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Safety and age of cutout located next to water main

Lexi

Hi I’ve recently moved into a 1930’s property. The electricity supply has been installed on top of the water main. Has anyone seen this set up before? National Grid are saying that the set up isn’t ideal, however are refusing to visit to check on the safety. I have two small children living with me.

Can anyone give an indication of the age of the cutout and wiring? National Grid are saying that it dates from the 1970’s however I think it’s much older than that.


  • Has anyone seen a set up like this with underground electric and water supplies installed together? The water main has been replaced with poly pipe at some stage.
Parents
  • +1

    Thank you everyone for the info about the age of the supply and the DNO. I live in The Midlands so my DNO is National Grid.

    The stopcock pictured is the mains stop cock. Whilst the supply has been upgraded, I don’t see any reason why it would have been moved at a later date, especially into a location where the electricity supply was situated. The mains gas supply also emerges at the same point, so I’m thinking maybe they dug one channel and all 3 services were laid in it. Does that stand to reason based on experience in working in properties of this age?

    thanks again 

  • 0 in reply to Lexi

    Indeed - in the days of hand tools and a hand digging, minimising trenches would be quite attractive. I'm a bit surprised it is a sold floor as houses of that vintage are normally wooden floor boards, as this is a lot lighter to transport to site than cement.

    (in such houses, a head or a mirror looking below the boards often reveals service entries more or less co-located but pipes snaking across the over-site (usually cement by the 1930s, but often earth in earlier houses) to get to the kitchen or wherever the service emerges)

    I've also seen houses with very shallow foundations (like 2 spade depths) from that era as well, so don't dig too deep along side.

    Note for others that the DNO formerly called " Western Power" is now called "National Grid" So of course is the National Grid, so it is a bit of a silly name,..

    M.

  • 0 in reply to Lexi
    Lexi said:
    I live in The Midlands so my DNO is National Grid.

    My apologies - I see that NG bought Western Power Distribution in 2021 and subsequently renamed it, "National Grid Electricity Distribution."

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