During current kitchen rebuild I have discovered the existing water main is lead. Original main was shared with our neighbors (1920 semi) with a common stop cock in the pavement outside their gate. This feed ran under their house to the kitchen and then under the solid floor, party wall, and our solid kitchen floor to emerge (blinking in the light} behind the sink, where it is sweated onto half inch copper with about 2" to the stop tap.
Our neighbors had their kitchen done a few years ago and had new blue plastic main laid from the main in the street with their own new stop cock under a new cover in the pavement. Strangely they left their old lead rising main (capped above the stop tap) poking out of the floor, presumably as it still also feeds to our house..
While I'm not unduly bothered about the lead content (we've lived here 30 years with no obvious effects (twitch, twitch) I understand that Water Boards are keen to replace lead.
The question is do they charge for such replacement and are there grants/subsidies etc (we're supplied by Severn Trent).
I would imagine the installation of a new pipe would be quite problematical involving digging pavement/garden/ footpath/ kitchen floor etc. Who is responsible?
Any guidance will be appreciated. Thanks.
Our neighbors had their kitchen done a few years ago and had new blue plastic main laid from the main in the street with their own new stop cock under a new cover in the pavement. Strangely they left their old lead rising main (capped above the stop tap) poking out of the floor, presumably as it still also feeds to our house..
While I'm not unduly bothered about the lead content (we've lived here 30 years with no obvious effects (twitch, twitch) I understand that Water Boards are keen to replace lead.
The question is do they charge for such replacement and are there grants/subsidies etc (we're supplied by Severn Trent).
I would imagine the installation of a new pipe would be quite problematical involving digging pavement/garden/ footpath/ kitchen floor etc. Who is responsible?
Any guidance will be appreciated. Thanks.