New Mains Water Supply

[Sean Regan]

I've accepted a quote of marginally over £1000 to install a new mains water supply. We've experienced decreasing water pressure over the years and it's time to do it. I think it will cause them more work than anticipated. I like the bit in the contract where it says, " The price includes all plant, labour,
materials, excavations and reinstatements."

The original pipe ends up in the corner of the kitchen behind these two drawers.

You can just about see the old 1965 stopcock. When we had a new kitchen fitted over a decade ago, they provided a new more accessible one. Both drawers can be removed so they can get at it. They may have to cut away a bit more of the cabinet, to get better access, but it's not a problem.

The houses on our road are built on concrete rafts with 18" of clearance under the floorboards. The old lead water pipe just lays on the top of the raft between the front of the house and the corner of the kitchen
We did have a hatch in a corner of the kitchen, but the carousel sits there now. So I made a new hatch.

It's in here under my wife's vacuum cleaner store, (don't ask)

I've been down there enough times in the past, crawling about fixing squeaky floorboards. I've explained it to the contractor who said, "If you can get down there, we'll be able to get someone too."

The main work will be from the curtilage wall to the front of the house. That'll take some "reinstating."

 

[Sean Regan]

Nothing's easy is it?
An example of "Sod's Law."

Before the "Water Boys" arrived, I had a shower. Then found the shower wouldn't turn off. It'll be the solenoid. To get an engineer out to replace it, would cost about £100 and they might need to order a part.
Easiest way, is to replace the shower myself. I've changed showers before, I've ordered the same model from Screwfix. I'll collect it tomorrow.
It just means when my new supply is connected, the shower will still be running.
So I'll be turning off the water from the stopcock when I don't need any water, until I've fitted the new shower tomorrow. It's easy enough, remove the dedicated breaker, two screws, three wires, one water connection. I've turned the physical shower control down to the minimum, so when it is running I won't be wasting much water.

The engineers have arrived and told me that there is a government, "lead replacement scheme," so I could get half of my £1000 back.
But digging down they found that the pipe was copper, so that won't be happening. I won't miss what I wasn't going to get anyway.

They seem a nice couple of guys. I've shown them the hatch in the cupboard. The boss guy is about my build, the other rather big. We all had a laugh when I said he'd be able to get down under the floor, but there was no chance for the other one!

 

[Sean Regan]

Update 11.30am.

They've got the new pipe from where the old stopcock was in the garden bed near the brick gatepost pillar to a 1' 6" square hole in the concrete drive next to the corner of the house. The "tunnel" for the new pipe was dug with the use of a mechanical mole.
The hole near the gate post is really deep. They use big buckets to hold the soil they remove, so you don't end up with it on your drive.

They used an angle grinder to cut the hole in the drive. When it's finished there will just be this patch, smaller than the one further up in the drive where we had a bit of sewer pipe replaced a few years ago. They haven't had to dig up my lawn! They used a scanner to check where the house electrics and gas supplies cross the garden.

 

[Sean Regan]

Job completed by 3.00pm

They had to make more room for the 25mm plastic pipe, where it comes in behind the back of the bottom drawer. I'll stick some bubblewrap in the hole as insulation.
It will be very rare that I will need to access the tap.
One of the two guys was under the floor for some time dragging the pipe through.
They were communicating to each other from each end of the pipe, relayed by me standing in the kitchen doorway, like a scene from "The Great Escape."

The pipe is connected to the feed from the water meter, so no need for an external stopcock. You can use the one on the water meter under its cover in the pavement.

I've put some rocks at the end of the border.

Drive's a bit messy, but I was going to jet-wash it this week anyway.

That hole was nearly three feet deep.

I had time to go to Screwfix to pick up my new shower, so that's in now.


"From 5.00pm, my time was my own."

 

[Sean Regan]

A quieter day today.
The stairlift surveyor came this morning for the final inspection. They have an awful lot of kit.
It will be fitted in a couple of weeks.

I've the drive to jet-wash this afternoon.

Information.

I can only speak for what happens in this area. The water meters I know are read remotely by a vehicle that travels down every road in the borough. "The Water Boys" told me it's attached to a bin lorry. Seems a good idea, as they go everywhere.

Spoke to my son this morning, he said I was lucky with my mains installation. A neighbour of his, had a new water main fitted recently and that company's "mole" went through the house electrical supply. As I said earlier, my lot used a scanner to find the gas, electricity and Virgin cable supplies before they even started digging.

 

[Sean Regan]

Jet washed the whole drive this afternoon. A right pain, but all evidence of the visit of The Water Boys has gone. A bit of pointing will be necessary to the York stone edge. I've blasted out some of the old pointing and a few weeds and a bit of moss.
I moved the front brick pillar 26 years ago, so it would be easier to get my first 4 x 4 up the drive. I step on these when I get out my car when I reverse in, (as you should do).
I've even managed to tidy up the "patch" which had, "cement over-spray" if you like.
As it was only 24 hours old, I was able to "sculpt" the edges and give the surface a bit of texture like the rest of the drive, with my Karcher. Got to say that the drive got a better clean today, as on previous occasions with low pressure, my Karcher was "looking for water."

