hi all

Thanks again for the suggestions.

1. Yes we already collect from the garage into 2 large water butts with a pump to spray the flower beds etc but it often runs out and whilst yes we could top it up it's just a pain to run a hose so far every time. Also, we want the extra tap by the garage for car washing etc anyway and can't use rainwater for that.

2. The moling company looks very clever but would be out of budget for what we need.

Harry, your system sounds great - very similar situation to here. Our house is above so it all slopes away, with the exception of the bit under the driveway which is my concern. It's been a while since I did any hydrology in physics at school so I don't know how well everything would drain out with that low point halfway along the run. Foxhole, I expect you're right, but what about the bits of pipe either side of the driveway - would they not also remain full of water above ground and therefore be at risk of freezing and the pipes bursting? I thought of insulating the pipework, but surely that slows the heat transfer rather than prevents it, so if it's below freezing for a week then the insulated pipes will still freeze, no???

 

[Blokky27]

Anyone with any further thoughts re water either side of the low point and/or effectiveness of lagging?

 

[robinbanks]

Have you considered simply using a larger bore PVC hose pipe (eg 25mm)?

Bury a duct with a draw string if you want , pull it through in summer and leave in place. As the world cools (or if you find it a nuisance/in your way above ground during summer), bring it into the house

Just remember to tie your draw string to the outlet end before you pull it back through so the draw string is ready for next year

Other options; have you anything in the garden you can harvest rainwater into? Any patch that is wetter than others where you could dig a small well?

 

[Blokky27]

I’ve already bought and laid the 20mm pipe in the driveway ditch (just not backfilled yet). Just need to solve the frost issue before I do that.

 

[robinbanks]

Connector on the end, have the above ground section of the run something you can unplug and take inside any time it's a nuisance?

 

[denso13]

Have you considered simply using a larger bore PVC hose pipe (eg 25mm)?

Agreed. Larger bore hose and connection at the house end.

Doing it properly won't be cheap, and there is no way round it unfortunately.