Advice on connecting flat with different cold and hot water supply

[LordWest]

My residential block has 5 floors above the ground floor, the 5th being the top floor (loft under the sloping roof) where one side has the communal cold water tanks for most flats and a communal hot water cylinder for most flats as well. The other side of the 5th floor has a tiny studio, where the the cold water is supplied from a tank above the studio's roof and the hot water is supplied from an adjacent immersion cylinder serving that flat alone. If I get rid of the cold water tank and immersion cylinder for that flat, can I use the building's communal cold water tanks and hot water cylinder? I would use a pump. The kitchen cold water would as is.

 

[Chuck]

Assuming that you are in the UK, services in blocks of flats are usually tightly controlled by the freeholder and you'll need to get any modifications approved by them in advance. Do not expect this to be easy to do.

There will certainly be a reason for the current arrangement. Until you have fully understood why it was done the way it is you would be most unwise to make any changes.

 

[LordWest]

Assuming that you are in the UK, services in blocks of flats are usually tightly controlled by the freeholder and you'll need to get any modifications approved by them in advance. Do not expect this to be easy to do.

There will certainly be a reason for the current arrangement. Until you have fully understood why it was done the way it is you would be most unwise to make any changes.

I am a director of the freehold. We bought the freehold a few years ago and this existing set up predates me. Is there any reason why the new set up may not work?

 

[Chuck]

I am a director of the freehold. We bought the freehold a few years ago and this existing set up predates me. Is there any reason why the new set up may not work?

Depends on the distance from your flat to the tank and the path the pipework will take. Also, you are assuming the existing tanks have sufficient capacity to supply the additional consumption, which needs to be checked.

You've described a low pressure system and the further the distance, the larger the diameter of the pipes needed to achieve a satisfactory flow rate. The larger the volume of pipework, the longer it will take to deliver hot water to the outlets. You also need to identify a path for the pipework. In a block of flats that may involve having to drill through thick reinforced concrete, dealing with firebreaks, asbestos (if the block is pre ca 2000), etc.

That said, it's a 'How long is a piece of string?' type of question. You'll need to get some quotes for the work and get the contractor to specify the performance of the installation and confirm it will comply with applicable building regs and any pump(s) necessary will not cause a nuisance to the leaseholders in the other flats.

 

[LordWest]

Depends on the distance from your flat to the tank and the path the pipework will take. Also, you are assuming the existing tanks have sufficient capacity to supply the additional consumption, which needs to be checked.

You've described a low pressure system and the further the distance, the larger the diameter of the pipes needed to achieve a satisfactory flow rate. The larger the volume of pipework, the longer it will take to deliver hot water to the outlets. You also need to identify a path for the pipework. In a block of flats that may involve having to drill through thick reinforced concrete, dealing with firebreaks, asbestos (if the block is pre ca 2000), etc.

That said, it's a 'How long is a piece of string?' type of question. You'll need to get some quotes for the work and get the contractor to specify the performance of the installation and confirm it will comply with applicable building regs and any pump(s) necessary will not cause a nuisance to the leaseholders in the other flats.

I am not concerned about capacity as existing tanks serve 11 flats with no issues. Thus, adding a small studio will not make any difference. There is already a pump serving that studio with existing setup, and thus there will be no extra noise. The pipework path will not be an issue as this is two converted buildings joined up and all we have to do is lift the floorboard to pass the multilayer pipe. I believe that existing pipes serving the flat are 22mm. With the new setup, the cold water tanks are about 6 meters away on the same floor and raised 1 meter and the hot water cylinder about 11 meters away on the same floor and raised a bit. Do you think that we should use a larger diameter pipe to the pump?