MAINS SUPPLY PIPE

fishder

Hi I would like some advice I live in Roscommon and the council in the past couple off months have dug up the paths on my street and instaled new stop cock and new gismo for meter.Since they did this my front garden seemed to be getting wetter in the last week it was like a swamp, water was building up 2 incheed under my front sitting window. I looked in the meter vent on the footpath and there was 6 inches off water in it . So got onto co council sent a crew out to me but before this guy was out off the van he was saying the leak was in my property, I explained about the water in the meter vent and he dismissed this as surface water. They dug up meter vent put a meter typr dial on mains and said the leak was definiatly in my garden, I never had a problem like this until they dug up the path outside my house . Iam still not convinced off what they say as one off the people on the street had to get them back as water was leaking from meter box but it was going out onto street. Any advice appreciated.

Joey the lips

Yes... last man touch rule applies.... You did not have a leak. Now you do because they installed a meter.

You write them a letter telling them this. You tell them that you want the leak sorted. You tell them that you are holding them responsable for any damage that results eg subsidence. You given them 1 week to reply but suggest they treat it as urgent as the damage it will cause.

Send the letter by registered post.

Phone the council first of course to complain and ask them to which dept and to whom you send the letter...

Please do this straight away.

fishder

Thanks for the advice I rang the guy in the council and his reply to me was I would probably find the leake in five minutes with a spade. So Iam going to send them a letter as I know they were the cause off this leak, I will let you know how I get on , Thanks again for the advice.

Joey the lips

fishder wrote: »

Thanks for the advice I rang the guy in the council and his reply to me was I would probably find the leake in five minutes with a spade. So Iam going to send them a letter as I know they were the cause off this leak, I will let you know how I get on , Thanks again for the advice.

Do...and did you get the guy in the councils name... if so point out that you were talking to him and he suggested that you look for the leak. Then point out that you will not be interfering with a leak they caused as it is up to them to remedy...Ensure that you point out that any resulting damage caused as a result of the leak ie subsidence they will be accountable for....

Take pictures....

Buford T Justice

Take pictures, and use the pen. Its mightier than the sword you know.


Generally when someone complains about damage possibly caused by them as a company the first answer is PFO, as this tends to get rid of a lot of people. Persistence is the key, and keeping a cool head.

fishder

Thanks to both off you on the advice I have just sent a registered letter to the head off the water dept in the council, I have taken photo evidence off water outside my house and I will probably have to hire a solictor , the co council are very difficult people to deal with from what I have seen. I will keep you posted on what their responce will be if any. Thanks again for the advice

Joey the lips

fishder wrote: »

Thanks to both off you on the advice I have just sent a registered letter to the head off the water dept in the council, I have taken photo evidence off water outside my house and I will probably have to hire a solictor , the co council are very difficult people to deal with from what I have seen. I will keep you posted on what their responce will be if any. Thanks again for the advice

No dont hire a solicitor yet. Give them a week to reply unless its very serious. Then write them another letter telling them that as they have failed to reply you have no other choice but to engage a solicitor. As well as the cost of repairs you will be also seeking the cost of the legal fee's/


In the meantime write to your local councillors explaining your situation and how much distress it has caused you tell each one you are apealing to them personally to help you.

fishder

Thanks Joey for the advice and yes the leak is fairly serious I have to keep turning on and off the water from the meter point other wise my garden will be flooded and excess water going under house and drive way. I will give my local co councillor a call and see what he can do. I will keep you posted, all the best.

LK_Dave

fishder wrote: »

Thanks Joey for the advice and yes the leak is fairly serious I have to keep turning on and off the water from the meter point other wise my garden will be flooded and excess water going under house and drive way. I will give my local co councillor a call and see what he can do. I will keep you posted, all the best.

As I understand it the meter is on the public footpath and you turn off the water at the meter to aid drying out of your lawn/property.

If turning off the water at the meter does stop the leak then the problem must be on the water line before it enters your property. Ball back in their court. Include this in your letter and tell the local councillor.

fishder

I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 16th September 2010.

Your complaint has been investigated by senior personnel in Water Services and Roscommon County Council is satisfied that the matter was adequately dealt with by the area office in Castlerea and that following tests, they are satisfied that the leak is on your property and not coming from the boundary box/meter.

