help with water mains

[whyme!]

a builder doing my extension has laid a beam floor and blocked on ground floor.underneath where the mains water comes in he has put a right angle connector so the water mains comes up through the floor.

I asked him for this connection to be moved outside but he said the bend in the pipe would put too much pressure on the other connection in the garden.

My concern is if this connector under the floor ever leaks or needs replacing it will mean me digging up my kitchen floor. Is he right, am i worrying too much? Advise would be helpfull.

 

[Bahco]

I would be unhappy with a connector buried under the floor especially if a builder was doing it!

Can you not relocate the stop tap so that the mains pipe exits ABOVE ground and therefore not needing a joint below ground.

 

[whyme!]

well i asked if it could just be one length of pipe, instead of having a right angle join, just bend the pipe up above floor to a stop valve. He insists this would put pressure on the connector in the garden side. Our mains pipe serves two houses, so i have a T pice in my garden to bring pipe to me. This is why i thought run one length from the T piece in garden under floor then up to above floor height. I'm really not happy with a join under floor but builder seems very unwilling to share my concern

 

[nickso]

you are paying for it. id rather dig up my garden than the floor.

 

[whyme!]

i agree, i just find the builder does not listen to my concern, and i'm finding it hard to put my point over.

 

[Bahco]

As Nickso said YOU are paying and he who pays the piper calls the tune.

 

[The Baker]

To be honest it all depends on what the pipe is made of and has your builder used the correct type of bend for the pipe.

There are thousands of "bends" out there under pavements and roads.

What colour is the pipe and what colour is the bend?

What does your Building Inspector think?

Tim

 

[whyme!]

I also found out internally, he is using compression joints and this plastic/or whatever it is pipe. He cuts the copper pipe then feeds from there with compression joints and plastiic pipe all under floorboards to bath,sink,rads etc. Is this normal these days?

 

[whyme!]

To be honest it all depends on what the pipe is made of and has your builder used the correct type of bend for the pipe.

There are thousands of "bends" out there under pavements and roads.

What colour is the pipe and what colour is the bend?

What does your Building Inspector think?

Tim

blue

 

[MANDATE]

I laid a new 'blue' water mains couple of years back in accordance with Unitied Utilities requirements. It had to be 750mm below ground level where it entered the property and into 100mm plastic ducting and fitted with insulation. The ducting comprised a 'bend' and about 600mm of straight. The bend had a radius of about 350mm and there was no problem fitting the pipe. In fact when you buy the pipe it's already coiled around a metre in diameter. It came up in kitchen, entered into new stop cock and from there onwards 15mm copper.
There were no joints below ground, except where Utd Utilitescoupled up to main supply pipe.

 

[whyme!]

So could this go against building regs? Where do they stand on internal and external pipe work.