Help...low water flow...lead supply pipe replacement??

sid1234_2

Just a bit of advice required....

I live in a three bed,two bathroom, one kitchen terraced victorian home and water flow is not great..i can only use one tap at a time and even when flushing, water reduces to just a bit more than a trickle from any tap in the house...i have a combi bolier system.

I have been told by a few plumbers this cannot be improved unless i change my water supply pipe to a bigger diameter as i am still on the old lead...what size pipe would i need so i can use more than one tap at once considering how many rooms i have and we are a family of eight..??

I have an outside stopcock and the internal stopcock is in my cellar so about 5metres between the two...would changing upto there help or would i need to change the pipes right upto my kitchen tap..??

My water authority is thames water...does anyone know roughly how much it would cost as i don't believe thames water pay anything towards replacing the lead pipe..

Thanks in advance for your help...

mart.vader

Hers's a link for you:

http://www.thameswater.co.uk/your-water/5886.htm

twokcc

Just had mine done distance to water meter was about 11 metres. Yorkshire water tested flow rate at meter was about 50(think litresper minute) but at first tap was only 15litres/minute. Got builder to put new supply pipe in think it was 28mm he connected to meter(replaced plasticto lead connector with plastic to plastic connector). Not had flow measured since changed now much stonger.
Fortunate that had decent flow at meter need to get Thames water to test this for you.

squeekswhenwalking

are you sure the lead pipe is your problem? is the stop tap opening fully or could there be an obstruction?
also there are now pressure boosting pumps which you are allowed to fit to mains, http://www.plumbcenter.co.uk/en/bathrooms/showering/shower-pumps/salamander-home-boost-mains-pressure-booster-pump-287078

Stooby2

Ask your neighbours if they have similar problems - it might be a supply problem to your road. Get your water co in to check the stop tap in the road and then you've dealt with the things you don't need to pay for.

If you feel confident (or find someone who is), you could disconnect the pipe on the house side of your basement stop tap (make sure it and the street one turns off first!) and see what kind of flow there is at that point. It might be the stop tap that's causing the problem?

MX5huggy

I've replaced lead pipe in two houses in both cases pressure and flow have improve significantly.

keystone

Is your stopcock fully open? Is the company stopcock fully open?

Cheers

sid1234_2

Thank you all for your kind replies..

I have checked the internal and external stopcock and both are open fully..I have also spoken to my neighbours and they also have the same problems but don't notice it as much because they have just two people living in the property which means less water usage...

my problem is fine with just one source of water is in use e.g. tap, flush etc...the problem comes when there is two things running at the same time..e.g tap and flush..

I will get onto the water board and seek their advice and so they can also check their side too in whether im receiving the minimum pressure..

I have also been told that if I get a larger pipe installed going to my combi boiler, then the boiler may have problems because it may not be able to handle the increase in amount of water going through it..is this true..?

sid1234_2

just to bring up this thread again...Thames water have been out and measured the flow rate at the external stopcock just outside my property boundary and said I was receiving 25 ltrs per min there....They then checked my kitchen tap where I was receiving a paltry 7ltrs per min...they didn't really advise e on what what will improve it as they said the problem lies with me and my internal pipework...

To improve this, will I just need to replace my lead pipe that goes into my cellar where my internal stopcock is or will I have to change my copper 15mm that goes from the internal stopcock through to the kitchen too..?

your help would be appreciated...

southcoastrgi

it sounds like the pipe is either been damaged (flattened) or there is a blockage somewhere, this could be anywhere from the main stoptap in the rd to your internal stoptap or beyond, really you need to test the flow rate just before your internal stoptap this will either confirm or elimate the supply pipe upto your internal stoptap.

mart.vader

sid1234 wrote: »

just to bring up this thread again...Thames water have been out and measured the flow rate at the external stopcock just outside my property boundary and said I was receiving 25 ltrs per min there....They then checked my kitchen tap where I was receiving a paltry 7ltrs per min...they didn't really advise e on what what will improve it as they said the problem lies with me and my internal pipework...

To improve this, will I just need to replace my lead pipe that goes into my cellar where my internal stopcock is or will I have to change my copper 15mm that goes from the internal stopcock through to the kitchen too..?

your help would be appreciated...

Possibly both.