Regulations for fitting new water main from meter to house

[JimUK]

I've no issues with digging holes myself. Never heard of Insuduct before, pretty pricy looking stuff!

I just don't want to dig a hole, lay the pipe following WRAS regulations only to find a certified plumber needs to start the work from scratch, charging a fortune in the process

 

[ShaunCorbs]

OK so my plan for tomorrow will be purchase 25m of 20mm MDPE, some FloPlast MDPE elbows, as i won't be able to run one continuous pipe, but do I need to run the pipe within a duct?

Also am I actually allowed to install this myself? Feel like i'll do a much better job than the plumber hired by my builder at least! (he made mistakes such as getting hot and cold water connections to shower mixed up, after asking me to explain to him how the shower valve I'd purchased worked)

may I ask why you can’t run it in one length ?

 

[JimUK]

may I ask why you can’t run it in one length ?

I'll have to use 90 degree bends as the pipe will have to go up the side of my house, in a space roughly 1.5 meters wide, then turn 90 degrees to go into the side of the house in our kitchen. The water meter is also pretty close to the house and needs to have a 90 degree bend straight after the meter to start going in the right direction. I read that the MDPE 90 degree bends are WRAS approved for below ground use so i'm assuming that means i'm fine to use them. I understand the fewer bends there are in the pipe run the less likely it is to leak in future but the pipe will be far more accessible where i'm going to put it if I needed to get to it again

 

[gpbeck]

DIY is permissible. Utility needs to approve as my previous post and they have to connect street end. Why can’t you buy a longer pipe? Why only 20mm if it’s long?

 

[Ben-gee]

Get 25mm pipe and try not to use elbows if possible - just dig your trench such that it can go in continuous slow bend - in fact this is even easier if you stick with your 20mm pipe .

 

[Tim Court]

The supply to your house from the main/stopcock/meter is your responsibility. As long as you lay it in accordance with good practice using wras approved pipework and fittings you may diy. If it leaks you will be paying a bigger bill! It does not need to be laid in a duct. Just make sure after you have installed the new service leave it under pressure for an hour or two to check for leaks, surround in sharp sand and backfill avoiding large or sharp stones. All just common sense reallly. One other point about ducts the service will flex a little when shut off/opened so can rub on the side of ducting and may cause a failure in the future. Best to surround in compatible expanding foam or similar so it is held firmly and cannot rub against brickwork/concrete when going through your walls and floors.

 

[JimUK]

Yes this is what South Staffs water said to me on Monday I own the pipework and can do whatever I like to fix my water leak, so i'm currently digging a trench around the garden to run a 25mm MDPE continuous pipe (to 750mm top of pipe) from the water meter outlet, to an Insuduct box i'll be installing on the outside of the kitchen.

It's a 22 meter run so it's a lot of digging, but i'm getting there with it now. Our soil is very heavy clay and it seems our garden was used for dumping rubble with the number of bricks i'm finding buried in the garden!

I've already got some sharp sand as I'm partway through laying slabs. I think the only points I could have a problem would be where I connect to the meter or where I connect to the Insuduct hockey stick, but at least I'll be able to access these points in future!

 

[exedon2]

All sounds good the insuduct is a nice bit of kit only thing I would add is don't lay service in strait line should sort of wavy from one side of trench to other just allows for a bit more movement.
Wish you luck with digging!