Just When You Think You've Done Everything

[runnach]

Now he tells me ... . Before I nicked our mains feed pipe to the flat whilst ripping out damaged wood in preparation for the Dry Rot Phase 1 work to start, we had no stop cock in the street! The engineer from Scottish Water showed me the street map with quite a few gaps where the external stop cock was absent. In the ensuing 5 years, the stop cocks have been added in a piecemeal approach ...

The reinstated system in our flat has the requisite internal stop cocks and the external [street] stop cock that covers both flats

Steve

Years ago while out in the Middle East, I phoned home for the usual catch up, to be told of a burst pipe under kitchen floor, this is the only floor in house that is concrete. Patch job done to halt the flow at that time.

On returning home I found part floor dug up exposing lead pipe, with a approx 500mm of 22mm copper soldered onto remaining lead pipe. Our homes are old @ 250 yo, turns out I was on a common main, lead pipe entered my kitchen via side door, T'd off to serve next door neighbour to the left, then through kitchen to service house on other side of me, it was near my rear door the leak happened.

I spoke with the local waterboard man, he was brilliant, he suggested I have each dwelling on an individual toby, which was done, one neighbour was a pain, and did not want their garden dug up (there is another main within our private lane to serve another house, permission was required and granted.) What I had to do though was source a company with a mole'ing machine, while this avoided a garden dig, mole also bored underneath their house as kitchen is at the rear. We all paid our own costs.

Was a fkn faff though, all due to the neighbour not wanting their garden dug up, but ok for my kitchen where their mains water runs under, to be wrecked.

 

[marchie]

My stopcock valve is just inside our side door and easy to get at. I also have a toby key I made years ago if there is an issue with the stopcock. As in, isolating water from the street.

Always good to have a backup plan, especially where water is concerned.

Now he tells me ... . Before I nicked our mains feed pipe to the flat whilst ripping out damaged wood in preparation for the Dry Rot Phase 1 work to start, we had no stop cock in the street! The engineer from Scottish Water showed me the street map with quite a few gaps where the external stop cock was absent. In the ensuing 5 years, the stop cocks have been added in a piecemeal approach ...

The reinstated system in our flat has the requisite internal stop cocks and the external [street] stop cock that covers both flats

Steve

Years ago while out in the Middle East, I phoned home for the usual catch up, to be told of a burst pipe under kitchen floor, this is the only floor in house that is concrete. Patch job done to halt the flow at that time.

On returning home I found part floor dug up exposing lead pipe, with a approx 500mm of 22mm copper soldered onto remaining lead pipe. Our homes are old @ 250 yo, turns out I was on a common main, lead pipe entered my kitchen via side door, T'd off to serve next door neighbour to the left, then through kitchen to service house on other side of me, it was near my rear door the leak happened.

I spoke with the local waterboard man, he was brilliant, he suggested I have each dwelling on an individual toby, which was done, one neighbour was a pain, and did not want their garden dug up (there is another main within our private lane to serve another house, permission was required and granted.) What I had to do though was source a company with a mole'ing machine, while this avoided a garden dig, mole also bored underneath their house as kitchen is at the rear. We all paid our own costs.

Was a fkn faff though, all due to the neighbour not wanting their garden dug up, but ok for my kitchen where their mains water runs under, to be wrecked.

This pretty much sums up our problems, in particular the 'nothing to do with me' attitude and leaving the mess for someone else to resolve ...

I've spent much of the afternoon digging out guarantees/receipts for the carpet, sewing machine [which took a direct hit from the pipe burst, sitting on a table underneath the now sagging ceiling, in an alcove to get the maximum natural light from a glazed external door] and other evidence of purchase/cost etc and uploading them to Aviva's Claim Site. Currently about 11 photos and 3 documents, and I've no doubt they'll ask for more paper/information before the claim can be assessed. Just a case of 'wait and see' now

Also been onto Screwfix/Toolstation websites to check for supplies of new insulation for our side of the water supply. I haven't been into the loft, so cannot check yet, but, from memory, I'm sure that the insulation was renewed when the Water Tank was disconnected and the Combi Boiler installed 7 years ago. But a physical check and renewal until the Heating Engineer can fit in the splitting of the Water Supply seems to be a sensible move. No point in risking another burst during the waiting periods for Claims processing and Heating Engineer appointment!

