"Set Square" wrote in message
...
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Broadback wrote:

This is the scenario.

A little lead piping in the house, though mainly copper. Lead pipe
from the water board roadside stopcock, along the garden into the
lounge under the floorboards, diagonally across the lounge into the
pantry, via a many times painted stopcock up into the bathroom, then
into a copper system.

I am refurbishing the house, starting in the lounge, when finished I
do not want to remove the floorboards again.

Tentative plan.

Dig a hole and expose lead pipe near the house. fit connector to blue
plastic pipe fed across the lounge and up to the copper piping in the
bathroom. At a later date replace the remaining lead pipe with blue
plastic.

Is that practical or will the underground (initially plastic to lead
then plastic to plastic connector be too vulnerable over the years?

Any comments or fresh ideas welcome.

TIA
John

Sounds ok in principle. If you're worried about the lead to plastic
(ultimately to be plastic to plastic) joint, could you put that *just*
inside the house so as to be accessible - with a small trap in the
floorboards to get at it?

Not sure whether you can get lead to plastic in a single fitting. You may
need 2 or 3 bits - going lead to copper and copper to plastic.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is Black Hole!

Are you sure it's lead and not galvanised steel? I only say that after I
made a complete prat of myself when talking to the water board! If it is
actually lead, most water companies will replace it up to the stopcock for
free with 25mm MDPE. They also have the use of a mole system, possibly
saving you a lot of digging work and disruption.

I live in a Thames Water area, and found that I had a very small leak in the
incoming main. It was too small for them to pinpoint, so they replaced it
all with mdpe.

Actually I've just remembered that they will only do this to the house
boundary, they went up my driveway, then into the house, rather than under
the floorboards as I was planning.

Alex