electricalplumbingsafety
The outdoor faucet was turned on today(45 degrees), shortly after we discovered a leak in the house. We're not sure if the faucet broke or the pipe fractured/burst. After pulling back the drywall we noticed that there is a copper wire in conduit bracketed to the water pipe at the faucet. Would it be safe to try to find the leak by turning the water back on, if we turn off the electricity?
I was under the impression that grounding to a water pipe occurred outside of the house, is that incorrect?
I had this exact scenario in my home and the culprit turned out to be a failing pressure regulator valve. It's typically installed after the shutoff valve where the line enters the home and will probably have a bolt going into the side of the device that would be used to adjust the pressure.
To see if this is the case, go over to the home improvement store and pickup a water pressure gauge that screws onto a garden faucet. Attach the device to any fixture, open the valve and leave it, then go inside and turn on the cold water for 5 seconds, back off, and go back to the gauge to see if it starts climbing as the pipes bang.
You may also notice toilets or other valves leaking in the house if you have an overpressure situation. I ended up replacing several leaking toilet valves and a sink valve because of pressure issues.
Replacing this can be a DIY job if you're comfortable cutting and soldering pipes.
Edit: here's a sample picture
First step would be to contact a lawyer about the damages the boiler caused in your property. Second might be to contact the local code inspector to check the installation. Sounds like you got several problems that need to be addressed separately. Not sure how things work there. In the USA things may be different.
Best Answer
In the UK, current regulations require all metallic pipework be connected electrically, this is called equipotential bonding.
(images from electrician2hire)
By law, the connections must be labelled (typically with an embossed metal label)
I believe current regulations require this equipotential bonding in every room that has metal pipework. This helps guard against loss of earth bonding when a small section of copper pipe in between locations is replaced by plastic pipe. The clamps must be in a place where they can be inspected - which rules out hiding them under the floor or behind plasterboard (drywall.)