Gas feed from meter - can it go "below ground level&quo

[shd1970]

Hi all,

Can anyone advise on the following please.

I am having a new semi concealed gas meter fitted in the next few weeks.

I have asked my gas fitter to install the pipe that will connect to my central heating boiler below ground level in my garage, rather than have an unsightly 22mm copper pipe clipped to the side of the house. This was his preference as he has never been asked to do one below ground level so he has gone away to ask the question.

For info, i plan to put a new concrete floor down for my garage later this year also.

So, questions......

1 - Can this be done ?
2 - Does the copper pipe need to be housed in something for protection ? (plastic pipe etc)
3 - Does the pipe need wrapping in a protective tape to prevent corrosion ?
4 - How deep should i dig the trench if it can be done


National Grids guy who did the survey said yes the pipe can be below ground level and it "just needs taping up".

Thanks in advance for anyone being able to advise so i can feed back to my engineer.

 

[FiremanT]

The NG guy was essentially correct, but perhaps you should wait for your engineer to report back to you. Is he a new start as this is very simple? Is he registered?

 

[shd1970]

Hi Fireman - yes he is registered and i have used him before

I just don't think that he has had to do a below ground before....whether that's because when he is asked, he convinces clients that clipping to the wall is best, i don't know.

Are you able to confirm the depth of the trench required as i will be digging this for him, and also, whether just taping or an addition plastic pipe around the copper would be even better ?

thanks for your input

 

[Charnwood]

25mm Yellow MDPE where it goes underground outside buildings (much cheaper than copper, needs no wrapping or trunking), then convert to 22mm copper or 3/4" steel pipe to enter the buildings.

Lay some marking tape just below the surface when back-filling in case someone comes along with a digger at a later date.

 

[shd1970]

thanks for your input and expertise charnwood - much appreciated for taking the time to reply !

there will be approx 0.5 mtrs at the front of my house underground but then down the side, it will be 5.5 mtrs under my garage floor (effectively in my house)

So.....should it be copper from the meter for 0.5 mtrs, then convert to MDPE for 5.5 mtrs and then convert back to copper or steel, or can we use the MDPE straight off the meter ?

Also, how is the MDPE converted to join copper (plastic to copper) ?

Have you got a link you could provide that i can forward on to my gas engineer please ?

 

[muggles]

Drain Center can provide all the required bits if he goes in there

 

[Charnwood]

+

Primofit for gas ^ (make sure it's galvanised and has a yellow label) and copper to BSP ^.
Doesn't matter which is male, which is female.

Not sure about MDPE straight from the meter. All I know is it cannot be fitted indoors in case of fire. Your semi-concealed meter may be OK.
I'll leave that one to someone with some qualifications.

 

[simond]

No it can't.

For domestic installs, if you can see MDPE gas, it hasn't been installed correctly. Steel, copper or TracPipe - which is easy but pricey.

 

[shd1970]

thanks for the input once again guys

i will let my gas guy know but to save connections, i'm going to bite the bullet and just have copper all the way from the meter

Just checked the Tracpipe....OUCH.....well pricey !

 

[Tibbot]

i will let my gas guy know

Regardless of the reasons stated, it's odd with a trade as regulated as gas, that you're advising him how to do his job.

 

[shd1970]

I understand your comment Tibbot but i'm just trying to ensure that this happens on the day that i need it to happen and don't end up being left with c/h and hot water. I had this meter moved 12 years ago (not to the right place but that was my mistake !) and it cost me 3 days off work to finally get it done !!! A right cock up !!!!!!!!

I always like to do my own investigations also to learn, especially from unvaluable sources such as this forum for which the contributors i have always found to be excellent.

Unfortunately, NG and Eon seem to say different things so i concur with what you say about gas being so regulated...............its a shame those 2 companies as the top of the gas chain don't have the same understanding of the regs

 

[Charnwood]

No it can't.

As I understand it (please don't take offence, I'm only a counterboy relying on catalogues) it can.

BES do an adaptor from a semi-concealed meter box (10198 and 10199) or a standard meter box (10196,10197, 10624, 13749, 13750, 16523 or 15140) to MDPE. Any 'exposed' MDPE risers should be GRP sleeved (11059 or 10159).

Open to contradiction.

 

[shd1970]

Ok the plot thickens...........

My gas guy has just rang me back and said that any underground pipes on "my side" of the meter need to be "waved".
I asked for a description as to what waving is and evidently its just using the yellow plastic piping....i'm guessing similar to what i already have in place but on the suppliers side of my meter, but just not as wide.

Its worth saying that the length that needs to be underground is approx 3 metres

Can one of you guys confirm that "waving" is the way to solve this problem please as my gas guy only knows this solution from one of his colleagues as he has never done a "wave" before ?

We really dont want an unsightly 22mm copper pipe tacked onto the side of the house if we can put it underground and be done with it.

All input is really appreciated guy/gals as we are getting nervous now as its only 7 days away and we dont want to be without our combi for any period of time.

Thanks in advance.