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So, was having breakfast and could hear running water under the floor boards....
It appears I have two water supplies....
2.5 inch cast iron pipe leaking where it's been capped off under the house, no stopcock inside or outside the house.
1 inch lead pipe which feeds the house, with stop cock under the front door way..
Given I don't fancy trying to freeze and cap a 2.5" cast iron pipe, I've called out the water board to dig up the road and cap it...
Do you reckon I'll have to pay?
I was under the impression everything after the meter is your responsibility.
We had similar the other year with the lead supply to our house. We replaced thee lead ourselves with plastic.
Make sure to ring the billing dept to make sure they know you've had a leak as they'll probably write off the cost. (They did for us)
I was under the impression everything after the meter is your responsibility.
Sort of what I thought but as there's no stop cock and it's not even my live supply, I'm hoping they write it off 🙂
Unless it's actually a main, everything on your property is your problem as far as [url= http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/supply-and-standards/supply-pipes/ ]as ofwat are concerned[/url] not just after your meter/stopcock.
From personal experience your water company will also likely try make out the communication pipe is yours too
My mum had this last month - a £600 water bill instead of £45.
She was frantic with worry until I phoned Bournemouth Water who told me: "Relax - she's allowed one leak in every five years for which we don't charge her for the water or the repair".
I expect other water suppliers have the same clause in the contract.
Just a cautionary note; there may be no contract as such and most leakage allowances are entirely at the discretion of the water company. That said, if the leak isn't visible and you're as proactive as possible in getting it fixed they'll probably grant an allowance. They may assist with the repair but if it's in your property they may not.
interesting I had southern water contact me saying we might have z leak as out bill is about £120 more than you would expect for a family of 4 (one of which is a newborn). Think I've isolated it as the meter no longer spins round. no mentions of helping out or writing off the cost....
have you tried turning the water off at the outside meter? Does it still spin round?
have you tried turning the water off at the outside meter? Does it still spin round?
No meter, no isolation valve. Pipe is probably 100 years old.
It's speculation, but shirley it should have been disconnected/on a stop valve in the street so that you don't suffer uncontrolled leaks on your property.
Potentially it's a risk to your buildings/property and should never have been allowed to happen...poor practice and their issue??
Edit: 2 1/2 inch pipe seems large for a domestic property, might not be your supply??
It's speculation, but shirley it should have been disconnected/on a stop valve in the street so that you don't suffer uncontrolled leaks on your property.
None of the houses in my street have a stop valve in the street (Victorian terrace), they just didn't install them back then.
Edit: 2 1/2 inch pipe seems large for a domestic property, might not be your supply??
Given it's under my house, I'm pretty sure it was a supply at one point.
But yes, pretty wide. No way am I attempting to cut it and seal it, the flow from that diameter at mains press would be pretty serious. Had it been 15 / 22mm I'd have frozen, cut and capped it in 30mins...
Water board chap has never seen a pipe like that under a house in Cambridge in his 13 years working there.
Traces back to main pipe in street and sounds like it is at mains pressure. They're sending a team to dig up the street and cap it asap today.
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/36152373991_bf2c586174.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/36152373991_bf2c586174.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/X5EnfX ]Tracing the pipe[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
footflaps - Member
Water board chap has never seen a pipe like that under a house in Cambridge in his 13 years working there.
one place I worked at in Leeds was a modern warehouse surrounded by old mill buildings - we lost our water supply and the problem couldn't be identified eventually THE [u]special[/u] truck turned up - a sort of archive on wheels with drawers of maps going back to Victorian times and a couple of guys with magnifying glasses - eventually they found the supply route but I was left amazed that they actually had this truck
Nice to see the water board chap using the proper kit to trace the pipe.
1 watt signal generator and locator with depth finder.
Looks brand new too.
Possibly an old sub main to something behind the properties. You back on to the railway if I remember rightly from the shed thread so could possibly have been some to do with that?
Possibly an old sub main to something behind the properties.
That is the general consensus, they're just shutting of the street now to cap it...
