Nightmare job

[so-solar]

I have just been to a customers house as she has had a water bill for 600 pounds.

The water meter is constantly spinning even with everything internally turned off!

The nightmare is that she has never found an internal stopcock in the 25 years she has lived there!

We searched high and low for it, took boxings off,emptied cupboards, plinths off in the kitchen, took the back off of sink unit, under the stairs!

No joy,

The customer contacted anglian water and they will repair the external leak once she gets an internal stopcock!

Any ideas how to trace the incoming pipework??????

 

[SafeGasInstall]

i have had jobs with led pipe worked run in the low about 500mm from the floor , never used it but a metal detector possibly will help you

 

[smtplumbing]

does she have a house above here of stays in a flat

 

[zzzjim]

Any neighbors with similar houses !

 

[stevetheplumber]

neighbours is a good call anymore details about the property type layout might help ?

 

[aqualogic7]

try neighbours to see if they know where stopcock is

 

[snowhead]

In the garage / outside W.C / outside brick building.
If a terrace, stop tap may be underground in the path along the back of all the houses, or the old route of it, if they now all have fences up.

In the time you've spent looking, you could have fitted a new stoptap at the point of entry.
Or can you not even find the point of entry?

 

[aqualogic7]

ok you win you can type faster

 

[snowhead]

As a customer she'd be better off giving Anglia water the job, then they could fit the new internal and external,, but don't tell the customer that..

 

[so-solar]

Tried everything.............. neighbours is under kit sink, I have tried to pass it to anglian water but they are of no help! The customer is nearly 80 years of age and i really want to help her solve this nightmare!!!!

 

[WaterTight]

Can you trace it back from kitchen tap or where it splits off to fill CWSC?

I'd quite like to know how this type of thing gets sorted. I'm sad to say I imagine by just randomly pulling the house apart until you find something.

 

[gravytrain]

cant you go backwards from the kitchen sink tap, i would have thought if you follow the pipe from
the tap you will meet the incoming main somewhere.

the stopcock in my house is behind the cooker
only found it by accident. god know what your supposed to do in an emergency

 

[gravytrain]

two minds think alike !!

 

[WaterTight]

Great mind gravytrain, great minds!

And I went to a house once where I asked where the stopcock was and she took me to the middle of the living room, moved a carpet and lifted a section of loose floorboard. And sure enough there it was.

 

[so-solar]

under the kitchen sink is a hot and cold 15mm supplying a kitchen sink that come straight out of a concrete floor!!!!!!

 

[ecowarm]

I deal with Anglian water and have found them helpful, ring again and ask if they will send out an inspector. Tell the operator it very important and it is a water leak and we are in a drought! They will send an inspector with a van full of equipment, he should be able to trace the pipe to where it enters the property. I have found them very helpful and even going to get fittings so the problem can be sorted. The main problem is the operator who answer the phone, get past them and you'll get it sorted.

 

[gravytrain]

i also find angian water very helpful. number i use is 08457 145 145

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm!

Is it a party main or has the house been on a party main ? In some instances if it has you may not have a stop tap. The other houses down the street that where once on the party main, may now be on their own private supply. Quite common in terraced housing. It may be that the house was the first house of the party main that is why it looks as though it has got its own stopcock outside.

The water board should know, how did they fit the water meter if they did not?

Perhaps if the house was on a party main and one of the branches has not been sealed properly when another house has been changed to a private supply the water might be pouring out of the branch.

In that case you may have to re-pipe the house and put it on its own main as well, or check the party main is only supplying the house and all the other houses on it are on their own supply. Look up either party main or communal main it will show you what I mean.

 

[glenno1]

Is there any floor boards in the house between the kitchen and where external stop tap is or should be

 

[zzzjim]

Water board in the past , listened to pipes for sounds of flow .

" If you don't mind looking weird try a long screw driver against pipe "

With no water flowing in house ,and with some flowing .

( If house is nice and warm , may find which tap is closest to feed by how quickly water runs cold )
(may be hit n miss with so much concrete about )

--or-- I may get laughed off forum for these suggestions

( Grand parents terraced house had most of its lead plumbing Concreted over ! )

 

[PlumbBobBob]

no that's a good idea. water company still do that now, with a long metal probe with a wooden handle that they put their ear to, to listen for flowing water apparently they can hear a dripping tap passing.

 

[Bernie2]

Years ago the local water board in our area used something a metal detector. They attached a clamp on the outside stopcock and another one on the cold main tap inside. They then turned the metal detector on and followed the pipe while they then drew the route of the pipe on the floor in chalk for you. I think it was a free service. We used them to find pipes for us now and again.

 

[theanalyst]

Why not use a pipe freeze kit on the cold supply to the sink if thats the nearest to incoming supply area (likely), fit a stop tap inline , and call Anglian water after that...

 

[zzzjim]

under the kitchen sink is a hot and cold 15mm supplying a kitchen sink that come straight out of a concrete floor!!!!!!

Just this sink , or does pipe t off any where else ?

( I'm end of row "feature" corner house , All my services beside front door ! )