Forum Topic

Is this possible?

Is it possible to have the water main connection pipe, between the house and the street, replaced without digging up the ground?  Is it very expensive?  Anyone had it done?

Sarah Felstead ● 4324d8 Comments

LOL

Philippa Bond ● 4321d

Thanks for your replies! ... missed that bit off as the cat deleted it - cold outside and keyboard is scrummily warm, perfect to warm your paws on ...

Sarah Felstead ● 4321d

I just don't want to have to dig up the front, if at all possible but the water pressure is so bad these days I thought we would join in with the bungalow brigade and have a larger water pipe into our house, too!Cue, our Mr Ron Curant as he has the same difficulty in the next road to ours!

Sarah Felstead ● 4321d

As I said Paul they were cowboys and I couldn't be there when they repaired their handiwork and hadn't exchanged contracts on the house when they did it the damage in the first place. I can still recall the name of the contractor and would be very wary of letting them do any work for me.

Keith Iddon ● 4322d

Keith you must of got unlucky with your contractors, you would need to carry out a service clearance before starting work, which detects most underground services that could be in the way such as Power and telephone cables, Water Mains, Gas mains and even sewers if they have water laying in them. If they are dry just run a load of water down the waste outlet  and you should get  a signal using Cable Avoidance Tools (CATs), and Signal Generators (gennys)Although nothing is 100% as cables can be turn off at the time of the clearance. Plastic pipes may have no water in then so are dry. The same with small sewers.Finally, how well trained the person was carrying out the clearance

Paul Allen ● 4322d

Them there mole thingies are ok if used properly and do not  burrow through the main sewer drain mistakenly when Thames Water, via a contractor, put in new water pipes to my house when I was in the process of buying it 11 years ago. A couple of episodes of blocked drains and the purchase of drain rods later, I stuck a disposable camera into the drain and saw the new blue water pipe traversing the drain which was obviously causing the sewage to back up. I knew who the contractor was so got them back and made the mistake of not being there when they 'repaired' their handiwork. Needless to say they bodged the repair and I can only assume they arrived on horseback as cowboys do.Got a very good repair in the end via British Gas and Dyno Rod and my central heating insurance. PS...be careful about replacing/maintaining  pipes that carry water into your house.

Keith Iddon ● 4323d

SarahThis technique appears on a few company’s websites that work for the Water Authorities Moling Technology enables us to solve your water problems with the minimum of fuss and we can often perform lead pipe replacement without digging trenches across your property. Trenchless water pipe replacement provides a fast and tidy alternative to cutting trenches or lifting driveways and patios - we simply dig two small pits and use high-tech pneumatic moling units that effectively burrow their way between the two, passing under driveways, lawns and patios with no surface disruption whatsoever. Moling saves time, mess and money, offering cost-effective water pipe replacement for both domestic and commercial applications.

Paul Allen ● 4324d

Sorry if you know all this already but.......You should have a stopcock, located in the pavement outside your house. This will be c.2ft under the pavement and is where your branch comes off the main. Your new supply pipe in semi rigid blue plastic needs to connect here and feed back at a safe distance under the pavement and under your boundary wall. If your house is a terrace and you have a front garden it will typically run under your front path and under the front door/floorboards to your kitchen sink. If a semi, possibly down the side path. I presume you do not want your path disturbed? Presuming there's room could you run the pipe under a flower bed instead and enter the house in a different location? Running the pipe on the surface would mean a vertical run inside your garden and two extra joints which TW might not allow. You would also have to heavily insulate the pipe and its probably not a good idea! You might be thinking of a 'mole' excavating a channel under ground which might be possible. You will need to ask a specialist, good luck!

Iain Muir ● 4324d