Old pipes ยท In brief
Old cold water tanks in the loft
A cold water tank in the loft of an older house may be asbestos cement, as HSE lists water tanks among places it can occur. Leave a grey, cement-like tank undisturbed and tell any plumber before work starts.
Most useful for: Older homes with a loft tank, and anyone planning to remove one
Compiled from the sources at the end. Updated .
Many older homes with a cylinder in an airing cupboard also have a tank above it, and the tank can go when someone moves to a combi. That makes the tank's material worth raising before any quote is agreed, even if it has sat unnoticed for decades.
What could be up there?
The HSE's list for homes includes water tanks, along with lagging on pipes and asbestos insulating board in airing cupboards. A home built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. Plastic tanks exist too, and a modern-looking tank does not prove what the surrounding lagging is. The full picture is in asbestos around boilers, flues and tanks.
Do not drill, clean out, break, move or sample an old tank or old lagging you are unsure about. Council environmental health can advise, and any contractor needs to know before starting. In the loft itself, step only on boards or joists, as a ceiling between joists may not take your weight.
Which rules touch a tank?
The Water Fittings Regulations 1999 place a legal duty on owners, occupiers and anyone working on the system, so a tank and its pipes are not outside the rules because they are out of sight. Regulation 5 requires notice and consent for listed works; ask your plumber or the water company whether your plan counts. A plumber on the WaterSafe register can give a work completed certificate.
A valve on the feed, where one is fitted, lets someone isolate the tank instead of shutting off the whole house. The WHO, as cited by the DWI, says water at 200 mg/l or more produces scale, so older fittings in a hard water area can stiffen.
If you let the house, a stored water system is one of the things to consider under your legionella duty, though the HSE says most homes are low risk.
Sources, read 4 November 2026: HSE: asbestos in the home diagram; HSE: why and where asbestos is found; HSE: asbestos FAQ; Drinking Water Inspectorate: finding a plumber; Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 5; Drinking Water Inspectorate: water hardness; HSE: legionella and landlords.