I've buried part of a water pipe under concrete - have I broken regs?

[teaboyjim]

https://pic.infini.fr/gallery#SbGhgeZi/IBn2TpM6.JPG,yIwof5Ot/8OLB40Xd.JPG,WDmLBir2/p9AIZ62F.JPG
Blue MDPE pipe has been buried underneath the concrete slab, does it break water regs?

 

[cdbe]

No, it water regs. It's more a question of whether the water provider is going to make a connection to their supply, in which case they would probably want to inspect the pipe from boundary stopcock to internal stoptap before you cover in concrete - otherwise no-one will be interested.

 

[teaboyjim]

Yes it is going to be for a new supply

 

[cdbe]

In that case I wish you luck with the water board - I've always done them "by the book" and they've checked everything so I don't know whether they'll accept your photos as evidence that it's all been done to regulations. My neighbour fell foul of this and they absolutely refused to accept a pipe disappearing under a 10" concrete slab driveway and reappearing 15m later had been laid to regulations - he's still got that blue pipe sticking out of the end of his drive 2 years later.

 

[johnny2007]

In many older properties, especially ex council, main pipes appear in the kitchen from the concrete, no sleeve, no access.
Nobody cares, until it leaks.

 

[teaboyjim]

In that case I wish you luck with the water board - I've always done them "by the book" and they've checked everything so I don't know whether they'll accept your photos as evidence that it's all been done to regulations.

Do they check on the inside of the house?

 

[teaboyjim]

In many older properties, especially ex council, main pipes appear in the kitchen from the concrete, no sleeve, no access.
Nobody cares, until it leaks.

So it was done in a "sleeve" so does it count as accessible?

 

[johnny2007]

Pulling it through would only be possible if it's a straight run.
Not 100% sure, but I think they sleeve them to prevent corrosion from the concrete.
TBH, I have never seen a pipe corroded by concrete to the point of leaking.

 

[Canyer]

This might help, our Local Water Authority sent it to us when we were planning to change our water supply pipe earlier this year, the Inspector checked the depth of the pipe and that it was inside a sealed duct on entering the foundations.

 

[cdbe]

The regs aren't complicated, they're very basic in terms of what they want, eg at least 750mm deep outside, insulated and sleeved under suspended floors etc. The main thing, in my experience, is that they want to see the entire pipe, from start to finish (the internal stop tap) - presumably to check it's not joined to some old lead or a bit of old garden hose under the floor or something.

Most of the inspectors I've dealt with have been Paddies, too old for the tools but very conscientious in their new roles (as they can't believe they're getting paid so much for doing so little after 30 years digging holes), but they expect it to be right, unsurprisingly given the potential costs of contamination of the water supply.

 

[jacko555]

Maybe relevant.

Local company quotes to replace the lead main from the meter, located in the street, to my kitchen.

A 7m mole run under a verge, hedge and brick path, then through the foundations and another 15mm laying on the mud ground in the subfloor under suspended floor.

Just hdpe. No sheath or insulation.

Also cheaper than the water co quoted.

Maybe look privately?

 

[denso13]

So if it was in a "sleeve" like we've done it does that mean that it's accessible then? Because it can be pulled through the concrete if needed? Is that all I needed to make sure I've done?

No, the duct should be accessible as per the water regs,

"G7.1 Unless they are located in an internal wall which is not a solid wall, a chase or duct which may be readily exposed, or under a suspended floor which may, if necessary, be readily removed and replaced, or to which there is access, water fittings should not be: a. located in the cavity of a cavity wall; or b. embedded in any wall or solid floor; or c. installed below a suspended or solid floor at ground level".

https://www.wras.co.uk/downloads/pu...lets/para_7_guidance_version_2_july_2014.pdf/

 

[mattylad]

Have you still got a join under the concrete?

 

[teaboyjim]

No, the duct should be accessible as per the water regs, G7.1 Unless they are located in an internal wall which is not a solid wall, a chase or duct which may be readily exposed, or under a suspended floor which may, if necessary, be readily removed and replaced, or to which there is access, water fittings should not be: a. located in the cavity of a cavity wall; or b. embedded in any wall or solid floor; or c. installed below a suspended or solid floor at ground level". https://www.wras.co.uk/downloads/pu...lets/para_7_guidance_version_2_july_2014.pdf/

It seems as if this has broken the regs.

 

[teaboyjim]

Have you still got a join under the concrete?

The join isn't yet under concrete yet