Recommendation sought: Plumbers to replace lead service pipe

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Markel

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I recently discovered our house has a hidden lead service pipe after getting the water tested (the lead level is too high even after flushing the pipes for a while). I want to get it replaced and I was wondering if anyone had any plumbers in Dublin they would recommend for the job? I'm based in Dublin 5 on the north side if anyone has any recommendations.

This is a problem for my neighbors too I gather but they don't seem to care / are largely in denial of the issue so limited luck seeking advice from them....
 
A lot of the main water pipes from the road into the houses are lead pipes,right up too the stop cock under the stairs.
The pipe would be hidden from the road into the houses
 
SparkRite said:
Two questions on this.........

What do you mean by 'hidden' ?

Also is the pipe fully on your land or is some of it outside your land?
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Sorry - hidden in that you can't see it from inside the house or at my stop valve, when the house was re-plumbed by previous owners they must have connected newer non-lead piping to the lead pipe. Hence hidden to me (and my surveyor) as it can't be seen inside the house that I am aware of. By contrast, in my neighbours either side you can see the lead pipe inside their houses at their internal stop valves.

The lead pipe is on my side under the front garden I assume. Irish Water replaced the mains and installed meters before I moved here. I guess there might be some element of a lead pipe between my boundary and the meter just outside my front wall but it is an issue for me and not Irish Water as I understand it.
 
Ah ok I understand now what you meant by 'hidden', so you can only see it leaving the meter.

Remember you may need to use a contractor with a road opening licence unless the new pipe can be brought right up to the meter without having to open the pavement, one option may be to use the existing lead piping (depending on size) as a conduit for the new piping.
 
Markel said:
Sorry - hidden in that you can't see it from inside the house or at my stop valve, when the house was re-plumbed by previous owners they must have connected newer non-lead piping to the lead pipe. Hence hidden to me (and my surveyor) as it can't be seen inside the house that I am aware of. By contrast, in my neighbours either side you can see the lead pipe inside their houses at their internal stop valves.

The lead pipe is on my side under the front garden I assume. Irish Water replaced the mains and installed meters before I moved here. I guess there might be some element of a lead pipe between my boundary and the meter just outside my front wall but it is an issue for me and not Irish Water as I understand it.
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Have a look under your stair case as the pipe normally comes in true the front of the house and in under your stairs.
Normally the valve is under your stair case.
 
Yes thanks, I know where my stopcock is. And I unambiguously know there is a lead service pipe as I have had the lead levels tested (as I said) and the internal plumbing is too modern for the issue to be from that.
 
SparkRite said:
I think the OP knows where his stopcock is:-


BTW, in my experience I have, by far, found most stopcocks to be sited under the kitchen sink and before the rising mains to the storage tank.
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In a lot of older type houses they are under the stair case.however they could also be under the kitchen sink too.but thankfully the OP knows where it is (some folks don't).the lead pipe would still have too come into the house from the road so it would perhaps come in under the stair case.
 
Pinoy adventure said:
In a lot of older type houses they are under the stair case.
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A lot of the '40s and 50's LA developments in Dublin that all look the same had them under the stairs. After it became more common to site under the kitchen sink.
 
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