How to check if your property has lead pipes
Properties built before 1970 are more likely to have lead pipework. A simple check by our site surveyor will be able to identify this before any work is done.
You might already know that you have a lead pipe. Look for the water pipe which comes into the building and goes to a kitchen tap. Unpainted lead pipes are a dull or dark grey in colour with joints which look swollen. It may be that only the pipe outside is lead and the pipes inside your building have already been replaced or are made from another material such as copper.
Lead can get into the water from soldered joints where lead solder has been used. Lead solder was made illegal in the 1980s for use on drinking water plumbing.