Water and electrics

[pcsparky]

I have to run SWA from the house through the back garden. This will be buried at 45cm and run through some plastic pipe for ease of replacement if necessary.

I also have to run some MDPE pipe from roughly the same place parallel to the SWA for an outside water tap within the garden. This could also be inserted inside its own plastic pipe if necessary.

I know that this work will be notifiable. What do the regulations state about SWA and water pipe being buried together? Is there a distance that they should be apart? Thanks

 

[bernardgreen]

The regs may have changed since we installed them 25 years ago but we were allowed to lay all our services in a single 18 inch wide trench from the road. Water, electricity telephone and pumped sewage ( 2 inch pipe ) in the same trench. The gas came later and they cut their own trench.

Water pipe I would bed in sand to reduce the risk of sharp stones puncturing when back filling and tamping.

 

[sparkyspike]

You may know this already, but if you're putting the swa in pipe or conduit, it should be black to avoid confusion with other services.

 

[pcsparky]

Thanks very much didn't know that. I am going to cover the SWA with electric warning tape.

 

[plugwash]

you should put the tape a spades depth or so above the cables, warning tape is not much use if you dig through the tape and the cable at the same time.

 

[ColJack]

6 inches of sand, tiles laid in the trench, warning tape on top, another 6-12 inches of sand, another layer of tape then backfill with dirt..

if they hit the first tape and go through it without noticing, then the second layer and the tiles usually give em a warning..

if they still go through that then that's their fault for hiring migrant labourers to dig for them...