Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 23, 2009 6:59 pm This is one thing that i need everyone's opinion on and that is Our water meter..... They put this in before all of the other work but we did not realised until the slab was laid that the meter is in the middle of our drive way and we were not sure what they planned to do about it... We contacted our supervisor and asked if he could move it but he said it was unable to be done they said that the best they could do is place the tap on the front of the house rather than with the meter and then leave the meter there meaning that would be put in the middle of the driveway under a plastic cover... i was unsure how good this would be as we would not be able to leave our car parked there incase they needed to get to the meter and its a hole in the middle of the driveway. the next door neighbors requested that theirs be moved and when they moved it they put it right at the side of their driveway so they have to be careful when drive out as they almost hit it each time. has anyone else had problems like this? what did you do about it? any help would be greatly appreciated... Emily and James.....Building with J G King Caraway 145- Our Beautiful First Little Home Site Cut Started on 13th of October 2009 Re: water meter in a bad spot 2Nov 23, 2009 7:10 pm Sorry I can't help you at all, but that seems a little strange to me? I wonder if anyone else has had this experience? Not sure that I would like it in the middle of the driveway though. www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: water meter in a bad spot 3Nov 23, 2009 7:17 pm If you do a search, there are quite a few threads on it. The water metre is put in by the water authority, it isn't really anything to do with the builder apparently. You can get it moved a small distance for free I think, but to move it a significant distance (as your case sounds) it is quite a few hundred dollars. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: water meter in a bad spot 4Nov 23, 2009 7:19 pm Moving a water meter isn't a difficult task if the area around it is still just dirt. Near the crossover point where the water enters your property, there should be a screw valve buried. The easiest way to find it is to dig from your meter back to the boundary following the water pipe. This valve turns off the mains water before it reaches your meter. Once you locate this valve, find a local plumber willing to do a cash-in-hand job. The process they will use is: The turn off the water at the valve, cut the pipe after the valve, then again on the other side of your meter, add additional pipe and bends to relocate the meter to a more suitable location. Rejoin everything, turn on the valve, check for leaks and you're done. Getting this done before your driveway is poured/laid will save a mountain of work later. I had a normal mains and a recycled meter moved from the front corner of my property (middle of my lawn on a corner block) to about mid-way down the side boundary, projecting through a pine log retaining wall. The pipe and bends, plus his time to cut and join (I did all the trenching and pre-drilled the retaining wall) set me back $200 plus a carton. Knocked it over in a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. So much better now as the meters can be read without entering the property, plus no chance of backing the trailer over them. Re: water meter in a bad spot 5Nov 23, 2009 7:22 pm This happens a lot. There are many other cases of this exact problem in other posts in this forum. I suspect they place it where it is since the water board requires the water meter to connect to the main perpendicular to the property boundary. So once the water meter is in, it's very expensive to move it. Having said that, it ridiculous to put it in the middle of the driveway and should have been planned better. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: water meter in a bad spot 6Nov 23, 2009 7:25 pm Casa2 This happens a lot. There are many other cases of this exact problem in other posts in this forum. I suspect they place it where it is since the water board requires the water meter to connect to the main perpendicular to the property boundary. So once the water meter is in, it's very expensive to move it. Having said that, it ridiculous to put it in the middle of the driveway and should have been planned better. The perpendicular requirement is actually for the isolation valve, not the meter. It's so they can find it easily if there is a problem (like your meter is broken, destroyed). The water board has details of where each feed is taken from the mains, which then runs perpendicular to the edge of the property boundary. From there, you can do whatever you want with the piping. Just had my neighbour (the plumber who did the cash job) on the phone to double-check it with him. Re: water meter in a bad spot 7Nov 23, 2009 7:33 pm Rogue Casa2 This happens a lot. There are many other cases of this exact problem in other posts in this forum. I suspect they place it where it is since the water board requires the water meter to connect to the main perpendicular to the property boundary. So once the water meter is in, it's very expensive to move it. Having said that, it ridiculous to put it in the middle of the driveway and should have been planned better. The perpendicular requirement is actually for the isolation valve, not the meter. It's so they can find it easily if there is a problem (like your meter is broken, destroyed). The water board has details of where each feed is taken from the mains, which then runs perpendicular to the edge of the property boundary. From there, you can do whatever you want with the piping. Just had my neighbour (the plumber who did the cash job) on the phone to double-check it with him. but.... if we did move the meter in that way can they get to the valve as it would be under our concrete in our driveway i dont want to add to many other costs and in all the other forums some said they could move it and some said they couldn't so i thought id ask the question again Emily and James.....Building with J G King Caraway 145- Our Beautiful First Little Home Site Cut Started on 13th of October 2009 Re: water meter in a bad spot 8Nov 23, 2009 8:03 pm Casa2 This happens a lot. There are many other cases of this exact problem in other posts in this forum. I suspect they place it where it is since the water board requires the water meter to connect to the main perpendicular to the property boundary. So once the water meter is in, it's very expensive to move it. Having said that, it ridiculous to put it in the middle of the driveway and should have been planned better. Shows how much I know! My water meter has been there since day dot... www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: water meter in a bad spot 9Nov 23, 2009 9:00 pm Em and Jim Rogue Casa2 This happens a lot. There are many other cases of this exact problem in other posts in this forum. I suspect they place it where it is since the water board requires the water meter to connect to the main perpendicular to the property boundary. So once the water meter is in, it's very expensive to move it. Having said that, it ridiculous to put it in the middle