Mains water leak... please help/advise

[Iaindhill]

The water board have just informed me that i have a water leak between the meter and the stop cock.Unfortunatelly i was away at hospital with our little one and could not chat to the waterboard guy and everything was relayed through my father.

We are using 5 times as much water as we typically do so i presume it is a moderate leak. I have a mid 1930's bungalow. THere is about 13.5m distance (along our private side alleyway) between the stop cock and meter under block paving. The straight line (eye sight) of run from the water meter to where the stop cock is straight along the wall. There is also our main soil pipe running down this alleyway


When i come outside of where the stop cock, internally, is there is a man hole within 4 inches of the point i presume it should come out. I have therefore dug down to a depth of 850mm right next door (on the supply side of the manhole) and have not found the pipe. I presume i should dig a trench across the alley way so i can locate the pipe. At this depth there is no water in the hole and so i presume that the leak is towards the water meter.

I have tried to listen using a stethasope for the sound of water but i can hear the train and traffic that is quite a disatnce away rather than any gushing noise.

My questions are:

Do people always lay water pipe in a straight line or could it go under the man hole and toward our boundary, furthermore if i decide to relay the whole length of pipe can i route it more towards our boundry and then bring it back in to the meter or does it need to be in the straightest line?

Are there any methods of actually locating the leak? The water board man was not too helpful and said their private firm would come out and give me a quote for repair. The bloack paving is very porouse and there are no sinking parts or damp patches on the blocks

I have read the regs about running under an immovable object at 750mm and it indicates i can do this as long as i protect the pipe from the weight above.

Or another method may be bringing the pipe into our kitchen that is only 6m from the meter that would save time and effort and then run extra pipe internally as it would be easier to run?


I am sorry if this sounds a little garbled and i would not hessitate to clarify anything that i have not explained well enough. The thought of water undermining the house is a little worrying to say the least... as well as a huge bill from a waterbpard private contractor

Thanks for any help

 

[plumbnuts]

Have you checked for a leak yourself?
Close the stop cock and see if the disc in the centre of the water meter still spins.
I replaced a main last week because the water board told the customer that they had a leak. Once dug up the leak was from where they had installed the meter and joined onto the customers lead main.
Steve

 

[Iaindhill]

yep thats what i have done the meter still spins with the cock turned off

Iain

 

[JohnD]

All that tells you is the leak is somewhere between the meter and the stopcock.

Have a look on the company's website, they may give a subsidy for replacing the leaking communication pipe; and /or they may give a rebate on metered water costs after the leaking pipe has been replaced. In England they come and inspect the pipe before you fill in the trench to verify it is done properly, before paying any subsidy.

If you have a lead communication pipe, they may give a subsidy towards replacement of lead pipes. In this case get them to come and take a sample of the tap water to see how much lead it contains (when I had this, they took so long to some out that I had already replaced the pipe so I got no subsidy). If there are lead pipes, they will usually also replace their bit of lead pipe up to your boundary, which makes it very much easier to connect your new pipe up to theirs, rather than trying to join to a very old pipe in a non-standard size.

If you have a leaky communication pipe, it is in my opinion better just to dig a trench and put in a new plastic pipe at the correct depth, joining it to the supplier's pipe at the boundary, and at your own stop-cock. I had to do that last year. No point in trying to find the leak in an old pipe and patch it up. You can also fit a new plastic pipe in a bigger size (25mm or 32mm) which will help you get better water flow inside the house. i found the plastic pipe very easy to lay and connect.

Your idea of a shorter route inside the house sounds good to me. I did the same thing, to avoid digging up a concrete sideway. You would have to insulate any pipe that is buried less than 750mm, the water co will know the rules but I believe it has to be the Water regs stuff that is as thick as your arm, and if in a damp place, a black waterproof grade such as Armaflex, which is a bit more expensive than ordinary Climaflex. It is easier to fit if you push teh sleeve over the pipe before laying it. If you slit it, it may come off especially at bends or when going through a wall.

I am a householder not a pro.

 

[Iaindhill]

Many thanks for the reply they will offer £200 off the price to fix but this could be a drop in the ocean. Do pipes always run straight or can you manipulate so that you have to do the leat amount of traumatic digging?

Iain

 

[JohnD]

you can run the pipe in a convenient way. Simple and obvious straight lines are preferable but the trouble with underground services is that they might have dug the trench to go round a tree or something.