Grove Street

Even if you love your home and think you know it like the back of your hand, you cannot know every nook and cranny. Especially when it comes to your home’s plumbing system. Because they are trained to work on home water systems, it only makes sense that plumbers know your home’s plumbing system best. To better understand what is required of the plumber you hire, you should familiarize yourself with the basic water system layout of your house. This will also help you manage any minor plumbing problems in the event that your plumber is delayed when you call with an emergency water system problem.

Becoming Familiar With Your Home’s Water System

Your home’s water system is much more complicated than you probably think, involving several separate plumbing systems all working together to provide you with functional service and comfort. Any qualified plumber is thoroughly familiar with all these separate systems and how they interact. He also should know what each problem means and how to go about solving it. The following paragraph will help you get a grasp of the various water systems that are at work within your home. For more info see http://www.i-plumbing.com/Plumber_Contractor/ on Plumber Contractor.

All home plumbing begins with a fresh water supply system. This system takes care of the distribution of fresh water to all parts of your home that require fresh water. This includes the water you drink, wash your dishes in and bathe in. The outdoor lawn sprinklers and the irrigation of your garden are also served by this part of the system. The plumbing for this part of the system is probably the most extensive in your home, as it needs to serve all areas of your house.

The drain and waste water system is another important part of your water supply. As important as the pipes that bring water into your home are the pipes that carry the used water away. These pipes take the water to the wastewater site in your community for proper and environmental treatment.

Another important aspect of your home’s plumbing system involves properly venting the sewer gases that naturally build up in waste water pipes. This venting is generally accomplished via a small pipe that vents the air outside to the roof of the home. This venting also allows proper pressure to be maintained allowing the drainpipes to work, as they should. It should be noted that some homes have more elaborate and specialized piping systems in place that allows for the use of more varied water systems for a pool or hot tub.

Basement bathroom plumbing work needs considerable skill, experience and care. It is advisable to hire the services of a plumbing contractor for carrying out basement bathroom plumbing work. The existing floor needs to be busted and in the process drainpipes may also get broken if adequate safety measures are not taken up.

Basement bathroom plumbing procedure

Some concrete may need to be removed for installing basement bathroom plumbing system. The fixtures required for setting up basement bathroom plumbing – bathtub, one-piece shower unit etc. may not be easily obtainable. Special effort needs to be made to secure them.

Often, the concrete of the basement needs to be broken. Marks are made on the surface along some demarcations and the concrete is chipped away usually employing a jack hammer. The debris thus obtained has to be cleared and new plumbing pipes are well glued to the original setup. After completion the new setup has to be covered up with concrete.

Another approach to basement bathroom plumbing is installation of a plastic sump beneath the basement floor. A sewage ejector pump or lift pump is used to pump out the waste as the sump becomes full. The pumps have devices to grind solids. In case the pump fails the toilet will not be draining properly.

There may be some houses where the building drain lies below the basement level. So, no pump is needed. A plumber can help in this regard by providing various estimates of drain line locations and plumbing setup plans.

Again, there may be homes where the main drain lies at floor level. To help out in such cases you may build a false floor for the bathroom. Of course your ceiling needs to be high enough in such case. The false floor erection would ensure that the fixtures are higher than the sewer line. This will do away with the necessity of installing a sewage ejector pumping unit.

Basement bathroom plumbing – a special plumbing

Basement bathroom plumbing is a special kind of plumbing setup. Therefore, special care needs to be taken while proceeding with the installation, maintenance and repair or replacement of the basement bathroom plumbing system. If you are contemplating basement bathroom plumbing for your home then you may conveniently hire some competent plumber for helping out.

Plumbing system is to a building, what circulatory system is to the human body. Any fault in the system is sure to throw your life helter-skelter and make your life awful. While putting in place a good well-conceived and well-done plumbing system is important, maintenance and preventive measures taken to keep the system in good shape is even more important.

This article is intended to keep you informed of the possible problems you may face with your plumbing system and the preventive measures to be taken to keep such problems at bay.

Clogged Drains:

Case I:

Your sinks / tubs connected to particular branch line drains slowly than normal.

Reasons:

Dumping food/ solid materials into your kitchen / Bathroom drains.

Pouring greasy / Sticky materials into your kitchen sink.

Pouring chemicals /paints into the drains.

Improper / Inadequate venting.

Solution:

Use a plunger to de-clog your drain. This will work for clogs of smaller size. If it still persists, call an expert. Home made solutions do not work for bigger clogs.

Clogs can be removed using various techniques. While a cable can be used to remove solid clogs and break through roots, High pressure water jetting is more effective for clogs due to sticky / greasy materials.

Before using water jetting as option, It is important to determine the quality of the plumbing materials used, for, the high pressure used in the process will rip your pipes apart if they are of a inferior quality.

Check the vents provided for any visible blocks. Find out whether the venting is adequate for the fixture(s) it serves. An expert could help you out in this area. If the venting is absent or inadequate, provide / upgrade to surmount the problem.

Preventive Measures:

Respect your toilet and kitchen sinks. Use them only for the purpose intended. Avoid unmindful dumping of solid wastes, Food materials, Greasy substances and paints / chemicals into the sinks.

Use filters over the drains in your toilet and kitchen to trap hair and solid objects.

