Add These Items to Your Springtime Plumbing Checklist
Once the weather starts to warm up, many of us find ourselves thinking about tackling a few of those home projects that involve the outdoors. It comes as no surprise that some of these plans may include plumbing. Along those lines, here are a few plumbing-focused suggestions for you to keep in mind as you narrow down your list for this spring and summer. Now’s the best time to start planning.
Repair Hose Bibs & Install New Ones
Wintertime can take its toll on garden hose spigots in the Denver-Boulder area. As we swing thru our widely varying spells of winter weather, water can get trapped inside a hose spigot and freeze, expanding and causing problems. The outer housing can split, and internal parts such as the valve seat, washers, and valve stem can also be compromised. This can even happen with ‘freeze-proof’ hose bibs as they begin to age. Leaks or steady drips are the results, once the weather has thawed out. The common fix in many of these situations is to replace the valve, rather than devoting time to trying to repair it.
Check Your Home’s Water Pressure
Checking your household water pressure regularly can potentially save you lots of aggravation and expense – now and down the road. If the water pressure in your home is in the 60 to 80 psi (pounds per square inch) range, this can be potentially problematic for your home.
A pressure reducing valve (PRV) reduces the higher pressure of the city water supply as it leaves the city main piping and enters your home. If your home does not have a properly functioning PRV, pressures that can be potentially harmful to automatic valves in appliances such as your dish and clothes washers, toilets, shower valves, and ice makers, could be entering your plumbing system. In addition, having water pressure in your home that’s higher than recommended can also shorten the life of the actual copper piping, fittings, and shutoff valves all over the house. The potential repairs costs can be significant – if not now, then maybe later.
If your home does not have a PRV – or one that’s functioning properly – now’s a good time to learn more from your trusted plumbing team. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention….”
I want to check my water pressure!
Inspect Outdoor Gas Piping
You should always exercise caution when poking around and looking closer at gas pipes, both indoors and outside. While we typically associate gas piping with the mechanical room, basement or crawlspace, it’s not that unusual to have some gas pipe run outdoors, whether for outdoor appliances such as grilles or heaters or for conveniently delivering gas to some indoor locations (like a gas fireplace or wall heater). Our Front Range wintertime conditions make it important to inspect all outdoor gas piping every year. If you’d like, this inspection can be included in your annual maintenance agreement for other systems like your heating or AC. Of course, if you see or smell anything unusual, let your plumbing professional know asap and he or she can look closer.
Think About New Outdoor Installations
Springtime is a great time to think about adding new products to enhance outdoor living at your home. Outdoor gas fire pit heaters and permanent radiant heaters are some of the more popular products available to help stretch outdoor relaxation time well into the evening. Now is the best time to get moving if you’d like to enjoy them as our evenings start turning milder. Of course, a professionally installed gas supply is crucial to many of these amenities. Other spring-summer projects such as permanent natural gas barbecues and maybe even adding a new gas heater to a detached garage, studio, or workshop, all may involve installing a new gas pipe to fuel new equipment.
Vacuum Breakers & Backflow Assemblies for Sprinklers
If you have a permanent sprinkler system installed for your lawn and flowerbeds, with a specialized pro maintaining that system, make sure that your household drinking water supply is fully and safely isolated from the water that goes to your sprinklers. In the Denver-Boulder metro area, a backflow valve assembly (also known as a vacuum breaker) is required by code for your health and safety.
Ask your trusted plumber to check the water tie-in to your sprinkler system, and let you know if he or she has any recommendations to help enhance your family’s safety and your peace of mind.
Consult a Professional
Springtime is the time when many of us start getting out more, and we often find that the spaces outside around our homes deserve some attention. A variety of plumbing projects often make the warm weather to-do list when we start looking closer, and maybe dreaming a little, too! From annual inspections and maintenance to expanding and further enhancing your outdoor and detached spaces, some of these projects will go much smoother if you choose to employ the talents and expertise of an experienced pro.
When you need expert assistance with springtime projects in the Denver-Boulder metro area, contact Save Home Heat Company. Our highly skilled, well-trained plumbers, technicians, electricians, and installers will provide reliable, trustworthy help with all of your home’s plumbing and drains, heating and cooling, hot water, and electrical needs. Please give us a call today to get started and learn more about the advantages of our highly customer-focused process.
