Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe
for the second flat or use the exisitng supply pipe and split it
internally. The current property is not metered and if I split it
internally it would save over £2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three
valleys water to lay a new supply pipe.
Are there any drawbacks from not laying a new supply pipe? If I were
to split the existing supply pipe internally could I lay a new pipe at
a later date without major upheaval of the properties internal
plumbing? thanks for any feedback

On 9 Jan, 12:49, wrote:
Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe
for the second flat or use the exisitng supply pipe and split it
internally. The current property is not metered and if I split it
internally it would save over £2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three
valleys water to lay a new supply pipe.
Are there any drawbacks from not laying a new supply pipe? If I were
to split the existing supply pipe internally could I lay a new pipe at
a later date without major upheaval of the properties internal
plumbing? thanks for any feedback

Possibly depends on whether you're going to sell the 2 flats, or keep
them yourself and rent them out. If you're going to sell them I
understand that some water companies will insist on installing a meter
for the new owner, in which case all the internal plumbing would need
to be separate.

On Jan 9, 1:06*pm, pcb1962 wrote:
On 9 Jan, 12:49, wrote:

Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe
for the second flat or use the exisitng supply pipe and split it
internally. The current property is not metered and if I split it
internally it would save over £2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three
valleys water to lay a new supply pipe.
Are there any drawbacks from not laying a new supply pipe? If I were
to split the existing supply pipe internally could I lay a new pipe at
a later date without major upheaval of the properties internal
plumbing? thanks for any feedback

Possibly depends on whether you're going to sell the 2 flats, or keep
them yourself and rent them out. If you're going to sell them I
understand that some water companies will insist on installing a meter
for the new owner, in which case all the internal plumbing would need
to be separate.


If I go with the current single pipe I would need to split it inorder
to service 2 seperate dwellings, I'm planning on seperating the
internal plumbing (gas and electrics, 2 boilers). but its the water
flow into the property i'm not sure about. And in the event I needed
seperate supply pipes (like you say, inorder to sell) would that have
major ramifications on the already existing internal plumbing?

And in the event I needed
seperate supply pipes (like you say, inorder to sell) would that have
major ramifications on the already existing internal plumbing?

Can't you design the internal split so that it would be easier
to have a separate incoming supply later on,
perhaps looping the second flat's supply back to near the wall where it
all comes in
so the future splitting job would be just to cut the pipe there
and isolate some of the internal pipes
without trashing the decorations?

[g]

On Jan 9, 1:55*pm, "george (dicegeorge)" wrote:
* And in the event I needed

seperate supply pipes (like you say, inorder to sell) would that have
major ramifications on the already existing internal plumbing?

Can't you design the internal split so that it would be easier
to have a separate incoming supply later on,
perhaps looping the second flat's supply back to near the wall where it
all comes in
so the future splitting job would be just to cut the pipe there
and isolate some of the internal pipes
without trashing the decorations?

[g]

I'll speak to builders about this, thanks

wrote:
Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe
for the second flat or use the exisitng supply pipe and split it
internally. The current property is not metered and if I split it
internally it would save over £2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three
valleys water to lay a new supply pipe.

There's a lead replacement scheme in operation, have a look into this as
it's normally free.

Are there any drawbacks from not laying a new supply pipe? If I were
to split the existing supply pipe internally could I lay a new pipe at
a later date without major upheaval of the properties internal
plumbing? thanks for any feedback

The obvious drawback is that you only have one pipe feeding two properties,
if the upstairs person is in the shower and the downstairs person decides to
put his washing machine on, it's a problem, but not a major one, the major
one is when upstairs gets a leak while downstairs is in Spain - he can't
gain entry to turn off the water, and likewise, when upstairs springs a leak
while he is out of the country, the downstairs chappy can turn all the water
off, but each time he turns it back on, it pours through his ceilings.

They really need their own mains, or at the very least, access to a stop tap
each, that is to say, you can branch off the existing main and put a stop
tap in the cavity in a box, accessible from outside, but this would only
stop the water to the upstairs flat, the downstairs flat would still use the
existing ST and this would also be the 'master' ST - turn this off and
there's no water in the entire building, because the upstairs ST comes off
this IYSWIM......the drawback with this is obvioulsy frost and potential
leaks - you would have to make a seriously chunky insulative cover for the
whole thing that fits snugly

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

On Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:54:08 +0000, Phil L wrote:

wrote:
Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe for the second flat or
use the exisitng supply pipe and split it internally. The current
property is not metered and if I split it internally it would save over
£2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three valleys water to lay a new supply
pipe.

There's a lead replacement scheme in operation, have a look into this as
it's normally free.

One of the contraints is that ALL existing lead pipe is removed from
service in the house/flats/garden. Another is that all the plumbing
complies with the water regs.



Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

"Phil L" wrote in message
m...
wrote:
Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe
for the second flat or use the exisitng supply pipe and split it
internally. The current property is not metered and if I split it
internally it would save over £2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three
valleys water to lay a new supply pipe.

There's a lead replacement scheme in operation, have a look into this as
it's normally free.

Are there any drawbacks from not laying a new supply pipe? If I were
to split the existing supply pipe internally could I lay a new pipe at
a later date without major upheaval of the properties internal
plumbing? thanks for any feedback

The obvious drawback is that you only have one pipe feeding two
properties, if the upstairs person is in the shower and the downstairs
person decides to put his washing machine on, it's a problem, but not a
major one, the major one is when upstairs gets a leak while downstairs is
in Spain - he can't gain entry to turn off the water, and likewise, when
upstairs springs a leak while he is out of the country, the downstairs
chappy can turn all the water off, but each time he turns it back on, it
pours through his ceilings.

It is going to be necessary to complete separate both supplies and give each
flat their own stopcock.

The only question is can this split be inside the building after the main
riser has come out of the ground (so to speak) or should it be in a hole in
the front garden.

tim

On Jan 9, 5:54*pm, "Phil L" wrote:
wrote:
Hi, i'm converting a house into 2 X 2 bed flats and am trying to make
my mind up if to add another water supply pipe
for the second flat or use the exisitng supply pipe and split it
internally. The current property is not metered and if I split it
internally it would save over £2600 as I wouldn't have to pay three
valleys water to lay a new supply pipe.

There's a lead replacement scheme in operation, have a look into this as
it's normally free.

Are there any drawbacks from not laying a new supply pipe? If I were
to split the existing supply pipe internally could I lay a new pipe at
a later date without major upheaval of the properties internal
plumbing? thanks for any feedback

The obvious drawback is that you only have one pipe feeding two properties,
if the upstairs person is in the shower and the downstairs person decides to
put his washing machine on, it's a problem, but not a major one, the major
one is when upstairs gets a leak while downstairs is in Spain - he can't
gain entry to turn off the water, and likewise, when upstairs springs a leak
while he is out of the country, the downstairs chappy can turn all the water
off, but each time he turns it back on, it pours through his ceilings.

They really need their own mains, or at the very least, access to a stop tap
each, that is to say, you can branch off the existing main and put a stop
tap in the cavity in a box, accessible from outside, but this would only
stop the water to the upstairs flat, the downstairs flat would still use the
existing ST and this would also be the 'master' ST - turn this off and
there's no water in the entire building, because the upstairs ST comes off
this IYSWIM......the drawback with this is obvioulsy frost and potential
leaks - you would have to make a seriously chunky insulative cover for the
whole thing that fits snugly

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

thanks for the reply, think I will have to fork out for a seperate
supply pipe