Steve

 

[rugbyken]

got called out to a report of something very similar to terrys above only there had been no knowledge of two properties at rear being on same service , new owner upgraded his property new kitchen etc and had just dug down put new stoptap in his garden and service to his house luckily it was summertime and a compromise made hosepipe bottled water till water board ran new service,
also went to a 3 story block of flats where middle floor having new combi cut of supply to main tanks in roof and drinking water to flat above took acouple of days for the problem yo show huge tanks but when it did no hot water toilets or cold water in bathroom

 

[runnach]

Aye, nowt worse than in this case, you, taking a disastrous hit and gross inconvenience due to some fanny being irresponsible!

Regarding insulation, I found buying and lagging pipe with loft insulation a cheaper and better route to go, that said, was a while ago, price check required.

 

[marchie]

Aye, nowt worse than in this case, you, taking a disastrous hit and gross inconvenience due to some fanny being irresponsible!

Regarding insulation, I found buying and lagging pipe with loft insulation a cheaper and better route to go, that said, was a while ago, price check required.

97p per metre for 15mm pipe; £1.09 per metre for 22mm pipe, both having 13mm foam thickness, at both Screwfix and Toolstation. I just need to climb into the loft to check what size of pipes are present

Steve

 

[runnach]

Steve, when dealing with loss adjusters, hit them for what ever you can, to hell with cost. A wee true story, 2004 and summer, I came home to carnage to my hall, lounge and dining room. Bedroom en-suite overflowed, the actual overflow where it exited house was blocked. Basically overflowed into bedroom and rooms below. Thousands of £££'s of damage done, with being listed building, cornices had to be replicated at large cost etc.

This was my first ever insurance claim, I soon learned loss adjusters was not there for me, but at the end of the day, I milked them for everything I could possible could, right down to a new leather suite, with the damaged original suite burned with the lime from the lathe plaster above.

Loss adjuster, don't let them take the piss.

 

[runnach]

97p per metre for 15mm pipe; £1.09 per metre for 22mm pipe, both having 13mm foam thickness, at both Screwfix and Toolstation. I just need to climb into the loft to check what size of pipes are present

Steve

if pipes are clustered together, then great, loft insulation would be ideal.

https://www.diy.com/departments/knauf-insulation-eko-roll-loft-insulation-roll-l-7-28m-w-1-14m-t-100mm/182146_BQ.prd

 

[trevskoda]

Just read some on here have lead pipes, get them out pronto as they are a well-known health hazard and should have been out years back.
As for stop cocks outside the house, yes all like that here, as a kid it was good fun going around turning homes off before bedtime.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Tha't why I said get your own LA the insurnace company one is to protect them not you, I had a roof blow of in the storms the ins LA said to just do the back as that was where the damage was, mine said no, do the whole roof as you cannot match existing and it will lower the value of the house, I got a full new roof including rafters felt etc. I got burgled twice and each time the ins LA tried to deny things that had been damaged or stolen as I didn't have reciepts, My LA insisited that as I had a Goldwing in the garage it was not unfeasible that I would have motorcyle clothing etc.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I think it was in this thread that someone said that we need an autoshutoff system, might have been David, as usual, the yanks are way ahead, just watching this old house which used to be on the Discovery channel years ago.

I know it's not just a frozen burst but it shows there are ways to alleviate the problem.

A better system but 2 years ago

 

[marchie]

I think it was in this thread that someone said that we need an autoshutoff system, might have been David, as usual, the yanks are way ahead, just watching this old house which used to be on the Discovery channel years ago.

I know it's not just a frozen burst but it shows there are ways to alleviate the problem.

A better system but 2 years ago

You're right, Kev. It was David who suggested such a system. It could also be used to shut off Aviva too! Their latest idiocy is to allow the Claim for the wall and ceiling to be re-emulsioned, because the pipe burst washed the paint away; but to refuse the recoating of the floor timbers with the water based chemical treatment, because, 'the Policy doesn't cover Dry Rot'. There is NO DRY ROT, the pipe burst washed away the protective coating AGAINST Dry Rot. There is no difference, the original coating, be it emulsion, chemical coating protection, gold lamé tapestries, or elephant dung, has been washed away and needs reapplied.

Perhaps the Aviva Call Centre employees have had their brains washed away or removed, because they have absolutely no appreciation of the concept. 'The policy doesn't cover Dry Rot, Pretty Polly, Pretty Polly. I am an Aviva Parrot and I work for Sunflower Seeds ...'

Steve