Ensure that air vents are provided in adequate numbers and sizes for all fixtures.

Case II:

All the drainage lines of the building drain slowly and there is a backing of the drain water from the main drainage line.

Reasons:

A block in the main drainage line. or

A block in the inlet / outlet of the septic tank. or

A block in the distribution box. or

A block in the percolation pipes. or

The septic tank has frozen due to an abnormal low weather.

Solution:

Use a snake or water jetting to de-clog the main drain line. This is the work of an expert. He could, through his expertise, say whether the clog is due to solid waste or greasy substances or roots and use a suitable technique to de-clog the same.

Check the inlet and the outlet of the septic tank for any blockage due to solid wastes, scum and so on. Remove the block and check for easy flow.

Check the distribution box located between the septic tank and the percolators. Remove blocks, if any.

Check the area around the percolators. See whether it is moist, swampy and stinky. It means that the percolation is not proper. In other works the soil is not absorbing the drain water at the rate of discharge. It could be either because you usage of water has increased of late due to more guests or the soil has become saturated due to moisture from other sources such as rainfall (more than normal) etc. Immediately enlist an expert, the problem requires instant care.

If the septic tank has frozen due to bad weather seek the help of an expert immediately. If an expert and the equipment needed are hard to find, use the septic tank as a storage tank till such time the tank haws by itself. Judicious use of water will help you hold on for some time. To avoid freezing of the septic tank in the future, winterize before the next winter.

Preventive Measures:

Respect your Septic tank. It is designed for the disposal of organic wastes only. Avoid dumping inorganic and non bio-degradable wastes. They are sure to block the normal functioning of the septic tank and spoil it beyond redemption.

Use filters over the drains in your toilet and kitchen to trap hair and solid objects.

Winterize the septic tank to prevent it from freezing in winter. Do the following:

o Insulate the Septic tank, distribution tank, percolators and all out door lines by spreading a layer of hay, grass, dry leaves etc.

o During winter, resort to more-than-normal usage of water. Warmer the water, the better.

o Empty the tank, if you are planning for a long outing.

o Get expert help. Winterization is location, weather specific. A small investment here will save you from all hardships during the winter.

Leaks

Symptoms:

Leaks in your plumbing system are not just unsanitary but is a tremendous loss of a scarce resource. More often than not leaks are detected much later than they had started and after much damage had already been done.

Try this test out to determine whether there is a leak in your plumbing system. Before you go to bed in the night, close the Main valve at the primary inlet of your plumbing system. Note the water meter reading. In the dawn, before you start using water, note the reading. If the reading has changed then, there is a leak in the system.

To locate the leak, repeat the procedure by keeping the main valve open and all but one of your ancillary line valves closed. If the reading shows a change, then the leak is in that particular branch line. Inspect the faucets for visible leaks and path of the lines for subtle hints of invisible leaks behind the plastered walls. If you still can’t detect the leak. Contact us for expert care.

Reasons:

While visible are due to faulty faucets / fixtures, Invisible leaks can be due to cracks in your plumbing lines. The cracks happen due to (a) Ageing lines giving off or (b) Faulty winterization of you plumbing system.

Solution:

Replace the faulty fixtures / faucets.

If the leak is due to faulty line, replace the line. If your plumbing system is considerably old, you can think of replacing the lines in stages without waiting for the system to call for your attention and doing much damage to your cherished home.

Preventive Measures:

Make proper use and take proper care of your faucets and other movable water outlets. Install only good quality faucets that’ll stand the wear and tear. Don’t compromise on quality for price. Remember, a compromise on quality is a compromise on peace of mind.

Properly winterize your plumbing system.

Winterization

What?

Acclimatizing your plumbing system to withstand the test of hard winter is winterization.

Why?

Plumbing systems are primarily intended to transport water to the locations of need from a centralized water storage facility. In the winter, as the temperature dips to appreciable lows, water freezes. The density of ice is more than that of water. Hence to accommodate water turned into ice, your plumbing system expands. When this expansion is beyond its elastic limit, it cracks wreaking havoc on your entire plumbing system.

Solution

Prepare for the winter ahead by properly acclimatizing your plumbing system. Do the following.

Insulate the drains outside your home.

Open the cabinets under sinks to facilitate circulation of warm air to avoid freezing.

In the temperature is harsh, allow water to flow through the lines in a trickle, when not in use, to avoid freezing.

If you are going out and if the plumbing system will not be in use for a long time close the main valve and drain all water form the system, to ensure that there is no water to be frozen.

Remember, winter is a testing time for your plumbing system. Take preventive measures or you may have to spend a fortune to restore the system back to normalcy. If you need more information, feel free to avail our expert care.

Plumbing is a science, but proper use and maintenance of it is an art. A good plumbing system will give you peace of mind. A bad one is sure to derail your day and make a hell out of it. The problems and the solutions suggested here are generic and not case specific or location specific. It is intended to equip you with the knowledge of the intricacies in plumbing so that you could understand and appreciate the workmanship better. Remember a few procedures are health hazardous and needs to be handled by an expert. Do not try them your self. IF you need experts, think of eServicePlace (ESP), where hand picked professionals are ever ready to address your problems in the shortest possible time and in the best possible manner. Think expert care, think ESP. http://www.eserviceplace.com