Replacing lead pipes to fix water pressure and central heating problems
Properties in Garston, South Liverpool, are mixture of new build and older properties. Due to the area’s historic connection with the docks and shipping industry, there are many Victorian terraced properties. These properties have been modernised but many still have old lead pipework which connects to the water mains. While lead pipework is being phased out, many homes still experience poor flow and water pressure from their old lead pipes, plus the associated health risks of this type of pipework.
At a property owned by Avela homes, the tenants were experiencing very low water pressure and poor water flow which meant that their boiler was unable to fire up. As the autumn temperatures were starting to drop, with three children and a new born in the family, they needed action straight away to resolve the problem which meant carrying out an urgent water pipe replacement.
We were called in by the main contractor, Penny Lane Builders, to replace 16 meters of old pipework. With restricted access to the house via a concrete path and no driveway, and onward access to the boiler via a covered alleyway between the houses, we were careful to plan a no-dig, trenchless water pipe installation route which would cause the minimum disruption.
The flow rate through the water pipe when we got to site was around 5 litres per minute (anything under 10 l/m is considered low pressure). Our team attended site and replaced 16m of pipework through directional drilling, bringing the pipes straight to the boiler with the installation of an outside insuduct box.
The area was reinstated to how it was prior to works and flow rate on completion was around 20 litres per minute.
The Customer was very happy commenting ‘Thank you very much!’ and awarding us 10/10 on our customer feedback form.
If you have old lead pipes, or a water pipe leak, call our expert team for a low-impact solution.
The water pipe replacement route:
After the installation:
