To upgrade (and move) water mains or not

[Chema RB]

Hi! Im considering upgrading water mains, house was built on the 60´s, I have concrete floors, and the water mains entry and stopcock is on a quite inconvenient kitchen corner.

Do you think is worth to replace while the kitchen looks like a war zone?

 

[CBW]

It could be but you have to consider where to and it would have to be convenient enough to reconnect onto for all other cold mains feeds.

 

[TeaAndBiscuits]

Since you have concrete floors you can come up from the trench outside and go through the wall above ground instead.

Just need to use one of these https://groundbreaker.co.uk/products/insuduct/

 

[oldbuffer]

Provided you can turn off your supply and do the job to conform with regulations you can move your water supply. Assuming the other incomer is your electricity mains, I think you'd need the electricity supplier to move that, and the cost might be eye watering.

 

[Chema RB]

Sorry!

For some reason I did't saw your replies.

Got a porch built, to get the gas and electric meters moved. That cable was indeed the electric mains, and the metal pipe above was the gas mains. The builder was using a mini digger to dig the foundations and pushed the water mains off the stopcock, thankfully the water meter was close and he could close quickly. I replaced with a new stopcock just in case.

While digging to move the supplies, found the original steel? water mains quite deep, corroded and breaking into chunks. That's why there is a copper water pipe in the picture nearby. It seems they replaced some time ago by this plastic pipe, laid less deep and routed through the electrocity entry.

Now with the electrics and gas out of the way, water is the only pipe entering the property there. I should upload a new picture

 

[Chema RB]

On a separate topic... The soil stack is made of metal, it looks like steel to me. Does it make sense to replace now it's exposed?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Soil stack is unlikely to be steel, most likely is cast iron. If you're happy to go to the aggro and expense of replacing it, then go for it, bear in mind plastic is easier to work with for future purposes, if replacing a bathroom or WC, often the existing cast soil is in totally the wrong position to connect a new WC pan, so some inventive 'get arounds' are required.

If replacing bathroom, then as well to change stack at the same time, means all is modern, lines up and much less chance of a leak in future.

 

[Chema RB]

Yes, bathroom would be replaced in the near future, also a new combi boiler will be fitted in the loft. It looks like a single piece of galvanized steel, with some welded side connections for the toilet, sink and shower. My concern is how to connect the new plastic stack to the existing clay sewer.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Possible it is steel, there are a few about. I'd replace it personally as part of the bathroom replacement, apart from anything else, if its used for condensate discharge from the new boiler, the condensate may attack it.

 

[Chema RB]

Good point! Best course of action would be to chop it into chunks and take it to a metal recycling for a few pence?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

It will be pence, ferrous metals I suspect the Scrap Merchants will want a minimum of a tonne to make it worth their while. Light iron currently fetching £70-80/tonne, so that's about 12.5p/kilo, I think you may find you're told to 'go away' if you turn up with a trivial amount. Also with the Corona Virus situation in China, fuel prices are dropping as the Chinese consumption has decreased, I suspect scrap prices will soon follow.

 

[Chema RB]

Yes, I'm aware of that, house is in Reading but i am living in Swindon right now, I commute almost daily and there is an EMR branch right here. Bathtub, sink and kitchen sink drain pipes are made of copper, thou

What do you think about connecting the new UPVC stack to the clay sewer?

 

[Ian H]

You can use an AC4000 on the outside of the clay or an internal drain connector on the inside.

 

[Chema RB]

Sorry, I should look more before asking:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mcalpine-dc1-bl-drain-connector-black-110mm/4255v

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Copper well worth taking in, but keep an eye on the price, if it starts dropping, I'd hang onto it for a bit.