Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Apr 17, 2010 9:45 pm Hi, Trying to establish the "approved" method for connection of water to the house from the meter. Does the line have to be buried to a certain depth? What are the rules for the line entering the house where there is a slab foundation? The reason for my question is that on our new build it would appear that the line from the meter to the house is barely buried at all. Where it enters the house it is laid over the top of a concrete pad and appears to be sandwiched between the lowest brick course and the slab. Regardless, the line to the house is plainly visible and is already significantly "squashed". Very concerned this is not going to last very long. Thanks. Re: Plumbing - Water meter to house 2Apr 19, 2010 10:29 pm According to an apprentice plumbers interpretation of the Aust Plumbing standards,Minimum cover in a private area is 300mm if subject to vehicular traffic,75mm under houses or concrete slabs and 225mm for all other locations. Hope this helps, Re: Plumbing - Water meter to house 3Jul 29, 2010 4:28 pm Further to my saga ... we are now moved in to the house, 2 months ago. The builder "fixed" the previous problem by fitting an elbow to the line where the line was sandwiched between the footer and brick course. Gives the appearance that the line is now "buried". Starting landscaping now, the landscaper scraped off the top 60mm of soil between the meter and the house and voila, exposed the water line! Of course, the plumber that did the work insists that the work was done to code and will not rectify. The builder's supervisor is coming out to trench it himself. I think this is wrong in many areas. First, the plumber should be OBLIGATED to fix his cock-ups (I have a certificate of conformity). Second, I don't see how the original installation was right in the first place, surely the correct way to get water into a house with a slab is to run the line under and up through the slab not sandwiched between the slab and the brick course. What is the correct method? Third, how "legal" is it for the supervisor to rectify a licensed plumbers work that was originally the subject of a conformance certificate? Any plumbers out there care to comment? Re: Plumbing - Water meter to house 4Aug 02, 2010 11:35 am 300mm is specified for several reasons, including electrical conductivity with earth. Copper mains water feeds are still used in Australia as a primary earth inconjunction with a rod. The problem in your case is that the water meter will act as an impedance isolator to your mains water earth due to the pipes shallow depth. I dont know if you have seen how they replace these meters, but they usually connect heavy duty earth jumpers between each side of the meter before removing and replacing the meter. This is due to the current flowing through the actual pipe. If this current cannot flow for any reason, anything that is earthed in your house (such as the exposed metal of your washing machine - or your pool if its equipotentially bonded) would give you a tingle, or possibly worse. The biggest problem here though is fixing it. In my experience, only lawyers and inspectors have copies of AS. good luck. Steve Thanks for sharing. Looks good. The joiner has come back with a quote of close to 5k. I think we are going to not do it. Attaching panelling is something they are dead… 11 10086 In my experience roof is essential element of the building envelope and hence a common property and should be covered by owners corporation however a detailed review of… 3 5354 |