Today we've had the water board out, Northumberland, Essex & Suffolk to be precise, an odd combination considering how far away Northumberland is.

He was helpful and nice, which was the biggest surprise ever.

 

He showed us where the mains pipe is underground on his map and pointed out that if we go to the far side of our shed that is where the main already crosses the road, so no closure needed.

Interestingly, he said the mains are asbestos so they can't really track and are just going by their master plan.

He said if they are wrong then it's up to them to sort it out and we won't have to pay any extra, even if they have to close the road, and any negotiations with the grumpy farmer who owns the field next door will be done by NSE water.

 

It does mean clearing out behind the sheds which will require the digger as that area has been ignored for 25 years +

 

We then need to dig a trench to the build, which is 110m+, this means we have to have sprinklers.

So,  two pipes, 32mm for the sprinkler system, not metered, apparently you don't pay for water to put out your fire.

And, 25mm for the rest metered.

 

So, how will I fill the pond I wonder 🙂

 

They will both need to be chlorinated and pressure tested.

 

All good so far.

 

But, can anyone advise where we can get seriously long water pipe, the longest I can find is 50m which means 2 joins.

Mr waterman said we should be able to get 100m

 

I bought my pipe from the farmers sales outlet place (where they sell tractors etc). 200m roll, I think, is the longest they do in blue pipe. I needed 100m, it was 1/3 the price of Wolseley plumbing merchant.

I'd be wanting to make them both 32mm tbh. A few pennies more in material. Mad not to. Even if NESW only give you a 25mm tapping at the main, it'll still give you better flow and pressure.

 

Fill your pond with rain water 😀

It was the water man that said 32 & 25, not our area of expertise.

 

We didn't even know if we could use 32 in the house or how the difference affected the water pressure.

I was just surprised that they said 2 pipes in the first place as that means that they have to provide 2 connections, one with a meter, one without.

 

I had this when we did our new build in 2017. 32mm for sprinklers and 25mm for general use. Much shorter runs than yours though. 
 

We paid to install the 32mm for sprinklers, but no ongoing costs after that. 

5 hours ago, Conor said:

I'd be wanting to make them both 32mm tbh. A few pennies more in material.

However some (all?) water companies set your standing charge according to the pipe size - or, more accurately, the meter size. If the cost is a concern, a way around that is to to use 32mm pipes, but ask them to fit a 25mm meter. That will still improve the flow rate somewhat (compared to 25mm), but clearly not as much as 32mm all the way.

 

7 hours ago, LSB said:

can anyone advise where we can get seriously long water pipe, the longest I can find is 50m which means 2 joins.

If you can't it's not a problem to join it. The last one I put in has 2 joins after the JCB driver went through it. Don't ask...

There is only 1 meter, on the 25, the 32 doesn't have one at all.

 

Both have to be chlorinated and pressurised.

 

48 minutes ago, LSB said:

There is only 1 meter, on the 25, the 32 doesn't have one at all.

 

Both have to be chlorinated and pressurised.

 

here you go - pipestock are excellent for this sort of stuff. 150m coils as standard but sit down when you see the price of 32mm..

 

https://www.pipestock.com/mdpe/mdpe-pipe/mdpe-pipe-coils-blue

9 hours ago, PeterW said:

here you go - pipestock are excellent for this sort of stuff. 150m coils as standard but sit down when you see the price of 32mm..

 

https://www.pipestock.com/mdpe/mdpe-pipe/mdpe-pipe-coils-blue

Our water company said we had to use barrier pipe due to risk of contamination as the pipe runs near a culvert. That’s about 10x the price of standard MDPE. Had to pay around £500 for 50m of 32mm. 😭

1 hour ago, Thorfun said:

Our water company said we had to use barrier pipe due to risk of contamination as the pipe runs near a culvert. That’s about 10x the price of standard MDPE. Had to pay around £500 for 50m of 32mm. 😭

 

if you have had a soil test done (70ish quid) to prove no contamination they allow you to use normal pipe.

Jdp sell 150m rolls, therefore so will any specialist bm.

 

It is in your interest anyway as fewer joints means fewer leak risks.

 

I would put valves on each end for ease of maintenance. The sprinkler ones tied off and marked "open."

 

You will have some nice 40m coils left. That would allow you a permament  feed from rainwater barrels to your pond.

That is better for the pond, and better for the world.

 

 Be sure to put water mains marker  tape in your trenches when backfilling.

 

46 minutes ago, Dave Jones said:

 

if you have had a soil test done (70ish quid) to prove no contamination they allow you to use normal pipe.

actually, it had nothing to do with any existing contamination but he was worried about the ditch overflowing and potentially contaminating the water supply. i thought it was bollocks but if i wanted my water supply fitted then i had to comply.

 

luckily it was at the beginning of the build so i actually had money. 🤣

20 hours ago, PeterW said:

here you go - pipestock are excellent for this sort of stuff. 150m coils as standard but sit down when you see the price of 32mm..

 

https://www.pipestock.com/mdpe/mdpe-pipe/mdpe-pipe-coils-blue

at least they give you a 'sale' price.
thanks greatly

 

11 hours ago, Thorfun said:

actually, it had nothing to do with any existing contamination but he was worried about the ditch overflowing and potentially contaminating the water supply. i thought it was bollocks but if i wanted my water supply fitted then i had to comply.

 

luckily it was at the beginning of the build so i actually had money. 🤣

 

no it is. for severn trent all ground is considered contaminated, hence using the ££££££ pipe, unless you prove otherwise.

1 hour ago, LSB said:

at least they give you a 'sale' price.
thanks greatly

 

Have you checked to see if you can use a mist system vs a sprinkler system? You'd need to cross-reference BS9991 over BS8458. I can't recite it, but worth at least asking as it'll do away with 1x 32mm pipe if so.

12 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Have you checked to see if you can use a mist system vs a sprinkler system? You'd need to cross-reference BS9991 over BS8458. I can't recite it, but worth at least asking as it'll do away with 1x 32mm pipe if so.

This morning I have received the quote from the water board, their bit is circa 2.5k

They are charging me some reduced VAT, some full VAT and some no VAT so I've asked about that.

In the bigger picture I'm quite happy with that as a road closure would be an extra 3k, but they decided to come from the mains further up the road on our side as they don't want to close the road.

They have sent lots of details about sprinkler systems which I'm yet to read.

 

Their plan is to install 32mm metered as a builders' supply (which we don't need as using water from the host house) and then add the 25mm supply later and move the meter.

Guess this is to stop us getting free water to build.

 

The reason I ask is that mist systems are far less impactful too. Around the same price point too. 

I needed 750m ... and ended up with 1 x 300m and 2 x 200m - total price £1100 ... Liam Jones - [email protected] - 07985553680

 

Thoroghly nice bloke too !