So presently I have a lead pipe from the water meter at front of house (in garden) through the living room, up the side of the fireplace (where the stop tap is?!) and into bathroom, where it’s then welted to copper and the rest is good.

I want to replace the pipe at meter, feed it diagonally across the living room (joists are in my favour) and under kitchen sink where I’ll fit a stop tap.

Rather than stagger into screwfix all wet behind the ears, what are the basic push-fit bits that I need, and is it in fact possible to push fit onto the meter? (I haven’t dug down in garden yet).

Additionally, is it possible to get just once nice big long rubbery pipe thing to run across from the meter to the kitchen, or are there limitations on lentgth? What diameter etc?

Thanks (and sorry for bleeding this place of information again – blame plumbers who don’t ever quote for the work!).

MDPE outside/undergound, copper soldered inside.

Youll need to find the outside stop tap and turn it off, also the water meter is the water companies property, some have tamper evident fixings, so be ware there.

Toolstation if you have one local is a lotcheaper than screwfix, also best to insulate the under floor water pipe with pre formed foam sleeves, tape them closed.

Go for compression fittings as opposed to push fit, as theyre more secure , and for a few weeks after instalation keep an eye on water meter, just incase you have a squirt under the floor, as it will go undetected for months, ours did.

Sorry, meter is mounted on the outside stop-tap; that’s the bit I’m talking about attaching to.

The tempation is to leave the stoptap/meter alone, and fit at the point the lead enters under the floorboardse, for the sake of about 1ft of lead.

It just seems a bit half-arsed to do it that way; or is that a lot wiser?

I’d be very surprised if they came out of the meter with lead? Is there a short stub of mdpe before the lead connection?
You’ll be wanting 2mm mdpe which comes in 25/50/100m rolls. It should be min 750 mm depth and if not properly insulated. As above insulate under floor space. And also as above use compression. You can get a straight 25mm mdpe to 15mm copper. All you’ll need is two decent sets of adjustable grips/water pump pliers to tighten.

Is there a short stub of mdpe before the lead connection?

Not sure, couldn’t see down clearly, and am yet to dig out, but’s right next to ext wall though and it’s lead that comes straight in. I’ll have to get it dug up.

Sorry to be thick then, but

– What to connect the mdpe to meter if not mdpe already?

– and am I right then, if I run the MDPE through the living room and into kitchen; I’ll be joining into existing grey rubbery piping (new-ish kitchen) – so I won’t need any compression fittings and can use push-fit?

Thanks.

I want to replace the pipe at meter, feed it diagonally across the living room (joists are in my favour) and under kitchen sink where I’ll fit a stop tap.

Before you do that, get the water tested by the supplier (they may do it for free). We were in your situation, had it tested, and there was no lead contamination in our supply.

I’m not sure what grey rubbery pipe is? Have they plumbed your kitchen in using garden hose 😆
As for the meter connection its hard to say till you expose it I’m afraid…

It wouldn’t surprise me if they have.

Ok, I’ll do some smashing up and get some pics taken; might help!

I would recommend finding a decent plumbers merchant, more expensive than tool station but you can ask them questions!

When I replaced my lead feed into the house I used MDPE + compression fittings and insulated it. I got everything from the plumbers merchant as I could take back anything I didn’t want and they were very helpful.

Mind you mine was trickier as I couldn’t replace all of the lead, as I have a meter and the waterboard claim they don’t own their side of it, so that’s still lead.

Same here, I’ll still have lead between meter and pavement, but I can’t worry about that just now!

Same here, I’ll still have lead between meter and pavement, but I can’t worry about that just now!

As per my previous post, it’s unlikely that you need to worry about it.

Most places you’ll find lead mains they have been in long enough for the inside surface to have a coating of lime scale. This is why you rarely have concerns about lead contamination from lead mains.
There are exceptions:
One is in very soft water areas where lime scale buildup is negligible. And another is in the case of the lead main being disturbed, pulled about, altered or otherwise fecked about with as this breaks up the lime scale and exposes the lead.
It can also cause problems with fixtures and fittings should the particulates make their way into the internal piping.
As long as you have a minimum flow rate of 9 ltrs a minute at an outside tap, the water supplier is not obligated to do anything.
Be aware that by laws apply to the correct installation of water mains and the fitting of check valves etc. if you aren’t sure what you’re doing I suggest persevering to find someone who does.
The laws are in place to protect the water supply for the benefit of everyone. Not just you.

