Leak Detection Polybutylene & Other Pipes

Today I read an interesting article from Clayton County Water (Supposedly one of the leading water conserving water departments in the country, also saw an article how 25% of they drinking water is recycled sewer water, ...yuk) in the Georgia Sewer and Water Magazine. The article described underground water leaks and the time it takes for a leaking service or main line leak to show on the surface. The average time for an underground leak to surface is approximately 2 years, and they said that was a conservative estimate. Of course, soil types, water table levels, depths, etc.. will change the times. Residential water services on new installs can run anywhere from 12" to 10 feet deep. Replacement water services typically run 12-18". The county has taken steps to replace defective polybutylene, galvanized and failing copper services before they leak. I thought I would post this because I get so many questions about underground water leaks not showing up in the front yard.

Mike Whitman
Atlantis Plumbing
770-505-8570

Water Heater Thermal Expansion Tanks

The federal government issued a notice to all water departments that the water supply needed to be protected against backflow. Therefore, slowly all the old water meters are being updated with dual check valves and some also with electronic read meters. The county typically gives two notices to protect your house from thermal expansion. One notice before they do the work and normally one after. Backflow devices prevent water from your property being pushed back into the county supply. Therefore, everytime your water heater kicks on, the water expands as it is heated and no longer has a place to go. So, the pressure in the house increases. A thermal expansion tank is normally the easy remedy for thermal expansion, but a governor 80 ballcock or a additional pressure only relief valve are also sufficient. What prompted this article was a customer that I spoke with in November called today to tell me that he had numerous leaks and was now ready to install his thermal expansion tank that we had talked about last year. He wanted to know if his leaky toilet, dripping faucets and dripping pipe would stop leaking if he installed the expansion device that he needed. I told him probably not, the damage was done and the seals were more than likely permanently damaged and would also need repair. Heeding the warning letters by the water department to install an expansion device is the best bet and can save your plumbing and your money.

Mike Whitman

Polybutylene Pipe Leaks and General Summary of March 2008

Emergency service calls on polybutylene plumbing leaks dropped significantly in March and now in the beginning of April. I cannot explain this phenomenon, however I suspect, the poor economy is fueling the ambition of more DIY repairs. I have seen a large increase in floods caused by DIY repairs, mainly due to improper installation of couplings and my favorite, Home Depot selling repair coupling for polybutylene and PVC that are not rated for the proper pressure application, and simply pop off hours later. Water heater replacements jumped up in March and then a rash of 20 sewage ejector pump failures came in over a 2 week period. Polybutylene failures typically start to accelerate around the end of April and normally slow down toward the end of the year as temperatures start to drop. We our currently running our crews at 90% capacity, which is great considering 3 local plumbing contractors just shut there doors due to lack of work (they did mostly new construction work)

Mike Whitman
Atlantis Plumbing
770-505-8570

Frozen Pipes

What a nightmare today! Over 200 calls, nearly 150 frozen pipe calls, thats what you get with 10 degree weather. Hopefully, not the same thing tomorrow. The two most common calls today were frozen hose bibbs and no water to the house. To prevent your main line from freezing let a faucet drip steadily when the weather dips to the low temperatures. To prevent your hose bibbs from freezing, turn off the valve indoor, pull the vacuum breaker to drain the water (if you have one, some older houses don't), alternatively and or additionally put a Styrofoam cover hose bibb cover over the pipe. Some pipes systems are just improperly installed exterior cold wall, no insulation, no cutoffs,....all I can say is let the faucet drip. Today most of the calls came in after 11AM as the pipes started to defrost. One ladies, shower did not work this morning, when we arrived the shower was running in the bathroom, in this case the only recommendation would to be let the hot and cold drip in that shower, (exterior wall mounted valves). A few of the other popular freezes were outside standpipes, obviously need to be insulated or covered, or buried in meter boxes. Pipes near crawl space breather vents,.....put baffled vents or stuff insulation in the windows....not to mention massive heat losses for the house. Two repair stations pipes froze in the bays, perhaps drip faucets or close doors. So in summary, know where your shutoff valves are located in the case of emergency. Top materials for the day for leaks were CPVC, PVC and Copper. Only 2-freeze related polybutylene leaks. Three of the most catastrophic failures (flood wise) were CPVC, because when it freezes it explodes........Once again, excuse any grammar errors.......I did not proof read.

Mike Whitman,
Atlantis Plumbing

Polybutylene pipe water line failures staying strong despite cooling weather and softer ground

Water line replacement are continuing strong numbers as we enter December. During the month of November, we replaced 76 outdoor water service lines. The break down was 58 polybutylene pipes, 6 galvanized steel lines, 8 copper lines, 3 PVC lines and 1-polyethylene thin wall well pipe lines. The record breaking week of the year was the week before Thanksgiving with 24 water service line replacements. Approximately 75% of the lines were replaced with HDPE (black poly), the other 25% were with copper pipe. Yearly totals we have not had any failure in black poly we installed in the past 10 years. (Partially due to hand picking rolls of poly from the distributor and avoiding damaged rolls of pipe, Also, focusing on clean bedding and backfill) We have not had a coupling leak in 3 years since we made the transition from imported Flo-Control coupling to all brass coupling. Service call repair and drain cleaning numbers are also remaining high with completed numbers from 40-60 per week.

Mike Whitman
Atlantis Plumbing

Water supply is leaking.

Over the last few months the lack of rain has caused a major depletion of the Atlanta areas water supply sources such as lake allatoona and lake lanier. Outdoor water restrictions have show a decrease by some estimates of up to 25% less water consumption per day. As the water levels decrease and rainfall stays away, water violation notices are increasing and outdoor water line breaks are increasing with the dry ground, mainly due to the inability of the piping to expand and contract with varying temperature changes. The past 2 months we have had record amounts of water line replacements and repairs. Homeowners are not the only ones suffering from these breaks, the counties have backlogs of repairs on the main lines. Estimates by the city of Atlanta suggest that possibly over 30% of the water supply is being lost on the distribution system before evening getting to the water meters. Some measures can be easily taken by homeowners to conserve water, such as installing low consumption toilets, installing water saving shower heads and replacing polybutylene water lines which may be leaking in the yard. I personnally feel like more conversation efforts should be taken to allow the proper amount of water to be realeasd to supply water to fish in the river, agriculture downstream and oyster beds in Florida. Give us a call if you have any questions regarding outdoor water leaks.

Mike Whitman,
Atlantis Plumbing
770-505-8570

www.atlantisplumbing.com

Fighting a High Water Bill with Your Plumbing Invoice

Everyday I hear stories about water bills ranging from "I have a high water bill of $80 ", to "I have a high water bill of $25,000"(the latter of which was caused by 6 toilets constantly running for several months). Most high bill situations are caused by a polybutylene pipe rupture deep in the ground or a toilet running. However, I do see the occasional high water and fuel (gas or electric) bill caused by a running hot water heater overflow. The local water departments vary on their response to high bills. If you are a first time offender, a copy of a plumbing repair invoice will normally get you a great discount on your water bill. Proof the the water did not go into the sewer system (such as a water line breakage outside or relief line dumping to the outside of the house) can normally get the excess sewer charges knocked off. Grievances such, elderly, fixed income, medical problems, jobless, you didn't read my meter in 6 months will normally get you mercy. Chronic offenders who have been given discounts in the past for water leaks, may not get any help. Many counties such as Cobb and Fulton county will normally leave you a little note on the door to inform you of a leak. Analyzing your water bill bar chart can show the progression of a small leak turning into a big leak.