laying water pipes in solid floors

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I'm having a central heating system installed in a couple of weeks and to save money i need to dig a channel across my kitchen floor for the water pipes to be hidden in. It is a solid concrete floor and I am after any and all advice on
1) Are there are any regulations about how deep and wide the channel has to be and what are they?
2)If I need any kind of specific insulation if any at all?
3)Is there any special kind of concrete I will need to fill the channel with after
4)What the best machine to hire is to dig a suitable channel?
5)Any help or instructions on how best to do it to fit in with any regulations that there may be.