Lead pipe and water main replacement in London
A great many Victorian and Edwardian houses in London are still fed by the pipe they were built with, and in that era that pipe was lead. Lead is no longer used for drinking water supply, and where a property still has it, replacing it is the recommended fix. It is also the moment people usually discover that the pipe bringing water into their house is narrow, old and the reason the pressure has never been much good.
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What this includes
- Lead supply pipes identified and confirmed
- Private supply pipe replaced from boundary to house
- Moling to avoid opening up a whole front garden
- Trenching where moling is not possible
- New internal stopcock and connection
- Ground, paths and surfaces reinstated afterwards
Worth knowing first
A little of this might mean you do not need to call us at all — we would still rather you knew it.
How to tell whether yours is lead
Find where the supply pipe comes up through the floor at your inside stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink or just inside the front door. Lead is a dull grey, soft enough to mark with a coin, and has no thread or sharp edges — the joints look rounded and swollen rather than machined. The giveaway is that a gentle scrape with a key leaves a bright silver line. Copper is the colour of a penny, and modern plastic supply pipe is blue.
Where your responsibility starts
The pipe from the water main in the street up to your boundary belongs to the water company. From the boundary into the house, the private supply pipe is the property owner’s. That line matters because it decides who pays, and it is worth establishing before anyone books work. In a converted flat the private supply is often shared with the other flats in the building, which makes it a decision for everyone with a stake in it rather than one household.
Moling or digging
Moling means sinking a small pit at each end and driving the new pipe through underground between them, leaving the ground in between untouched. It saves a front garden, a path or a drive from being opened up end to end. It is not always possible: other services in the way, tree roots, made-up ground or an awkward run can all mean a trench instead. Ninja Plumbers looks at the route before quoting and tells you which of the two it is going to be, rather than finding out on the day.
What the work involves
The new pipe is modern blue plastic, run at a sensible depth so it is well clear of frost and the surface above it, and brought into the house to a new stopcock. The old lead is disconnected and left in the ground where taking it out would mean digging up more than the job is worth. Then the ground goes back: soil, turf, paving or tarmac reinstated over the route.
What affects the price
Replacing a supply pipe is priced on the ground it passes through as much as on the pipe. The length of the run, what sits on top of it and where it enters the house all shape the quote.
The distance from boundary to house
A short front garden in a Victorian terrace is a short run. A long front garden, a house set well back from the road, or a supply that comes in at the rear means more pipe and, if moling, a longer bore.
Basements, vaults and front steps
Many London houses have a basement lightwell or a vault under the pavement at the front, and the supply often enters beneath the front steps. Getting a new pipe in through those spaces takes more care than crossing a plain front garden.
What has to be lifted and relaid
Lawn and soil go back easily. An original Victorian tiled path, York stone flags or a resin-bound drive has to be lifted carefully and relaid or matched, and that reinstatement can be a real share of the cost.
Inside the house
The new pipe has to reach a new stopcock indoors. If the old lead continues inside — under a suspended floor, through a cellar, behind kitchen units — replacing that section too adds time, but leaving it defeats much of the point.
The price is agreed before any work starts. We take card and cash.
Common questions
How do I know if my supply pipe is lead?
Look at the pipe at your internal stopcock. Lead is dull grey, soft, unthreaded, with rounded joints, and scrapes bright silver. Houses built before the war are the usual candidates, though plenty have been changed at some point along the way.
Who replaces the section in the street?
That part is the water company’s, up to the boundary of your property. The private supply pipe from the boundary into the house is the owner’s, and that is the section we replace. If yours is lead, it is worth telling the water company what you are doing.
Will my garden be dug up?
Not necessarily. Moling lets the new pipe be drawn through underground between two small pits, which leaves most of the route undisturbed. Where the ground or what is buried in it rules that out, a trench is dug and reinstated. You will be told which before the work starts.
I live in a converted flat. Can this still be done?
Often, but the supply pipe from the boundary into the building is usually shared between the flats, so it is not a decision one household can make alone. It normally needs the freeholder and the other leaseholders on board first. We are happy to explain the work to them.
Is there any help with the cost from the water company?
Sometimes. Water companies have run schemes that replace their own section of lead pipe at the same time as a customer replaces theirs, and some have offered help with the private side too. Schemes come and go, so check with Thames Water, or whichever company supplies you, before booking. Coordinating both halves together saves digging the ground up twice.
Will we be without water while it is done?
Only for part of the job. The new pipe is laid first while the old one keeps supplying the house, then the supply is switched across. How long you are off depends on the connections at each end and on whether the water company needs to shut off or attend at the boundary. You will know when the changeover is planned, so you can fill a few jugs beforehand.
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Need lead pipe replacement in London?
Describe the problem and give us your area, and we’ll tell you the price before anyone starts work.