Lead pipe replacement

[Molebob]

And replace it in new larger plastic pipe, 25mm or 32mm, it will give you better flow which you will appreciate if you go for a combi or megaflo later.

Just got a new combi installed to replace the noisy and cheap british gas boiler and uncovered cold water tanks in the loft. I will make sure the new pipe installed is bigger.

The survey made the house sound reasonably ok, the more we look, the more it is not ok! But so many caveats in the survey there is nothing you can do about its poor quality.

 

[bolshy]

I mean continuous pipe from the water supplier's street isolator to your stop tap in your property. There's nothing stopping you fitting a leadlock to your lead incoming main upstream of the leak and replacing the leaking pipework to YOUR stop tap.
To be fair, you haven't established exactly where the leak is yet.

@ Tony Agile
Shallow circumferential scratches are generally ok on MDPE, scores along the pipe aren't, they leak at the fittings. I've cleaned mdpe pipes up with abrasive tape before, to effect repairs on weeping fittings. It always worth a go.

 

[Molebob]

To be fair, you haven't established exactly where the leak is yet.

Indeed, I need to pull out the kitchen units to be sure of the exact location. It feels to be somewhere below the stop cock but after it has come up through the floorboards. I guess if I can temporarily stop that leak, I can then just replace the whole lot in one go later - which will always be the plan. I was just wondering if doing in two stages was ok or is just better to avoid joining two different bits of pipe (i.e. for leak reasons).

 

[bolshy]

One more point
Unless your lead main is particularly old, or the lead oxide inside the main has been stripped away, getting enough lead in your drinking water to present a hazard is very rare IME. The most you are generally likely to find if the pipe has been disturbed is particles of squishy brown lead oxide. It looks bad sometimes, but is unlikely to exceed limits for drinking the water safely.

 

[Molebob]

One more point
Unless your lead main is particularly old, or the lead oxide inside the main has been stripped away, getting enough lead in your drinking water to present a hazard is very rare IME. The most you are generally likely to find if the pipe has been disturbed is particles of squishy brown lead oxide. It looks bad sometimes, but is unlikely to exceed limits for drinking the water safely.

Well I noticed that being in hard water area this is very much true but as it is there and the house is currently empty of most things it seems a good chance to do it. In fact when I mentioned this to my Dad he pointed out I grew up in a house with lead pipes in a very soft water area. Hopefully did me no harm!

 

[bolshy]

Once you find the leak and it's position relative to your internal stop tap, let us know, better advice can be given with better info. It's perfectly feasible to join lead to copper to lead. We don't even know if you have an old internal stop tap with swaged & wiped joints onto lead pipe on both sides of it.

 

[dann09]

This OP has had much help, he has an original, still "open" thread in the building forum from a few days ago.
Now, instead of staying in the one place he's jumped to here - and opened a further post in the building forum- without giving complete info in his original thread.

 

[Agile]

London water is not particularly hard.

Thames Water ADD phosphoric acid to prevent the lead leaching out into the supplied water.

Tony

 

[bolshy]

They add a lot of stuff to give us safe drinking water. Some of it assists in forming stable oxide on the inside of lead pipes.

 

[Molebob]

The actual leak appears to be below the internal stopcock and previous repairs have been attempted.

But in the end I got a company to come and replace it all in a few days time they are self-certifying and the water company will hold off the meter and upgrade their pipe at the same time (hopefully).