# Getting mains water connected and any field experience!??



## RachelMcTimoney (17 July 2009)

Has anyone started out with a field and had water and electric connected?  

How hard was it and how costly? It looks like the mains pipe is quite a distance away (across several fields) although houses close by on the lane have mains water, i think their own pipes?? I have sent the water company a map of the area to check. 

As a complete novice how feasible does this sound?
Thank you!


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## LoobyLoosome (17 July 2009)

Depends on your neighbours.

If your only access to the mains pipe is across others' land then you will need their permission, generally they'd expect a fee, and then grant you an easement to lay your new pipe and reinstate their field.  At a guess i'd think you'll be asked for at least £3 - £5k per landowner, possibly more depending on where you are, and whether you're likely to get planning for a residential development on the field.  Your right in speaking to water co - best thing is for them to come out and see you, and bring their maps and things with them.

It'll generally be cheaper to use your own contractor, and ask water co for connection only, then get a couple of groundworks contractors to quote you for digging track.

Electricity will be even more costly, the cables they use are very expensive.  We are looking at putting a power supply into a field about 200 yards away from the main transformer here, and we're expecting a quote for about £30k.  Ring the electric board and ask them to come out and do a survey - they'll tell you what it'll cost.

If you need help then speak to your local friendly chartered surveyor.


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## f_s_ (17 July 2009)

I have had mains water and electricity connected. We built the stables and yard and menage from scratch.

If you can find the nearest point to connect to, it helps. We laid our own pipework, and the water board just put in the metre and connected it. I warn you they weren't fast, and it took quite a few calls to get them there!!!

The electric was a little different, due to the length of the connection, I had to have 3phase electric lines, (more costly!!) Again we dug out all the trenches, so they only had to lay the cable and connect.

The water wasn't too expensive, can't remember exactly, as it was a few years ago, but the electricity was about £2500!!!

Good luck, I'd be interested to know how much they quote you.


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (17 July 2009)

I think you are unlikely to get the water across someone else's land so down the road is probably the only option- sadly very expensive as you will have to pay the council for permission to dig up the road, contracters to actually dig up the road and finally the water board charge £££ for connection.
Last year, we were lucky that a main crossed our land so we had to dig a big hole, get our water pipe upto it and the water board only had to step into the hole and connect which took less than an hour and cost about £700 . They are quiet due to the recession so didnt have to wait long- 6 days in total!

Electricity will cost us circa £8k and thats with a transformer 30m away on the edge of our land. 

Towable water bowsers and generators probably dont sound so scarey now


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## RachelMcTimoney (17 July 2009)

Thanks very much very interesting. The other land the water pipes would have to cross is also for sale and the vendors seemed to think would be fine to do so (they would say that!) just wanting to try and establish if this is feasible. electricity sounds ridiculous price!


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## Faro (17 July 2009)

I've got no idea about electricity, but I was looking at the estate agents's spiel only yesterday for some grazing land for sale in my neck of the woods (only dreaming mind you!) - this land is adjacent to a main road and the spiel states that the water mains runs along this road and that the vendors had already obtained a quote from the water board for connecting the fields to this mains which was in the Region of £3,700.

I hope that helps.


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## OWLIE185 (17 July 2009)

The water utility will charge you to provide a metred water supply on the nearest public highway.  The charge will be £2,000 upwards depending on how much of the road they have to dig up and if they have to apply to have it closed while the work is carried out.

As regards putting the pipe in (use 25mm pipe) the easiest, cheapest and quickest way is to mole drill it in.  Decide the route the pipe will take and then dig 3 feet deep holes at each end and some holes between depending on the length of the blue plastic water pipe that is going to be used.  Then pull the mole drill on the tractor from the first hole to the next and continue for each run.  Then the tractor with the mole drill goes back to the first hole and te pipe is tied at th bottom of the mole drill and slowly pulled along under the ground while it is fed in at the hole end.  Connect up the pipe and check that the water is running.  Then line up the rear tyre of the tractor with the mound above the new pipe and squash it down.  Job done!


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## RachelMcTimoney (17 July 2009)

Thanks owlie.....how much do you charge??


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## Cahill (17 July 2009)

our water cost £750 2 years ago.
we dug the trench on our own land and the water board connected it to the mains in the road and supplied the meter.


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (17 July 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks very much very interesting. The other land the water pipes would have to cross is also for sale and the vendors seemed to think would be fine to do so (they would say that!) just wanting to try and establish if this is feasible. electricity sounds ridiculous price! 

[/ QUOTE ]

Right that may be of help! You could request a wayleave over the field to allow the installation of a water pipe then "all" you have to do is mole in the pipe and pay for connection at the end. There may even be a way of wording it so the new purchaser of the other field shares the cost. Time to speak to a good land biased solicitor or land agent (happy to PM the details of a superb solicitor based in Reading)
FWIW we had pipes moled in on Monday to put troughs in the far field and they installed 250m of pipe in around 1.5 hours. The long lengths of pipe came from McVeigh Parker as most places do 50m only and we didnt want any buried connections.


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## Booboos (17 July 2009)

Just a not of caution: to actually have a right to run pipes through another person's land you need to have a legally binding easement. You would need to involve a solicitor as this would all be added to the other property's deeds and the owner of the property can ask you for any amount they want plus the costs of making good.

The farmer down the road to us sold his main farm house and land with borehole, kept a small bungalow, forgetting that the only other water supply to the bungalow was from an easement that had run out in 1973...bit of a bugger to try to sell a bungalow without a water supply!


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## jennaclare (12 July 2012)

Sorry for bringing an old thread up, I'm looking at getting mine done. OP did you get yours done? If so how much did it end up costing? My field has a MASSIVE housing estate right behind it. A big detatched house to the side and a garden centre over the road as we'll as more detatched houses. I'm in the process of filling in the form iv got off UU and need to send them a map (assume that's to see were the nearest pipe is located). Any help/advice would be greatly apreciated


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (12 July 2012)

As someone else has said: if you have to go across someone else's land for pipes or water meter then make sure right at the beginning that you've got everything as sewn up legally as you possibly can. Worst case scenario is if you've got a leak at some stage in the future and for whatever reason you can't access your water pipe to remedy it, i.e. you may get on fine with your neighbour NOW but not say ten years in the future when you'e sprung a water leak and need to get onto their land to remedy it. 

We used to have two other people's water meters installed at the bottom of our field and it was most unsatisfactory. It meant that the landowners in question used to come through the hedge (coz that was the easier way for them rather then trudge across 10 acres) and made a gap in the hedge which stock could get through. Also it means that other people have a right to go onto your land. Thankfully the two neighbouring landowners in question have now got their own water meters installed on their own land. 

Its not a question of IF you get a leak, its WHEN. So you need to be prepared for this exigency. We had no idea we had a leak, and it went on for nearly six months and we didn't know about it. 

What we DID do - and is something I'd very highly recommend - is to install a water leak detection device. Ours is called an "Elimaleak" and there's a company locally (Axminster, Devon) that designed and will install it. Absolutely invaluable and totally indespensable IMO. You can set it to bleep if a leak is detected at whatever time interval you need, i.e. 15 minutes, going up to periods of say a week. If anyone wants to know the name of the company/phone contact details them feel free to PM.

I don't know whether they'd go elsewhere in the UK but could probably advise. But if installing a water system from scratch this is the very first thing I'd advise.


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## jennaclare (12 July 2012)

If I have to go through someone elses land then I probably won't bother to be honest. It would be too costly. I will just carry on the way I am if that's the case. Thanks for your advice


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