Although there's no evidence of any houses behind mine, so possibly it supplied this end of the street prior to my house being tagged onto the end of the terrace.
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/35893408910_663b1a692c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/35893408910_663b1a692c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/WFM6XL ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
[i] they're just shutting of the street now to cap it..[/i]
*visions of Red Adair turning up with specialist equipment*
seriously: water companies don't like pipes they're not aware of going into properties, I had something similar in Bristol and they were very keen to cap it off at the main.
Quite what they think people are going to do with an unlimited, free, water supply to a domestic house I don't know but they tend not to charge for fixing it.
No meter, no isolation valve. Pipe is probably 100 years old.
Un cap it, plumb it in after your meter, and you could have had free water for life, me thinks!!
DrP
Quite what they think people are going to do with an unlimited, free, water supply to a domestic house I don't know but they tend not to charge for fixing it.
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I got to ask. What did you say to the guy when taking a pic? "Erm, is it ok to take your pic so I can show a load of strangers on a mountain bike forum?"
8)
Water just coming back on, which will relieve the shops on Mill Road Broadway who were cut off...
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/36154618521_13697ac910.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4327/36154618521_13697ac910.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/X5RStK ]Capping the pipe[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/36154618841_123dbdf556.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/36154618841_123dbdf556.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/X5RSzg ]Capping the pipe[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/35893963630_b7dedf6795.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/35893963630_b7dedf6795.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/WFPWRU ]Capping the pipe[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
Try tasting the water, if it tastes metallic or of solvents there might be a problem
Ok, so how does that contraption work, as in if there is high pressure in the pipe, how do they get the cap in place?
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Water just coming back on, which will relieve the shops on Mill Road Broadway who were cut off...
a clue as to how it works.. 😉
Ok, so how does that contraption work, as in if there is high pressure in the pipe, how do they get the cap in place?
They turn the water off
Chatting to them, for narrow stuff eg 15mm they cap it live. For that diameter they wouldn't dare so either an industrial freezer kit (100s litres of coolant) or they just turn the street off, which is what they did here.
This is only Phase 1 fixing my leak. They're now going to apply to get parking restricted so they come back can dig up the road and remove my main where it T's off the pipe running down the street.
**** me.
I have no words....no excuses. I'm just dumb as a box of rocks.
the contractor doing the repair hasn't excavated enough so there is a likelihood of "debris" and contaminated water getting into the main. It's poor practice that leads to water unfit for human consumption
the main that they have sliced through looks unusually thick, probably a legacy hydraulic system for local industry
[quote=footflaps ]This is only Phase 1 fixing my leak. They're now going to apply to get parking restricted so they come back can dig up the road and remove my main where it T's off the pipe running down the street.
Have they told you how much they're charging you yet?
[s]Have they told you how much they're charging you yet?[/s]have you had a survey done of the damage and asked for a claim form yet?
Have they told you how much they're charging you yet?
Nought, it's a (sub) main not a domestic supply, so it's their responsibility.
the contractor doing the repair hasn't excavated enough so there is a likelihood of "debris" and contaminated water getting into the main. It's poor practice that leads to water unfit for human consumption
Yes, they were a bit slack. He wouldn't let me video him cutting the pipe as he wasn't wearing any PPE using the disc cutter. His hearing must be shot to pieces. Having said that, the turn around on the whole thing was pretty impressive, all capped within a few hours of the survey chap seeing it.
the contractor doing the repair hasn't excavated enough so there is a likelihood of "debris" and contaminated water getting into the main. It's poor practice that leads to water unfit for human consumption
At the risk of going 2 for 2. How can debris get back in? Explain to me like the idiot I am.
It just falls in the open end of the pipe when they cut it!
Have they told you how much they're charging you yet?
We just love trying to unearth any possible unhappiness around this way.
It just falls in the open end of the pipe when they cut it!
Yep, hole filled in seconds once cut, so by the time he's got the bung on the pipe, the open end is washing around in muddy water.
Ah. I thought it was meant there could be a continuous contamination risk, and wondered how it would get past the cap.