Outdoor water pipe around house

[Ian999]

Hi All

This is my first post and I really need help in figuring out what to do. I have looked through the forum to see if anyone has asked a similar question but cannot find one.

Im looking to fit an outside water tap to the front of the house. However the only way I can get pipework there is if I wrap it around the outside of my house along the outside wall.

I would really like advice on what type of piping to use - i know there is the blue outdoor pipes but they seem to be for underground piping. Mine will be all over ground.

Also, can i use push fits yo do the job and what about insullation.

I could really do with some advice and thank you all in advance for your help

 

[steadyon]

If you really have to go round the house, then:
1. Copper piping. Most plastic will be subject to UV degradation.
2. Internally fitted non-return valve (double check valve), isolation valve (full bore) and drain off point. Order being mains, non-return, isolation, tee to garden tap, drain off point.
3. It sounds as if it will be a long run. Ideally it would run continuously downwards to the outside tap, so that it can be drained. If not feasible, consider a run down to to a mid-run drain point, then upwards to the tap. You must be able to drain it, or it will freeze in winter, insulated or not.
4. Personally wouldn't bother with insulation, unless you are going to enclose it and use trace heating. If you do insulate make sure it is waterproof.
5. You could use push fit, but on a long run you will get expansion and contraction. If there is sufficient movement it could pull a push fit joint apart. Better to use soldered joints. Between 0 and 40 degrees, 1 meter of copper pipe will expand by about 0.7 mm, so a 10 metre run would expand by 7 mm.
6. The pipe run will need to be clipped at about 1,200 mm intervals.

 

[Ian999]

If you really have to go round the house, then:
1. Copper piping. Most plastic will be subject to UV degradation.
2. Internally fitted non-return valve (double check valve), isolation valve (full bore) and drain off point. Order being mains, non-return, isolation, tee to garden tap, drain off point.
3. It sounds as if it will be a long run. Ideally it would run continuously downwards to the outside tap, so that it can be drained. If not feasible, consider a run down to to a mid-run drain point, then upwards to the tap. You must be able to drain it, or it will freeze in winter, insulated or not.
4. Personally wouldn't bother with insulation, unless you are going to enclose it and use trace heating. If you do insulate make sure it is waterproof.
5. You could use push fit, but on a long run you will get expansion and contraction. If there is sufficient movement it could pull a push fit joint apart. Better to use soldered joints. Between 0 and 40 degrees, 1 meter of copper pipe will expand by about 0.7 mm, so a 10 metre run would expand by 7 mm.
6. The pipe run will need to be clipped at about 1,200 mm intervals.

Thanks. Really appreciate the advice. The longest run on the pipe will be along the side of my house and that goes above the single storey extension so I will put a drain point in the middle of that run and will just have to go up there before winter hits and drain off every year. Will also put a drain off near the inital main connection (after isolation valve).

Thanks.

 

[Ben-gee]

My advice would be to put the drain off somewhere easily accessible, not where you have to clamber about on a roof.
Presumably the tap will be at a height useable from the floor? Just arrange pipework slopes so the drain off can be there.