of the driveway and should have been planned better. The perpendicular requirement is actually for the isolation valve, not the meter. It's so they can find it easily if there is a problem (like your meter is broken, destroyed). The water board has details of where each feed is taken from the mains, which then runs perpendicular to the edge of the property boundary. From there, you can do whatever you want with the piping. Just had my neighbour (the plumber who did the cash job) on the phone to double-check it with him. but.... if we did move the meter in that way can they get to the valve as it would be under our concrete in our driveway i dont want to add to many other costs and in all the other forums some said they could move it and some said they couldn't so i thought id ask the question again Hi guys, We are currently going through the same problem and want to move ours approximately 10 -13 meters. Now then, do you want the bad news, or the really bad news. As Joles stated you can move your meter for free so long as its only 14cm either side of its current position. If you want to move it to the other side of the block, I'm guessing you're sitting down at the moment, it will cost you $3000, yes you read it right, $3000 to shift it. And why you ask, well I'll tell you. You have to make and application with the water authority in your area because all the site plans have to be redrawn to show where it exactly is in case they have to dig. You have to nominate either your own plumber or their plumber is going to dig down, cap and plug the old mains and re-tap into the system. Not sure what area you are in but we are dealing with Yarra Valley Water and I'm pretty sure it's the same with all of them. PD Hayman 34 H1 Thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=29460&start=0 Blog http://miazfolly.blogspot.com Tiles 25/3/09 Colors 6/4/09 Tender 7/5/09 Contract 28/5/09 Land 16/11/09 Re: water meter in a bad spot 10Nov 25, 2009 9:21 pm Sh*t that is not what i wanted to know.... Argh... did you even look at putting it under ground at all or was moving the only option you got given? Has it been hard to get it moved or just expensive? When we asked our builder he said that all they normally do is place it under the ground which i dont really mind especially if it is going to save us $3000 as that is just not in the budget at the moment. Emily and James.....Building with J G King Caraway 145- Our Beautiful First Little Home Site Cut Started on 13th of October 2009 Re: water meter in a bad spot 11Nov 25, 2009 9:43 pm We had a similar issue because we flipped our house and the water meter was to be put where our future driveway was going. We had to apply to S.E Water for it to be moved, the cost was $500. However, this was done before any meter was actually installed on the block, so it may cost more if the meter is physically there already. My advice is to ring the water company and deal with them directly. There will be a fee but obviously it varies between different water companies so well worth looking into further. Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: water meter in a bad spot 12Nov 26, 2009 3:51 pm The water meter is the first thing that gets done - well before the build starts. And you will be billed Water Service Charge ~ $20, per quarter I think. If its location is right in the middle of the driveway, I would be contesting paying any money to get it moved out of the way. My water meter is in the front lawn, a good distance out of the driveway. I thought that's just common sense. I hope you can a good outcome to get yours out of the way. Re: water meter in a bad spot 13Nov 27, 2009 2:51 pm Em and Jim the meter is in the middle of our drive way Hi EM and Jim, We have exactly the same problem. There is 2 options according to the builder, 1. Move the water meter. Or 2. get what they call 'traffic-able' lid to cover the water meter. (I guess it is some type of steel cover for the water meter.) We chose the first option as it seem to be easier. It cost us $450.00 to move 2 meters in Brisbane. You need to apply to the water authority in your area and you should be able to find that out from your local council office. Hope this help TNT Re: water meter in a bad spot 14Nov 27, 2009 9:54 pm TNT Em and Jim the meter is in the middle of our drive way Hi EM and Jim, We have exactly the same problem. There is 2 options according to the builder, 1. Move the water meter. Or 2. get what they call 'traffic-able' lid to cover the water meter. (I guess it is some type of steel cover for the water meter.) We chose the first option as it seem to be easier. It cost us $450.00 to move 2 meters in Brisbane. You need to apply to the water authority in your area and you should be able to find that out from your local council office. Hope this help TNT Well those two options are better than our one option we got told it could not be moved but it could be placed underground and that was going to have to be done right at the end. My mums house has the water meter under the ground but it is at the side of the yard however they still put it under the ground... im not sure why... it does not bother me that it is under the ground it just bothers me that it is in the middle of the driveway. I am going to contact our building supervisor on monday to have a chat to him about some of the options that have been put forward on here..... thanks to everyone for all your help on this one i will keep you posted on what he has to say about our issue... Emily and James.....Building with J G King Caraway 145- Our Beautiful First Little Home Site Cut Started on 13th of October 2009 Re: water meter in a bad spot 15Nov 27, 2009 10:50 pm interesting topic.. is there anyway that you can know in advance where the water meter will be placed? is this part of the overall council/estate plan? Oxford 22 @ Stage12a Point Cook Site Cut : 05/03/2010 Slab Pour : 24/03/2010 Frame Inspected : 06/04/2010 Pre-plaster Inspection: 22/04/2010 PCI: 16/07/2010 Final Inspection: 30/07/2010 Landscaping: who knows??? MyHomeoneThread Our Oxford22 Blog Re: water meter in a bad spot 16Nov 27, 2009 10:52 pm if you buy your block of land and it states it already has access to all services then it has already been placed for you.... there is a certain point that the plumber has to tap into to connect your meter and that is why it has nothing to do with your builder..... its a hard situation as it has to go through all the right people to get it moved.... Emily and James.....Building with J G King Caraway 145- Our Beautiful First Little Home Site Cut Started on 13th of October 2009 Re: water meter in a bad spot 17Nov 27, 2009 10:55 pm here is an updated pic that might help explain my problem... you can see how far across we would need to move it to get it out of the road and that is why i am wondering if it is easier to just get it put under the ground like the builder has said he can do..... Emily and James.....Building with J G King Caraway 145- Our Beautiful First Little Home Site Cut Started on 13th of October 2009 6 4405 You might be able to apply to divert the sewer at your expense. In NSW you would contact a Water services co-ordinator and they would give you advice as to whether or not… 1 16221 |