"mich" wrote in message
...

"BillV" wrote in message
...

"mich" wrote in message
...

If the water company (no boards for a decade or so)

I am old! Hence water board, but I do know they are now companies.


discover you have a leak
on yr side of their stopcock then they are likely to inform you they
will
cut you off with x days if not fixed.
Get the company's stopcock for your house, normally in the street,
turned
off for a short while to see if the hissing stops; if it does then you
have
to pay for the fix on your side.
Friend had to dig 30' of front garden down 2' to expose pipe so it could
be
replaced. Pipe is cheap but labour is not. Water Co connected new pipe
to
their stopcock for no charge. This was in Essex..

I have an added problem now.Since the morning I have dug down outside the
house where it comes into the stop cock and found it is iron pipe. This
must
be water pipe since I have no other mains coming in ( electric overhead
and
no gas at all) .

The main road stop cock is a very old one ( still has water board
written
on it). However, the break might be on my side ot it might be in the lane
and I cant tell. There are also three stop cocks before you get to the
house. One in the road, one in the lane and one outside my kitchen door.
There is a fourth that feeds the outside ( now ex) prep room and outside
loo.
Either way I guess I am going to have to renew the lot since I dont think
you can repair or patch into iron pipe?

Anyone can give the definitive answer on this.

By the way my house is 1950's rural smallholding bungalow. I have the
plans
but I cant see water mains marked on it.



Iron pipes can be repaired/patched. The main supply pipe in our lane has
been patched many times. That is the problem with repairing old pipe it is
just a matter of waiting till the next leak starts.

To find a leak a listening rod is a very effective tool. You could make one
up yourself quite easily. A crow bar with a 3" metal plate tacked to the
blunt end makes a serviceable tool. The plate is held covering one ear and
the other end is pressed onto the ground near to where the pipe is. Then
move the device to where the leak sounds loudest. You can now use it as a
probe and if close to the leak it will penetrate easily.

It is not always necessary to dig up for a complete pipe run. Water
companies and some private contractors use mole machinery. The ground
surface is only disturbed with a smallish hole every 25 yards or so. The
mole being re-aimed from there to the next one.

If the leak is on your property get several quotes for the work. Your water
company will give you a price over the phone based on so much per metre plus
connecting. This will give you a starting point for judging other quotes.
They will be wide ranging and you may even get "special offers for cash if
done at the weekend".

Richard.