Del-inquent Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Had Southern Water round the other day as we have a suspected leak, bloke agreed it needs a new supply pipe fitted. He made suggestions on easiest route and what he’d want to see for site inspection prior to signing off, his recommendation was “continuous ducting from meter to consumer stopcock, sealed at both ends”. Didn’t really think about it much at the time as he then went on to something else immediately. I phoned today and asked if there was any specific spec for the ducting. Spoke to two technical support people, neither could give any specification whatsoever for the ducting. One just said “well it’s just something to run the pipe in”. They can’t put me in touch with the chap that did the site visit for clarification. other water companies put technical specs for ducting on their website, I can’t find any mention for Southern Water. anyone shed any light on it? If I can get away with “anything” I can use a 50mm (ext) duct that will fit through existing ducting that goes nearly all the way under the slab. Anything like a twin wall won’t fit and I’ll either have to rip up the floor through the entire house or be without a water supply for 2 weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I buried my blue pipe direct in the ground 🤷♂️. The water pipe should be laid at depth of 750mm (minimum) to 1350mm (maximum). Trenches should be lined and backfilled with sand or soft earth, not rubble. They should be wide enough for the pipework and maintain a minimum distance of 350mm from other services such as gas or electricity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Ducting is not needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I have only used ducting when I have needed to feed the pipe through later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del-inquent Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 58 minutes ago, Conor said: Ducting is not needed. The bloke that came from Southern water said otherwise, he said anywhere it’s being run under the floor or slab, it has to be in a continuous ducting. The bit from the house to the meter was a suggestion as it’s only a couple of metres extra and saves any backfill requirements on the trench, but the bit under the floor is compulsory. He’s the one that has to sign it off to get it reconnected but of course, I can’t get hold of him to discuss further 🤦 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Ducting isn’t needed but I did put it in everywhere for water, data, and electrics. I got a load cheap so it allowed me to put the ducting in and run the pipework/cables later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) 1 hour ago, Del-inquent said: he said anywhere it’s being run under the floor or slab, it has to be in a continuous ducting. Ah, under slab!! Found this on tinternet (and makes sense I guess) I did use a short duct for mine just through wall up into my plant room. Where a water pipe enters a building or is laid underneath a building, it must be located inside a suitable duct for accessibility. The ideal ducting size is 110mm in diameter and we recommend nothing smaller than 65mm. Edited February 13 by joe90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I like that they insist on you pointlessly installing insulated ducting under your insulated slab but they gleefully dump untreated sewage into our rivers and seas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del-inquent Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, joe90 said: Ah, under slab!! Found this on tinternet (and makes sense I guess) I did use a short duct for mine just through wall up into my plant room. Where a water pipe enters a building or is laid underneath a building, it must be located inside a suitable duct for accessibility. The ideal ducting size is 110mm in diameter and we recommend nothing smaller than 65mm. That’s one of the things I found, but it wasn’t for Southern water. I found another water company that said HAD to be 110. If Southern water are not so strict it could save a lot of effort but it seems they don’t even know themselves what their requirement are… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Page 4 diagram from Southern water (can’t copy it for some reason) https://www.southernwater.co.uk/media/4326/water-connections-guidance-notes.pdf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharpener Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 10 yrs ago Cambridge Water Co replaced my lead supply f.o.c. and were happy to have my supply pipe laid in a scrap length of 50mm waste pipe where it passed under the front wall of the house. Annular space was filled with metal mesh both ends to keep rats out. They didn't insist on duct under the suspended floor. Also said that 450mm deep was adequate for DIY but would have insisted on 750 min if my builder had done it(!), don't understand the logic but was grateful for the concession. They originally wanted 25mm MDPE but I had a load of spare 20mm, so they fitted a reducer and a stub of 25mm on their meter. Haven't had any problems with flow rate for a 3 bed house (internal h & c pipework is all in 20mm copper as far as the bath taps). Overall I was very pleased with this sensible outcome. Seems things have got a lot tighter since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del-inquent Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 6 hours ago, sharpener said: 10 yrs ago Cambridge Water Co replaced my lead supply f.o.c. and were happy to have my supply pipe laid in a scrap length of 50mm waste pipe where it passed under the front wall of the house. Annular space was filled with metal mesh both ends to keep rats out. They didn't insist on duct under the suspended floor. Also said that 450mm deep was adequate for DIY but would have insisted on 750 min if my builder had done it(!), don't understand the logic but was grateful for the concession. They originally wanted 25mm MDPE but I had a load of spare 20mm, so they fitted a reducer and a stub of 25mm on their meter. Haven't had any problems with flow rate for a 3 bed house (internal h & c pipework is all in 20mm copper as far as the bath taps). Overall I was very pleased with this sensible outcome. Seems things have got a lot tighter since then. I phoned SW again to try and get a clear straight answer, they sent a different inspector out. he said the suggested route by his colleague wasn’t acceptable and asked me to reroute the pipe completely. The route he wants me to take is contrary to the preceding inspectors advice on what was acceptable 🤦♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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