Lead Pipe replacement under foundation

Mrxman · 10 Oct 2019

Hi there

First post from me.

I live in a victorian 2 up 2 down style house with a lead pipe which we'd like to replace and which I assume enters from front under the path to front door.

I have a couple of questions:

1) To avoid digging up the front path is it o.k to reroute the new MDPE pipe say under the bay window?

Me and a friend started digging a hole at the front for the new pipe 750mm down. We discovered there's clay under the concrete foundation.
2) Is it considered normal/safe to dig a hole in the clay (under foundation) for the pipe? (we've already started but on 2nd thought I am a little nervous that we could cause damage).

3) Assuming all is well, is there a tool which could help us digging the hole under the wall? (space is extremely tight).

Many thanks

Hugh Jaleak · 10 Oct 2019

You are fairly lucky if you've concrete in a Victorian House foundation, the majority round here seem to have been built straight onto clay, with the brickwork corbelled to widen the footprint of the walls! Provided you dont go mad with the size of the hole, then I doubt it'll cause too much issue, aim to get a piece of rainwater downpipe through as a duct and you should be ok. Route isn't so much of an issue, but ensure the pipework will be adequately protected from frost wherever it runs under the house.

Alternatively, look at the 'Insuduct', which offers an alternative method of getting a water supply into the building.
https://groundbreaker.co.uk/products/insuduct/

oldbutnotdead · 10 Oct 2019

1 Yes but your new pipe usually has to end up where your street stopcock is now. Talk to your local water company and get their requirements for pipe depth, trench fill etc

2 Yes its fine, long as you don't make a massive hole.

3 Make the outside hole bigger (so you can work in it) and get one of those shorthandled trenching spades from Toolstation- horizontal in clay isn't fun but is doable. Or (for the really lazy) hire a core drill.

Mrxman · 10 Oct 2019

Thanks both of you. I feel a little better about it.

I should mention I assume it's a concrete foundation. There's concrete sort of hanging below the brickwork but difficult to see.

It makes sense to make the hole we're working in bigger, think that could help. I didn't know a core drill could be used on clay. The wall is about 50cm thick. Is it possible to drill that far?

cdbe · 10 Oct 2019

Have you definitely located the route/extent of the current pipe? Many lead pipes are "common supply pipes" and may branch to/from neighbouring properties.

Mrxman · 10 Oct 2019

cdbe said:
Have you definitely located the route/extent of the current pipe? Many lead pipes are "common supply pipes" and may branch to/from neighbouring properties.

No I haven't been able to find the old pipe. In the kitchen at the back it goes towards the front and then into the ground. I assume it's buried under the concrete. It's part of the reason why we decided to reroute it via the bay window. Any advantages of finding the old pipe?

oldbutnotdead · 10 Oct 2019

Well you'll need to find the start of it in your house (so you can isolate it and thus ensure there's no lead pipe in the run) and you'll need to find your street stopcock (assuming you're on a single supply not branched). If you can dig it out easily you'll get a few quid from weighing it in but prob not enough to justify any serious extra digging

Mrxman · 10 Oct 2019

oldbutnotdead said:
Well you'll need to find the start of it in your house (so you can isolate it and thus ensure there's no lead pipe in the run) and you'll need to find your street stopcock (assuming you're on a single supply not branched). If you can dig it out easily you'll get a few quid from weighing it in but prob not enough to justify any serious extra digging

I've found the start of it in the kitchen. The street stopcock is literally 2 cm from our front porch/boundary and you can see that someone had dug up the pavement at some point. Thames water said if we dig a trench right up to the pavement they'll deal with things from there (for a fee).

oldbutnotdead · 10 Oct 2019

Miserable lot, last one I did Northumbrian did their bit for free once I'd trenched to the boundary (they also wanted to inspect the trench before filling, 900mm iirc which was fun up 30m of back garden).
Well worth doing for the joy of good water pressure and flow

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Lead Pipe replacement under foundation

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