60 Year Old Water Main

[Nickfromwales]

Don't tell him until he gets there

[joe90]

Do you have to bury the pipe in soil if it's under a timber floor ?, maybe a little bit.

[Onoff]

1 hour ago, joe90 said:

Do you have to bury the pipe in soil if it's under a timber floor ?, maybe a little bit.

I'd want to, because of the tunnel bunnies under the floor, barstewards would love a bit of MDPE! It's got to be ducted where it enters the property too.

South east water specify 750mm minimum depth, ducted at the house. 

Was half considering running it in a bit of scaffold tube if I did sit on the dirt under the suspended floor.

http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/faqs/new-water-supply/what-is-a-trench-inspection-and-why-do-i-need-one

Didn't get very far with it today tbh. Wife's Mum not too well so she's been there a bit rather than clearing the play room (which I can't do "..in case I mess it up"). Missus then decided we needed to cut the lawns before the storm (which has just hit). Spent a good while trying to jig something to stop the belt jumping off the mower when put into reverse. Then scythed a large, overgrown area by hand, pre doing the mowing to give the slow worms and snakes a chance to get out of the way. None harmed btw.

Edited June 25, 2016 by Onoff

[Onoff]

Just taken up the floor board above "X marks the spot" as suggested by the water board guys divining rods. DRY AS A BONE.

However.....from talking to the previous owner just now (in his late 80's) there is a possibility there is an old iron feed teed off BEFORE the stopcock in the opening post that went to a what was a pig feed boiler shed.

Giving up, beer o'clock!

[Onoff]

Found it!.....Possibly either that or we've created more by disturbing the fragile old galv iron pipe.

Started by excavating an  exploratory trench from where we thought the main ran. Well, 5m from that point we found the main which means it must run diagonal across the garden then up the side of the house. One bomb site later (tbh it was a bomb site before):

View My Video

Age is obviously the main issue here but guessing that cold bending galv pipe can't have helped i.e. it would have flaked off the galv. The video shows it comes up from the road at an angle then dives off to the right under the foundation into the bathroom. Even then it must double back on itself to reach the pipe in the opening post. Must be that bit deeper than I dug down when I excavated the floor for the UFH.

Just deciding on the best route for the new one. A longer trench involving more work would allow me to get rid of existing overhead cabling and maybe to sling in some ducts for future CCTV, gate controls/intercom etc.

 

 

[Nickfromwales]

Go get a beer. 

[Onoff]

23 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Go get a beer. 

& a kebab shortly!

[Tennentslager]

4 minutes ago, Onoff said:

& a kebab shortly!

Do you get a munchy box around your area.

Dirty but soo good...

[Onoff]

We have a combined Chinese / chippy, an Indian, a kebab van and a pie & mash van. One of each, that's it.

WTF is "munchy box"? Pretty sure my first guess is wrong.....

I'd heard of the deep fried Mars Bar but was gobsmacked when I worked in Edinburgh, everything from deep fried Toffee Crisp to Snickers to pizza and this was in the "chippy".

Edited June 26, 2016 by Onoff

[Tennentslager]

a pizza box filled with early death goodies.

Typically chips, kebab meat, veg pakora, onion rings, chicken pakora, mushroom pakora and some salad....6 squids

[Tennentslager]

The Chinese does a salt n chilli munchy box.

Chips, fried chicken pieces, chicken drumsticks, chicken balls and Ribs smothered in fresh chilli.

Chuck it, I'm off for a pint and a munchy box

Edited June 26, 2016 by Tennentslager
daftness

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, Tennentslager said:

The Chinese does a salt n chilli munchy box.

Chips, fried chicken pieces, chicken drumsticks, chicken balls and Ribs smothered in fresh chilli.

 

If I'd have known you had all that I've have voted Remain! Soon need a passport to sample such delights. 

[ProDave]

Try a bit of denso tape and a jubilee clip.

[Tennentslager]

11 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Try a bit of denso tape and a jubilee clip.

What! With chillies or satay sauce???

[Nickfromwales]

Both, of course. . You've never tried chewing denzo tape before then ?

PS, Dave, you cannot use denzo on a leaking cold mains pipe . It'll contaminate the drinking water. Apart from that, top idea

 

[Onoff]

56 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Both, of course. . You've never tried chewing denzo tape before then ?

