Partial replacement of lead piping question.

[LoveGigi]

We live in a mid terrace Victorian house. We are about to commence work on the bathroom. We have 13/14 litres per minute of cold supply to the kitchen sink. Currently there is a lead pipe which is approx 10 meters long running through the house into the kitchen which then at the stop cock changes to copper. I have spoken to a plumber who said that they could change the lead to plastic from our boundary to the kitchen for £350-£400. The Thames Water stop cock is inches from the building boundary on the pavement. My question is, will changing all but a few inches of lead pipe improve the flow to the house or will those few inches of strangulated lead pipe mean that the supply will not be improved at all. Help!

it will make a noticeable improvement, despite the short restriction. You should run the plastic pipe in 25mm or preferably 32mm. As you have lead pipe, contact your water company and ask them to test the drinking water for lead content before you start work. (do this quickly as they may be slow to make an appointment). You might qualify for a lead replacement subsidy. Also ask them if they will replace their bit of lead pipe at the same time. Your plumber is not supposed to do that. The water co will probably charge greedily for digging up the pavement.

Also ask them for their list of approved plumbers and see what they would charge, and if they are authorised to connect in the street.

If you have not already got a meter, and get one, the fitters might be amenable to connecting your new pipe to it, especially if you make it easy by incorporating a bit of slack in your own pit just inside the boundary, and especially if your pipe has not yet been re-buried at the end.

Make sure your installers use full-bore stopcocks in the same size as the new pipe (they are more expensive so they might try to scrimp).

Hi PigletJohn, thanks very much for your reply. Your info helps a lot. Much appreciated.