I need to do plumbing work in my leasehold flat- freeholder v. unhelpful

Mokka

patman99 wrote: »

I can see why the plumbers are wary of freezing the pipes in this instance.

For a feezing kit to work, the water has to be completely still.

That precisely is the problem- water in the mains pipe serving the whole block is very likely to be flowing.

As you have no idea if the 3rd pipe passes through your flat and feeds others, there is aways a risk that the water in the pipe will still be flowing and thus the freezing kit will have no effect at all.

The 3rd pipe starts and ends in my flat. I have no idea why the plumbers are wary of freezing this pipe- the water in this one is definitely stagnang- hence the risk of legionella.

You need to trace this mystery pipe to see what it actually feeds to. If it disappears into another flat then I would not even contemplate capping it.
If yo do, then you might find the Council on your doorstep pretty quickly.

I wish the COuncil did things like this- our lives would be so much easier.

Mokka

G_M wrote: »

Identify the pipe that brings water into your flat (as distinct from the various internal pipes that have vlves.

Get plumber to freeze pipe. Cut pipe. Install stopcock. Thaw pipe.

You now have a stopcock and can turn off your flat's supply and do whatever work is required.

I wish it was so simple. I have 2 mains pipes, feeding all the flats in the block, running through my flat. Both of these mains pipes have multiple branches supplying water specifically to my flat. So Branch no 2 of Pipe No 1 has a stopcock under the sink, as expected. Branch No 1 of Pipe No 2 has a stopcock in the Bathroom, and so has Branch No 2. Branch No 1 of Pipe No 1, located above Branch No 2 does not have a stopcock. This branch No 1 is the redundant pipe. I could put a stopcock instead of capping it but I see absolutely no point- it is a redundant pipe which does not and will not supply water to anything- it used to feed a water tank which is now also redundant. There is a stopcock on this pipe but just before it enters the tank- some 2 meters from the mains pipe, so its existence does not help in any way.

Lord_Baltimore

davidmcn wrote: »

I'm amused to note that MSE regard a singular !!!! as offensive but multiple cocks are fine.

What you need is a bigger c o c k

tealady

G_M wrote: »

Surely it's not the number of cocks that is pertinent, it is the use to which they are put?

This forum needs a LOL button.

exiled_red

Mokka wrote: »

I never said I have no stopcock in my flat- in fact I have 2, which every plumber finds very surprising.

This particular pipe is above both stopcocks- which is also surprising to everyone who's seen our plumbing. Comments we get that the block's plumbing is extremely unusual- and it keeps being tinkered with. So water is being switched off in the block now and then to have various works done. In the past the water just kept disappearing from the pipes- every few weeks. Thankfully this seem to have been resolved. But as the result people are quite used to coping without water for a few hours a day. There is always some water in the flat, as drinking water can be switched off separately.

Other flats had the same work done, and water had to be switched off too.

I don't believe we are just allowed to leave these pipes with stagnant water in them- sooner or later something infectious will start to breed in there.

That's irrespective of the fact that it is our own flat and we should allowed to live in there in comfort, and to do improvements without putting other residents' property at risk.

If you know other people have had the same work done, ask them how they went about it, if they asked the freeholder or not, if they did point this out to the freeholder as they should grant you the same access that others have had.

If so many others have done it find out who the plumber they used was and how they did it and I would probably do the same thing that they did. If other flats are shutting off the buildings water to do this work I doubt that the neighbours will have too many complaints as long as you go about it in a reasonable way.

Mokka

Thanks exiled_red, I've tried all of the above- no success.

I was hoping somebody on this forum might know something about building regs or landlord and tenant law or water regs which would be useful to compel my landlord to comply.

If anyone has such info, please share

DaftyDuck

There may also be a street stopcock, feeding the entire block. The entire unit may have, effectively, the same as a single property domestic water meter. As this would not be interfering with the Freeholder's knobs or cocks in any way, it might be one of the better cocks to fiddle with....

Frankly, I'd bypass the Freeholder, and just get on with it. Contact your fellow residents in person, not in writing, just do it. Should the Freeholder start getting antsy, just ignore them. Legal routes for this kind of thing are the stuff of nightmares. I'm ignorant on those matters, and the happier for it!

G_M

tealady wrote: »

This forum needs a LOL button.

I have one built in.

Until I started posting here I assumed everyone else did too.....

dgtazzman

Assumption is the mother of all c*ck-ups...