Replacing rising main

foxychick21

We recently had a survey on a house we are going to buy and the surveyor said that eventually we would have to replace the rising main going into the kitchen, it rises from ground outside house and has a tap on top and then goes into the kitchen.

This pipe was identified by the surveyor as lead and would need replacing as it is prone to cracking, Dont know if this is true?. Also he said pipe may need replacing all the way to the mains.

Can anyone shed some light on this subject, also any ideas on a price?

Thanks

Cagey

I think lead pipe has to ,& should be replaced due to health reasons.

foxychick21

Thanks didnt think about that

Nile

Hello foxychick21


Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

FirstClassMale

I find it funny that the surveyor says lead would crack, its been there all this time. The more important issue as mentioned is that lead is poisonous. Not fall down dead type but it will need replaced.

depending on how deep it runs, it should be easy enough to replace. A plumber would use butyl pipe in place of the lead (blue plastic) pricewise it depends on who you use but........ Local authorities used to give grants for lead replacement and I would strongly suggest you look into this as they used to range from 50% to 100%! of intallation.

In the meantime. When you first use the tap in the morning, say to fill a kettle, run the kitchen tap for about 2 minutes. This will flush out any lead bits which might be sitting in the pipes as it may have settled through the night.

foxychick21

Thanks.

ariba10

If you decide to replace it you do not have to follow the line of the existing pipe.

You obviously have to start and finish where the existing pipe is but you can leave the old pipe in the ground if there is an easier route to run the new.

JimArnold

Had a similar problem in a previous house a week after moving in!
Either the homeowner kept quiet or as the surveyor said perhaps the heavy remaoval lorry did the damage - Either way a leak in the lead pipe halfway down the drive

Found a sympathetic local plumber who let me dig most of the the trench etc and then supplied the pipe and made the connection at either end for £200

foxychick21

Thanks.