What would you do here? Fairly urgent advice needed please

[WaterTight]

Had a repair done by insurance company's own appointed contractor to a galvanised pipe under bit of the short concrete path between the road and my front door, two months ago.

Seems like the repair has failed as water is pouring out on to street from under path and surfacing on and around the re-laid rectangle of concrete where they dug up and repaired. It could be another bit of the pipe has gone but I presume the joint they re-did is more likely.

Insurance company is closed on weekend. Their emergency number went through to a loss adjuster who has no access to their files and claims and can't give go ahead to anything but just gives advice. He said phone the contractor who did repair. Contractor won't come back until 13th! Despite much protesting the best they eventually agreed to was to phone me on Monday to see if they can 're-organise their diary' to come sooner. They have emailed me in writing at my request to confirm they will "consider" reimbursing me if I get another contractor out beforehand to fix it if there is photographic evidence it was their repair that has failed.

My water board then visited at my request as I thought they might take pity and do a repair but he said they no longer do freebie fixes as of this year so I'm on my own. Pressure has dropped to me, flat above me (rented) and next door house because of my leak (all served from same junction) but is still just about usable for important stuff. Having a shower is a bit tricky though. The water accumulating on the road is quite a lot but not a safety hazzard, just resembles that of very heavy rain, but never ending.

So my options appear to be:-

1) Try and find some company who will dig up a concrete path and repair a galvanised pipe (redoing *potentially* someone else's bodged work as we all so love to do) as an EMERGENCY on the WEEKEND and have to pay them myself (god knows how much) and then try and get the money back off the insurance company's contractor as per their email.

2) Wait until Monday, hoping the water doesn't freeze and someone breaks their neck or a sink hole develops and swallows the house or some other such unlikely concern, apologise to upstairs and next door for the continued low pressure and lake outside and then hopefully scream at the contractor and insurance company (then back from their weekend off) until they get someone to attend asap.

3) Try and dig it up and do it myself having never done anything like that before, never repair a section of galvanised before and only having an old cheap SDS with a few demolition bits to do the job, also thereby no doubt invalidating any chance of further help or recompense due to my undertaking it myself

4) Something else, not thought of

Help!

 

[JCplumb]

Option 2. You've no real choice if you can't get the contractor back out or get confirmation off the insurance company.

 

[SimonG]

Wait and in the meantime contact the water ombudsman.

 

[WaterTight]

Thanks chaps

If I'd seen this advice before I lost my cool I'd have taken it. But I didn't so I dug it all up with the SDS and got it repaired. It's a busy road and it was getting very wet and making me nervous, people getting splashed by passing cars etc. Then when someone said they might send me a bill for the wasted water too I thought enough is enough.

Right mission it's been, but over now. Well will be when I refill the hole.

 

[rpm]

Was it the repair failed or a new leak?

 

[WaterTight]

New leak. Although likely from pipe being disturbed fixing first leak. Was silly really as to repair they had cut the galvanised about 2 feet downstream from the meter rather that go back to the meter.

The new leak was on an originally existing push fit coupler between the galvanised and the mdpe coming from the meter. So it went -> Galvanised in my property, 12 inch section of mdpe from repair > 1 foot of galvanised > 1 foot of mdpe > meter. Would have been better idea when repairing for them to dig a tiny bit further, run the mdpe a few more inches to the border and get the water board to connect to meter, which is what I did. But hey you do what you get paid for I suppose.

I've still got old galv running under solid floors all the way through and to the back of my flat, teeing off somewhere to feed next door (as yet undiscovered) and popping up in the solid kitchen floor at back of my house. So if another leak happens inside I'll need to run a mains on the surface all round the walls and doors of the house making it noisy when used and sweaty in the summer. So am really hoping that's the last leak.