Iron Station Water Leaks

Iron Station Water Leaks

Leaks on your home can give you a headache unlike any other, one day a bill comes in the mail higher than you could have possibly anticipated only to find out it was a flapper on your toilet. Something as simple as an older toilet flapper not holding water can double your water bill. Toilet flappers are the rubber pieces in the toilet that will release the water being held making the toilet flush. When a flapper is obstructed or damaged it can release minuscule amounts of water building up over the course of a month to raise your bill through the roof. It is also very hard to catch this if you don’t know what to look for but lucky for you, Superior Plumbing and Drains, LLC, are experts at spotting water leaks. This is one of the simplest issues and a very common one for high water bills.

Leak in the house

One of the most damaging forms of leaks is when they are located in your walls, ceilings, slab, crawlspace, and floorboards. We have plumbers on standby waiting for someone to call, so if you have an emergency call us, your 24-hour plumber. These leaks can sometimes be easily found but not easily dealt with. The most difficult to find would be the leaks in your crawl space, most homeowners have never even seen their crawl space and don’t care to look. They can build up in the crawl creating mold and mildew. When water leaks in a wall it creates a nesting ground for mold to form, within 48 hours, mold begins to grow and spread. Ceiling leaks are generally easy to find, but require the most cutting of sheetrock to gain access too. The ceiling is an awkward place for the plumber to work and we have to create room. If the water intrusion is bad enough a water restoration expert may need to be called out to prevent further damage or mold growth throughout the home. 

Slab Leak

The hardest Iron Station water leaks to fix would be a leak in the slab. It is very difficult to find them, and even harder to even realize you have one. They are underneath the concrete and generally don’t show themselves for a very long time. Once found, concrete must be removed to reveal the pipe that’s leaking in order to make the repair. This means floors will come up and preparation to get to the pipe will begin. A jackhammer will have to be brought in to break up the concrete and the dirt will have to be hand dug. Slab leaks are very costly due to the amount of labor and intensity needed to reveal such a pipe. Home insurance companies typically pay for the cost of removing the concrete but not repairing the pipe. 

Yard Leaks

Another common form of water leaks will be located in your yard. Every home has a water line that either feeds from a well or city water to your home. These are typically buried 18 inches as required by N.C. Plumbing code. Water leaks in the yard can typically be spotted easily. While they can be repaired usually, we always recommended replacing the line rather than a repair. A repair is just a bandaid on a bigger problem in your yard, we always say if it leaks once it will do it again. This statement especially applies to water lines. A typical water line install requires us to call 811 to locate your utility lines such as gas, electrical, internet, and cable. Once located, it is safe to dig in your yard without hitting these lines. Using a shovel we will dig up in front of your meter, and at your house where the water line has been planned for entry. On crawlspaces, we take our new line underneath the home and connect to the existing mainline underneath. After lines have been located and dug we bring out our mini-excavator and begin the digging process. Starting from the meter and working towards your home. Our guys are trained on this excavator and are true professionals at what they do. Once dug, the water line will be installed with PRV, shut-off, and box. The PRV will reduce the stress on the new line and fixtures throughout the home created by high water pressure. It will be 18 inches deep to prevent freezing during our winters. Once installed and inspected we cover our line back up and will lay down grass seed and hay straw at the homeowner’s request. 

Improving your water lines lifespan

PRV (City water only)

PRV or Pressure Reducing Valve are required in any new home today. A home’s pressure is supposed to be 80 psi or less, PRV’s will bring it down to 80 – 65 psi giving you protection to the whole system. When the population rises and new homes are built the city is required to raise the pressure in a given area. With Iron Station, NC growing like it is you better prepare your self with a new PRV or you may regret it later on. This pressure will also increase more at night when its use is the lowest. When this happens it can affect all water piping in your home without a PRV. Our company recommends installations in front of your city meter, in its own meter box with a shut-off. This will protect the entire line going into your home, along with the fixtures inside the home.

Well switches, tanks and more.

Wells work a little bit differently than city water but ultimately has the same end result. Getting water from one place to another. This process happens by using a well pump, along with a few other devices to bring the water out of the ground and into your home. A well usually consists of the pump, bladder tank, and pressure switch. These 3 key components are what give you water. The pump brings up the water, the bladder tank holds a certain amount of water and keeps it pressurized. The well switch then kicks on and pushes that water to you at a given PSI. These devices must work together at all times. The line then leaves a well house and is run to your home. A PRV is not required due to the water being pressurized by a tank set at a certain PSI. It is recommended to have this system thoroughly inspected every 2 years.

Expansion Tank

An expansion tank is an apparatus used to limit the pressure caused by thermal expansion. When your water is heated by your water heater, the water is expanding raising the pressure putting more strain on the system. The expansion tank absorbs this increased pressure due to its balloon-like innards. Contact Superior Plumbing and Drains, LLC today by calling us at (704) 813-2888 to take care of your Iron Station water leaks issues! Superior Plumbing and Drains, LLC is located in Gastonia, NC.