PS, Dave, you cannot use denzo on a leaking cold mains pipe . It'll contaminate the drinking water. Apart from that, top idea

 

It's OK though isn't it to wrap Denzo tape around a drinking water pipe to help prevent corrosion? I mean if it's NOT already leaking?

[Nickfromwales]

Afaik, denzo has been banned for use on potable water supplies. Why fit it over a pipe when you can just change the pipe   

[Onoff]

3 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Afaik, denzo has been banned for use on potable water supplies. Why fit it over a pipe when you can just change the pipe   

Nah, didn't mean for the leaky bend. BEFORE I had an issue with this pipe I wrapped the iron bit below the stopcock as in the opening post.

[Nickfromwales]

I doubt if you've got more than minutes to live................. 

The issue is created when the 'goop' that the tape is saturated in enters the water, thus contaminating it. Ultimately this can only really happen when the pressure around the pipe exceeds the pressure inside the pipe, or where the tape was applied to a hole and could then directly 'wash' into the water. If your confident that those couldn't occur then relax for he moment, bit can I assume that you'll be changing the entire cold mains now anyway?

Fwiw, I'm a fan of denso ( just checked the spelling  ) and use it to cover any copper gas runs etc where applicable. Only problem is you have to buy a chuck-away craft knife and loads of disposable gloves as it's the anti-Christ of tapes when it comes out of the wrapper.

 

[Onoff]

11 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

I doubt if you've got more than minutes to live................. 

The issue is created when the 'goop' that the tape is saturated in enters the water, thus contaminating it. Ultimately this can only really happen when the pressure around the pipe exceeds the pressure inside the pipe, or where the tape was applied to a hole and could then directly 'wash' into the water. If your confident that those couldn't occur then relax for he moment, bit can I assume that you'll be changing the entire cold mains now anyway?

Fwiw, I'm a fan of denso ( just checked the spelling  ) and use it to cover any copper gas runs etc where applicable. Only problem is you have to buy a chuck-away craft knife and loads of disposable gloves as it's the anti-Christ of tapes when it comes out of the wrapper.

 

I use a huge amount on high tensile bolts exposed to the elements. They get torqued periodically and taped up, works a treat. I also use it on hydraulic fittings to prevent rust. Couldn't agree more ref the mess side of things.

[Nickfromwales]

Yup, bugger all gets through once it's squashed into place. 

[Onoff]

 

(Prawn crackers not shown)

[SteamyTea]

Now I have never understood why they put the salad on top of the chilli sauce.  I prefer mine with the salad in the pitta bread first, then the meat, then loads of sauce.

 

So was this leak anywhere near where the divining rods crossed?

[Onoff]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

Now I have never understood why they put the salad on top of the chilli sauce.  I prefer mine with the salad in the pitta bread first, then the meat, then loads of sauce.

 

So was this leak anywhere near where the divining rods crossed?

Give the guy his due, from listening he reckoned it was within a few metres of the stopcock.....which it was, but to the North rather than to the West where his rods suggested. It was under a concrete path a good couple of feet down. Crossing above it was a clay soil pipe. The noise was transmitting all around, even to the point it sounded like it was in the plastic soil stack connected to the clay pipe.

Until you said about it I'd never thought about the salad/sauce orientation which I'll now stress over next time I get one! It's an added dilemma to my life I could have done without! 

But I do prefer the meat in the pitta first. My Mum used to have a go at doing them at home with a leg of lamb sliced up though I always felt I was missing out on a roast.

[Onoff]

Tried a temporary repair which worked on one bit of the old iron but after 3 attempts the other side I gave up. On the back of this though we've decided to tidy up and "level" the side of the house once and for all. It's so rough even getting the ride on mower down to the front it gets stuck. Might even consider a car port / lean down the side later as an outside but covered working area.

Current. sloped, path is above the DPC one end, drainage is a complete mess too with multiple soil and wastes. Also under the piles of debris are old footings and a concrete slab from a long since demolished extension of some sort. The whole area just doesn't drain very well and stays boggy even though on a bit of a slope.

At the mo bathroom waste and soil goes into a cess pit. There's a soakaway dug years ago with nothing run to it where I'll put the bathroom wastes.

Hand loaded that dumper I did: