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It'd be handy to have a tap at the other end of the garden. We're putting in a fence and flower bed so now there's the ideal opportunity to bury a pipe under the flower bed. I can get HDPE pipe easily and locally but only in 25m lengths, and we need at most 10m. But I can get the plastic pipes that our central heating is made of in shorter lengths. Any reason not to use these? I can get push fittings for right angles and that. I am not sure if I'll be able to get taps and threaded fittings for Hozelock type stuff though.
Look of Facebook market place for someone's off cuts or inversely sell your off cut.
We have a standard hose pipe running the length of the fence for water at the end of the garden. I just clipped it to one of the cant rails.
The heating pipes should be higher grade as they have a barrier membrane in them - so yes but expensive way of doing it. I had loads of MDPE left over from various jobs, look on FB market place and stuff. It's only £20 for a roll of 25mm, just leave the rest on the drive and someone will have it.
Make sure you follow the National Joint Utilities Group guidelines for buried services... 750-900mm deep to avoid freezing 🙂
It's not going to freeze here, but even if it did it'll be isolated in the winter.
750-900mm deep to avoid freezing
Our main water pipe isn't that deep!
Victorians worked to different standards.
From memory when I did the install course to be able to audit water jobs for H&S anything you connect to the mains has to be certified for potable water. One needs to ensure that there can be no contamination of the water supply. Non return valves on exterior taps and such like. Getting it wrong and contaminating the supply can lead to a big bill very quickly for all the tankers of clean water required for your neighbours whilst the local water board clean out the mains.
(Note the shorter lengths of larger diameter water main are supplied capped at either end. Lengths with the cap missing should not be included in the installation).
Non return valves on exterior taps and such like.
It's just going to be a hose run down the garden to take the place of hosepipe trailed over the flower beds. I'm not connecting anything to it that will create any kind of pressure.
My existing outside tap doesn't have a non-return valve though, but I might fit one now you've said that. Just in case there's some kind of freak pressure drop that sucks water in from my hosepipe.
Our main water pipe isn’t that deep!
Victorians worked to different standards.
They also didn't lay many HDPE pipes... 😉
Pipes that experience constant flow - like a typical water main - are less likely to freeze than a spur that spends most of the time sitting full of water with no flow passing. The pipe diameter plays a part too - smaller pipes are more likely to freeze.
@molgrips if your external tap came labelled as such from a DIY shed it's likely to have the non-return valve fitted.
If you're not for burying it proper deep, it would be a good idea to install a layer of marker tape over it to warn anyone who digs up the garden in future, (which, if you're anything like me would be, er, me when I forgot a few months later).
You'll have even more of that left over than the waterpipe mind, as it comes in 100m rolls! 😁
Are you close to Marple? I've about 10m of MDPE pipe left after using most of the 25m roll to make some hoops to go over ther veg patch.
As above, it's not expensive, and the remainder will probably be snapped up on FB marketplace
We came back from holiday one Friday to find we have been cut off by the water board (by accident). I had the great idea of removing the non-return valve from under the sink and then just connected our outdoor tap to the neighbour's with a short length of hosepipe - hey presto - we were back on mains water. Water board were very impressed with my solution, saved them having to deliver bottles over the WE till they came to reconnect us on Monday...
Any reason not to use these?
Isn't that rather over complicating things? Just use hosepipe, clipped to the fence, as per Footflaps
It’d be handy to have a tap at the other end of the garden. We’re putting in a fence and flower bed so now there’s the ideal opportunity to bury a pipe under the flower bed. I can get HDPE pipe easily and locally but only in 25m lengths, and we need at most 10m. But I can get the plastic pipes that our central heating is made of in shorter lengths. Any reason not to use these? I can get push fittings for right angles and that. I am not sure if I’ll be able to get taps and threaded fittings for Hozelock type stuff though.
But is your second option actually cheaper?
I reckon you're overthinking this, just but the right products for the right job - then sell what you don't need if you CBA'd.
Mate is thinking of adding a water feature in his gardens (front and back)- he wants a waterfall type thing and a pond. I've suggested he connects both with a buried pipe by side of house.
Pond would be filled with a pump and small fountain and there would be a pipe drawing water through hose to feature in back garden (which I think would be the waterfall), then draw the water back to the pond - or would there need to be a pump at the waterfall end to draw the water from pond (and pond pump would draw the water back from the waterfall). I think height difference could either be 0m or about 1.5m with waterfall being lower but depends on where it is located in back garden.
I was going to suggest a large pipe to have the hose stored and give it a bit of rigidity and protection so the hose doesn't get punctured.
Is my idea workable? I've not done any research on this yet but suspect as I've spent the last 3 years trailbuilding he thinks I'm going to know about doing this!
isolating it won't stop it bursting if its buried and you can't drain it. run it along the fence in a hosepipe. it'll be so much less hassle than digging it an sensible depth.
If you're anywhere near Stratford upon Avon I've got about 10m from a similar job you're welcome to. I say similar, it was about a 100m run dug to 750mm. I'd rather bloody not do any more of that.
Pipes that experience constant flow – like a typical water main – are less likely to freeze than a spur that spends most of the time sitting full of water with no flow passing.
It's already designed in. The pipe would run uphill to the tap at the back of the garden, and there'd be an outlet at the bottom so I can open it and the tap at the top and drain it before the winter.
Thanks for the offers of your offcuts. I'm in Cardiff and make occasional trips to the West Midlands and Winchester.
Just use hosepipe, clipped to the fence, as per Footflaps
I don't want it to be visible.
And yes I could and may well end up advertising the rest but this is usually a ball ache as when I've done this in the past it's led to piles of unwanted stuff outside the house for ages.
The blue pipe is pretty resistant to freezing, I have 2 runs on the surface (under decking) which freeze several times each and have been in for at least 15 years. I do intend to lag them properly when I reaplce the decking but plastic pipe is pretty resilient. I do have lots of isolators in the system.
I’ve done this in the past it’s led to piles of unwanted stuff outside the house for ages.
I had the same when I wired up the workshop. Had loads of unused stuff lying around for ages, in the end I saw an electrician in the street and just brought him a pile of stuff and said if you want any of this you can have it for free - he just took the lot.
The blue pipe is pretty resistant to freezing
Hopeless UV resistance though so make sure it's covered up properly. (Factor 50 won't cut it!)
Good point.
Mdpe is super tough. It will happily survive a few freeze / thaw cycles.
Look at how many farmers just have lying across feilds.
Bury it 300 to 400mm deep and its unlikely to freeze anyway as we dont live in Alaska. Just fit an iso valve and nrv tap. Lag and tape any thing thats above ground. John guest do some simple and effective mdpe to 15mm copper adapters. Or you cam buy an insert kit which is like a reducer.
You can get push fit fittings for the blue MDPE pipes so probably no harder to fit than 15 mm and 20mm MDPE pipe is way cheaper from toolstation or wherever and might be more spade resistant when dug into whilst gardening(could be wishful thinking). Allotment users will probably relieve you of a spare 10m of pipe for veg nets when you're finished.
Wouldn't worry about freezing too much if you isolate it for the winter.
It’s just going to be a hose run down the garden to take the place of hosepipe trailed over the flower beds. I’m not connecting anything to it that will create any kind of pressure
When you get a water cut and your taps spit air for a while, it's because the water pressure is so low that when you and other neighbours open a tap, water runs backwards and creates negative pressure. If your outside tap is open without a return valve, your 100 metres of mildewed hose pipe will empty itself back into the mains (and your paddling pool/pond if the hosepipe is in it!)
I didn't realise proper outside taps had valves, I always fit an online non-return...