Be aware that by laws apply to the correct installation of water mains and the fitting of check valves etc. if you aren’t sure what you’re doing I suggest persevering to find someone who does.

So easy to contaminate the water supply of neighbours by a simple little action,sorry i cant tell you what it is.

and if youre cutting any internal pipes or making connections make sure you dont cut into a gas pipe by accident, easily done, some builders in a chester restraunt connected the incoming mains to the gas main, result whjen water was switched on the water came out of the cooker and flooded the street gas main, result a bill bill and a serios danger of a big bang.

Also check the width/diameter of the pipe in the house. Dont know how old it is but you might end up connecting metric to imperial pipes. I got a mdpe stoptap from toolstation which was 25mm to 22mm (i think). Your old pipe in the house may be 1/2 inch not 22mm (one inside one outside diameter) and a 22mm olive wont work, you’ll need a 1/2 olive. Ive just done all of this and have some spare i can send you.

As Ransos says, I’d leave the lead alone. From your previous pics, your house is pre 1940. The lead will be separated from the water you drink by a good layer of calcification by now and unlikely to do any harm. Water company will test for free if you want to be sure. I appreciate you want to get all the tearing stuff down jobs done, but why do stuff that’s not needed?

As others have said, waterboard will test your water for free so its worth getting checked if you are worried.

Not sure if I agree with the calcification statements though, I pulled out 40M of lead piping and I live in a very hard water area (edge of mendips) and there wasn’t significant traces of calcification on the inside of the pipes and they had been in ~90 years.

I understand the theory, and in pipes with hot water you can see the build up very quickly but in a cold water large bore main it didn’t happen in 90 years on the one I looked at.

water companies dose phosphate in the water to stop lead absorption into the water above the PCV limits for potable water

personally I’d ask for a water quality sample, if it comes back high for lead they may assist beyond their normal lead replacement scheme

regardless I would remove it, lead to copper induces a bimetallic action and increased lead pick up, you are on a meter so running the water first thing will cost you and you are at increased risk of a burst pipe

assuming you can get the appropriate fitting put in 25mm MDPE in one continuous length

any work comes under the Water Fittings Regulations http://www.wras.co.uk/Regulations_Default.asp

and you need to notify the water company under Reg 5 unless you use an approved plumber

The requirements for water pipes used to require the ends were kept plugged until installation to prevent contamination of the interior. Don’t accept un-sealed lengths of Alkathene/similar from the merchant. I seem to remember the water authority get a bit sniffy about contamination of the supply. It was 4/5 years since I last did this as a job so my memory might be a touch iffy.

Don’t accept un-sealed lengths of Alkathene/similar from the merchant. I seem to remember the water authority get a bit sniffy about contamination of the supply. It was 40/50 years since I last did this as a job so my memory might be a touch iffy.

FIFY 😉

standard blue mdpe is the stuff you need

I wouldn’t be informing them personally. It’s your pipe if it bursts I can assure you and they won’t give a toss then…

Thanks so much for all the replies, all read and digested.

I don’t actually want to change the supply because I have to be moved in within 4 weeks and I’m properly up against it (I’ve yet to install new soil pipe, move waste pipes etc simply to install a bathroom).

Then again, the house is back to bare bones, and as such time as resale, or even if anyone brought little ‘un around, I’d not feel comfortable.

Plus there’s no stop tap in the house; that’s a bit weird in itself!

I’ve checked further and taken a short video. The meter does have that blue stuff coming out of it, but as soon as it comes into the house it’s lead. As the floorboards are undisturbed, the join to lead must be outside, sadly.

I’m a bit troubled by the amount of space I’ll have to work with out there, but will be taking concrete up and having a look tomorrow morning.

The vid shows the path of the mains feed (as soon as the vid goes up the side of fireplace and out of sight, it’s welted to copper) and my plan is to run a new one, connect to a stop tap and t-joining thing underneath the sink.

As mentioned, I really don’t want to do this, but at the same time, I really think I should.

