Practical articles from the McFadden team. Self-lay guides, utility industry updates, accreditation explainers, and project insights from 40 years of doing the work ourselves.
How professionals find leaks in underground water pipes: acoustic detection, leak noise correlation, tracer gas, thermal imaging and the full survey.
What a Section 38 agreement is, how a new estate road is built to an adoptable standard, and how the process, bonds and maintenance period actually work.
Groundworks prepare a site's sub-surface for building: excavation, foundations, drainage and services. A UK contractor explains the stages, rules and costs.
What lane rental is, where it applies in the UK, the £2,500 a day charge and who pays, and how a contractor keeps lane rental charges down on street works.
A clear guide to WIAPS: who runs it, the sectors it covers, what a WIAPS certificate means, how it differs from WRAS, and how it relates to WaterSafe.
What WIRS accreditation is, how WIRS differs from WIRSAE, what partial and full accreditation mean, and how to check a self-lay provider on the LRQA register.
What a new water connection costs in 2026/27: the water company charges, the construction, the main companies compared, and how self-lay cuts the bill.
Whether you're a developer planning a self-lay scheme, a water company responding to a burst, or a Tier 1 contractor looking for utility subcontracting capacity, we'd welcome the conversation.
Phone: 01707 648 420
Email: info@tonymcfadden.co.uk