It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that the leak is fixed and in this regard if you require any further information, please contact the Waterworks Caretaker for Castlerea, Mr. Gerard Healy at 087 2160934

This is the reply I recieved from the council after I sent them a registered letter as you can see nothing seems to change their mind about this. I think I have no other option but to employ a solicitor on this.

Buford T Justice

Write to the County Manager, Frank Dawson. Explain the situation to him, and that you would like it sorted as soon as possible.

No Harm in asking for the results of the 'tests' that they have carried out in order to arrive at their conclusion too.

Just a thought, the leak may actually be in your property as they claim, but only became an issue after they had disturbed the pipework to carry out their recent works

fishder

Thanks for the advice Fingers I will give it a try and as you say the leak is probably on my property but this only happened after they carried out their work.

fishder

Would anyone know what it would cost to get a leak on the supply pipe fixed looks like i will have to foot the bill.

fishder

Hi I would like to know what it would cost to repair as the pipe runs under my front garden and under my house and seems to come into the attic. I was thinking off digging into the garden when the weather is drier to try and find this leak any info appreciated.


Fisher i have merged the thread. There is no need to start a new one about the same subject in both. Just ask all questions relating here. It will be view by the careing folks on boards here.

Joey the lips

fishder wrote: »

Would anyone know what it would cost to get a leak on the supply pipe fixed looks like i will have to foot the bill.

No sorry. Sometimes depending on the leak it can be clamped. This is not as big a job.

The problem with getting a leak done on the supply side is that the water cannot be turned off and some plumbers are reluctant to tackle this.

fishder

Thanks for the reply Joey and yes the water can be turned on and off from the stop cock I was wondering should I try and tackle this myself or should I get a plummer to do it the pipe is a black plastic 1and half inch that seem to go into the attic.

Joey the lips

fishder wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Joey and yes the water can be turned on and off from the stop cock I was wondering should I try and tackle this myself or should I get a plummer to do it the pipe is a black plastic 1and half inch that seem to go into the attic.

tbh if the water can be turned off I would tackle it myself. You cant make it any worse if its leaking. Especially if it can be turned off.

Normally the pipe is half inch black or 22mm blue.

If its black its imperial fittings usually a 3/4" 310 straight for heavy gague or the same fitting with a set of poly adaptors for a light gageue pipe

If its blue you just need metric fittings which most providers have in screw type. Philmac is quite good.

fishder

Thanks Joey would I be right in saying that the mains seems to run up into the attic , the person who lived there before me had the kitchen moved and the mains to the sink tap comes down from the kitcken cealing there are also 2 tanks in the attic a big one and a smaller one , what worries me is if the leak is under the house or drive way what would be the best way to get at it , mabey the full pipe would need to be replaced and yes its a black pipe I would say english measurment applys as the house is over 30 years old . I think I will have a look in the garden and see if i can find the pipe as you say it cant do much harm if water is turned off.

Joey the lips

fishder wrote: »

Thanks Joey would I be right in saying that the mains seems to run up into the attic , the person who lived there before me had the kitchen moved and the mains to the sink tap comes down from the kitcken cealing there are also 2 tanks in the attic a big one and a smaller one , what worries me is if the leak is under the house or drive way what would be the best way to get at it , mabey the full pipe would need to be replaced and yes its a black pipe I would say english measurment applys as the house is over 30 years old . I think I will have a look in the garden and see if i can find the pipe as you say it cant do much harm if water is turned off.

usually the mains comes in at the kitchen and branches to the attic. it would not make plumbing sense to run it up and then back down.

The 2 tanks. One is for water.The big one. and the smaller one is expansion for the central heating most likely.

If the leak is under a drive it will have to be dug up. Otherwise you will have to relay pipe which will involve digging up anyway.

Metric

Imperial

English

are 3 different names of plumbing fittings. Generally english are metric.

So its either

Imperial or metric. If you ask a plumbrs providers for english fittings he will give you metric fittings.

Follow it from the attic down if you are unsure.

fishder

Thanks Joey for all the help you have given me on this matter I will let you know how I will get on . All the best

Joey the lips

fishder wrote: »

Thanks Joey for all the help you have given me on this matter I will let you know how I will get on . All the best

Cool.... Do that. If you want i can pm you my mobile and you can ring me as you approch it. I am not a plumber but i know enough to know if you catch my drift.

fishder

Thanks Joey Iam going to try and locate the leak myself and if I do I will probably get a local plummer to fix it. All the best