Thanks again you helpful people 😀

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HkNvlzYdOW8[/video]

Plus there’s no stop tap in the house; that’s a bit weird in itself!

Not a problem if you have a meter, as supply can be turned off there. My stop tap is buried under a solid wood floor, so it’s how I isolate our supply.

top tip, to look under floors put a large mirror down hole in flooring at a slight angle, and another mirror the other end down hole, shine light in and you can see a lot of whats under the floor.

We were thinking of doing this as the run from the meter to our house is lead, however we’re using a water filter for out daughter’s water (18 months) whereas me and the wife just run the water in the morning for 10 seconds or so.

We think we’ll get it tested and just leave be – the alternative is quite disruptive and probably for no benefit, apparently taking the lead out of petrol had a bigger affect on people’s health.

ANyway, from what I’ve been told you / your builder sort all of the pipework out to your property, and then the water company come out free of charge to connect your piping to their meter.

This will mitigate any issues that Project highlights above plus absolves you from any damage to their infrastructure / downstream users.

Messing up the water supply for a whole street could get quite complicated / expensive.

Having watched your video and the current state of your place, I’d just run a new pipe run as a matter of course and then connect it at either end in your own good time. The connecting is easy, but laying the pipe after everything else is done will be really disruptive.

Can’t sleep worrying about this 😉
As I thought above its mdpe out the meter so a straight connection from there then join straight join on at your end. Go to copper with the adapter I mentioned above, fit your stop tap internally then connect to house. If you do go inspected, you need min 750mm depth and insulated under floor void, you will also need a proper stop end (not just the little red bung that comes with the mdpe) at the meter end or they can refuse to connect.
And all the talk of turning your streets water supply into something the same quality as a third world country is frankly bollox!

And all the talk of turning your streets water supply into something the same quality as a third world country is frankly bollox!

You see. This kind of ignorance is exactly why the regs exist. Because stupid people think, Oh! It’s ok , I’m good, I know what I’m doing. These rules are not for me. It’ll be alright. When really they have no clue.
I grant you, It’s unlikely to happen, but just think if you’ve got your hose pipe, for example, dipped into the bucket of horse shit you’re about to ladle onto your favourite rose bush. You didn’t fit a check valve to the outside tap and there’s a burst main downstream or the authority has to isolate for an emergency. That shit shit may sucked back into the pipe work and there’s the contamination.
Equally, it could just as easily be mud , stones or other debris if your new pipe was not sealed during installation.

It needs to be ducted through the outside wall

It doesn’t need to be 750 mm under the floor boards

Insulation is only required if run against an outside wall.

Water company website should have a section on their requirements for new connection requests they inspect

The only complexity should be getting the right joints

I’ve fitted plenty of water services and come across plenty of inspectors. At no point have they inspected the connection to the house, just the stop tap. Usually youll get a yeah it’s fine attitude. As for insulating under a floor its good practice. Most voids will have air bricks and after recent winters a risk of splitting would be quite high.

You see. This kind of ignorance is exactly why the regs exist. Because stupid people think, Oh! It’s ok , I’m good, I know what I’m doing. These rules are not for me. It’ll be alright. When really they have no clue.

As for that, have you ever seen many new mains connections/repairs? Maybe you have but the lads doing the work are sometimes a little carefree. 😉

One other thing (which none of the wizened souls above noted) though op, is invest in some pipe cutters, using a hacksaw is easy to cut the pipe but you will get little bits of blue debris in the pipe and its a fecker for stopping valves etc seating properly.

Ok, I’ve dug down.

I’ve bought the suggested mdpe stuff thanks.

I need to destroy some floorboards tomorrow in order to feed through.

I’m quite happy with getting a 25mm to 15mm reducer and fitting a stop tap etc, but I’m still baffled by what’s happening at the water meter….and more importantly, what do I need to do?!

You need to fit a drain cock at the stop tap IIRC

I agree on pipecutters

I used to inspect many years ago, pedant for depth and ducting through walls 😉

Ok, pipe laid. What type of ducting do I need? I have a brick sized gap to play with.

Oh, and are you sure about the drain cock?

Thanks.

Drain cock above the stoptap, allows you to drain the system

Ducting, 80-100 mm and pack with insulation, anything will do