Tag: Plumbing

Two focuses of my blog are Home/Living Discussions and Home/Property Discussions. One of the key costs to owning a home is your plumbing costs. If you manage them correctly, your plumbing costs can be controlled. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Reduce Your Plumbing Repair Costs.

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According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American family of four uses about 400 gallons of water every day. Indeed, water is crucial to domestic life, and you have your plumbing system to thank for delivering clean water to your home. This system is vital but is often hidden from view and doesn’t get much attention. Therefore, it is very frustrating to discover that you need plumbing repairs, particularly if it is an emergency. What’s more, these repairs can be quite expensive, so it is best to find numerous ways to reduce costs. Below are some effective things you can do to lower your plumbing repair costs.

1. Know how to shut off the water

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Water damage is one of the main reasons why many experts recommend never handling a plumbing issue yourself. This damage is hard to clean and expensive to restore, so you should avoid it at all costs. Therefore, know how to shut off your water to limit the damage caused by plumbing mishaps and save money. Sinks, toilets, and other individual plumbing components have shutoff valves. A toilet’s valve is located behind it, while a sink’s valve is under it. Consequently, simply turn these valves to the right to shut the water off and reduce the odds of water damage. Additionally, know where your home’s main water shutoff is, so you can turn it off during a major flood to cut water supply to your house and reduce repair costs.

2. Go trenchless

Trenchless sewer line repair is always worth considering to save money when your plumbing system develops a problem. This method of repairing sewer lines involves structurally restoring existing pipes internally using the failed or spoilt pipe as a host for a new one. As a result, there is no need for disruptive and expensive trench digging and regular pipe repair and restoration of floors, cabinetry, walls, foundations, and any impacted surfaces. Your sewer lines will be inspected and clean, and a flexible tube will be directly inserted into the existing drainage pipe. This tube contains epoxy that hardens to form a new structural line, creating a new pipe within an old one. Besides saving you money, this method is faster, less intrusive, and more environmentally friendly than traditional repair.

3. Prepare for repairs

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Home Guide’s 2022 plumber rates reveal that a plumber can charge you $500 to $800 for large repairs and $125 to $350 for little jobs like repairing sinks and toilets. However, it is essential to note that a plumber will charge you more if they have to spend a lot of time on your issue. Plumbers often have to handle other tasks in addition to their plumbing repair works, and they always charge homeowners more for the additional time spent. Therefore, keep your repair costs down by preparing the place for them so they only have to focus on the main plumbing issue. For instance, if your basement is flooded, clear the excess water out yourself before calling a plumber. Similarly, you can move your possessions out of the way and rip out your drywall to offer easy access to this area if necessary. This way, your plumber will spend less time on your issue and give you a cheaper bill.

Two focuses of my blog are Home/Living Discussions and the Home/Property discussions. If you own your home, you will run into a plumbing issue at some point. In some instances it may make sense to attempt to fix it yourself. In other instances, it’s best to know when to call a professional. The following contributed post is entitled, It’s A Mistake To Do Your Own Plumbing, And Here’s Why.

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There’s usually nothing wrong with doing a bit of DIY around the home. The paint on your wall has chipped a bit, so you can fill it in yourself. You want to keep your garden tools more organised, so you can build yourself a shed. There are numerous things you can do by yourself that are totally safe and worthy of trying.

Having said that, there’s one thing you really shouldn’t do unless you’re qualified to do so: your plumbing.

It’s a mistake to attempt your own plumbing; whether this means installing a new shower or fixing a leaky pipe, it’s rarely a smart idea. Why? Well, here are three reasons right away:

Water damage is costly

Let’s say you want to fix a dodgy table leg or a crack in your wall. The solutions to do this are fairly easy, and there’s not much that can go wrong. Even if you make mistakes, the damage will be limited and not very expensive. With plumbing, you run the risk of creating water damage. You can accidentally make pipes burst or water leak, leading to wetness around your home. Water damage is notoriously hard to clean, and it usually costs a lot of money to restore. All it takes is one tiny mistake, then there’s water everywhere!

You won’t have all the right equipment

You’re not a plumber, so what makes you think you’re equipped to handle different plumbing tasks? With regular DIY, you can usually have a kit that can be used for just about everything. When it comes to plumbing, you need a wide range of pipe working tools and plumbing gear to do simple tasks. Sure, you can invest in them, but it’s a massive waste of money if this isn’t your job. The chances are you can’t get your hands on some of the stuff anyway, as it’s typically only sold to professional plumbers. This means you attempt your own plumbing without the right equipment, increasing the chances of things going wrong.

There are plumbing codes

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there are certain plumbing codes that have to be met when plumbing is carried out. This is why all the plumbers you hire will do things a specific way; they have to go by the rulebook to ensure that everything meets a certain standard. If you do things on your own, there’s no guarantee you will meet these codes, leaving you with dodgy plumbing. This is an issue right now, as it can lead to leaks and problems, and an issue in the future. Do you really think you can sell a house that doesn’t have plumbing up to the correct standards?

Put simply, there’s nothing right with doing your own plumbing, and a whole lot wrong. It’s not something you should risk and you are better off calling a professional to deal with it. As far as other DIY tasks go, there’s no reason you can’t carry on with them. It’s just that plumbing is a very technical thing that can cause many problems when done incorrectly.