 

[Sheal]

Nice to get a job done without too much disruption Sean.

 

[Sean Regan]

My wife collapsed between the bathroom and the bedroom the Friday after Easter and I had to call an ambulance. Because of her position on the floor a second ambulance with special equipment had to be called and although she's only 5' 3" tall and around 10 stone, it took both teams to get her onto a special stretcher, down the stairs and into an ambulance.
She spent the "traditional" five hours on a trolley in a corridor, before being seen. She had a fracture caused by osteoporosis.
She's making a slow recovery, but it will be a few weeks before she's fit enough to come home.

This made me smile.

In the meantime.........

I've cleaned every carpet in the house with our Vax "push and pull" carpet cleaner.
I've repainted the toilet door and skirting boards, fitted a new toilet and "siliconed everywhere."
I've overseen the installation of a new water main,
I installed a replacement electric shower, after the old one packed up on me, before the "Water Boys" arrived to change the mains pipe on Monday.
I've ordered a stairlift for when she comes home.
I've fitted a dedicated socket for it at the bottom of the stairs.
I've regularly dusted and vacuumed everywhere.
I've done my washing, washed her nightdreses and got any shopping necessary for me or her and cooked my own meals.
I've kept on top of the garden.

All between visiting her twice a day.

Not bad going for someone who is 84 though I say it myself.

The pain relief she's on, does affect her cognitive functions, to a degree, as was predicted, you sometimes have to repeat yourself and she can momentarily forget what you have just said.
My son occasionally visits her. We spoke the other day and he said she'd told him, "I don't think your dad's coping very well."
We had a good laugh about that, she'll never be able to live that down.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Your undersink picture reminds me, I have to turn the outside water back on now it won't freeze up. Unfortunately our under sink cupboard is jammed full of bottles of cleaners for everything from windows to washing, what should be a five minute job, getting a screwdriver and turning on a tap, becomes considerably more of a task.
Your vacuum cleaner cupboard reminds me of an old friend who died last year. A confirmed bachelor he would hoover once a year the day before his birthday, and his main hobby was visiting charity shops. When we cleared the flat we found five working Dysons.

 

[Sean Regan]

As the amount of the increased water pressure disappointed both the contractor and myself after the £1080.00 new supply had been installed, I asked United Utilities for a quote, to dig out the sandy soil, in the two foot by 18" hole dug by my water main contractor, who had to connect the new 25mm pipe to the old 15mm copper pipe which restricts the flow, as he wasn't allowed to connect to the water meter the other side of this two foot high wall.
(the hole was in the border, just next to that large bit of stone)

It needs no more than about a foot and a half of 25mm pipe and a couple of connectors. Not even more than two hours work for one man with a spade and a spanner. A job not beyond my own DIY capabilities.



I had a quote sent back to me by e-mail of £1800.00.

Yes! Eighteen hundred quid!


I've sent a recorded letter to the chief executive, saying, "Surely this was a case of the decimal point being misplaced and it should have read £180.00?"

But then I added "I thought maybe the reason this company has recently announced £172M as their pre-tax profits is by ripping off old age pensioners in this way?"


I went on, "I considered, perhaps, I should stick this all over social media or better still take a video of the location add some comments and post it on my YouTube channel.
But I decided this would be unfair before they'd had a chance to think again."

I await a response.

 

[Sheal]

I'm sorry to hear the news of your wife Sean and wish her well. Meanwhile keeping busy will help pass the time until she's home.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Worse than I thought, we had a new dishwasher and the way it was fitted pushed the pipe up a couple of inches, I couldn't even see the tap through the hole at first, still probably only twenty minutes or so to turn the tap on, could have been worse.

 

[Sean Regan]

Here's a better photo of the problem. It needs about 18 inches of 25mm pipe and a couple of connectors from the meter in the pavement to a point under the little wall beyond the brick pillar. They could probably access the meter from my side, as it's all been dug out once by my contractor.
This is for what United Utilities want to charge me £1800.00

 

[Sean Regan]

This is part of the justification e-mail received today, for United Utilities' rip-off attempt.

As I’m sure you’re aware that United Utilities Water mains are often, but not always, laid under highways and with this is mind our costing and charges can reflect this to include permits from the local authority, who have to authorise us to be able to carry out the work. This in turn can include us having to excavate within the pathway to enable the work to be carried out. The estimated charges which I have sent are to complete the work, the man hours involved by our team, the machinery/tools to do the connection and once the connection has been made to back fill the excavation and clear up the site.


I've replied, pointing out, what I've asked for, doesn't require a "team."
Nothing more than, one man with a spade and a spanner. They aren't having to re-dig the Channel Tunnel.

 

[Sean Regan]

Had a visit from an engineer from United Utilities today. He examined the water meter.
He concluded that it had been positioned incorrectly. This resulted in two right-angle bends before it reached the old stopcock. This would dramatically reduce the pressure.
He's going to recommend they reinstall it and connect to my new pipe. In which case there will be no charge.