Water Main to House Regulations

[stinkfoot]

I have problems with water main pipe to my house from the stop cock on the street, it's old lead pipe and keeps springing leaks.

Can anyone advise on the regs (like where could I find them?) for how a pipe must be brought from the street to house. My tame builder & plumber who have done very good work for me before insist the whole concrete path will have to be dug up (about 25metres). However, there's another (poss cheaper) route - the trench could avoid the some of the concrete path & go under the lawn but some of the way the pipe would have to be exposed inside my garage.

Plumber and builder sucked their teeth a lot and said "oooh" when I suggested this, saying "it'd need to be frost proofed" (so frost proof it then! ) and also "the water board wouldn't like it".

Oh ... I live in SE London if that makes a difference.

 

[chrishutt]

Sounds OK to me. The Water Regulations can be found on the web, but basically it's a question of making sure any pipework not at least 750mm below ground is well insulated.

 

[stinkfoot]

Thanks very much Chris.

Based on this info, I did a google search and came up with these docs, which tell me exactly what I want to know, and which others may find useful. One is from Thames and one from Bristol water


http://www.thameswater.co.uk/en_gb/Downloads/PDFs/New_Water_Supply_Regulations_MAY_2005.pdf

http://www.bristol-water.co.uk/pdf/bwater/leadPiping.pdf

Thanks again

 

[chrishutt]

Worth noting that Bristol Water (and others?) will replace (and upgrade) their lead communication pipe from the main to the boundary free-of-charge if you replace all your lead supply pipework, at least as far as the kitchen sink. If you want to take advantage of such a free lead replacement scheme you must contact your water company before carrying out any work.

 

[stinkfoot]

... update for anyone who is interested.

I just spoke to a regulations bloke at Thames water. The situation is that the pipe has to be buried 750mm unless this is unavoidable

So they wouldn't let me route the pipe above ground through my garage, even if it were properly insulated, just because it would save me money. They would fail the inspection if I did this.

He said that if, for example, keeping the pipe buried could compromise the safety of the foundations or something like that, then it would be allowed.

But in my case it would not be allowed.

Ho hum.

 

[ChrisR]

You don't have to follow the same route. You could have a "Mole" start in a hole (about a metre long) and head off under everything, until it hits the foundations. (Or a cable or a gas pipe...) In fact they go through brick walls etc quite routinely, but it's good manners to dig another hole and make a connection.
Bay windows of 30's semis are usually have foundations about 2 bricks deep, which is handy. Easy to snake it about under a suspended floor, which YOU may not have of course..?

People who do this sort of thing for a living are the best advisers, the water co should be able to give you a list of contractors.

 

[Paul Barker]

It's a shame you spoke to them, if you had writen in and sent your plans and they hadn't replied within 10 days you could have gone ahead.

They don't have to be informed or inspect a new main if it's layed between 750 and 1350.

When we dig up old mains they are seldom more than a foot down, the rules don't apply to the water board, they apply to us plumbers.