Plumbing is one of those aspects of your home that isn’t visible to the naked eye. You don’t think about it until something goes wrong. It’s also something that most people try DIY. But it’s way more complicated than you might think
The truth is that poor plumbing work can require expensive repairs in the long run and even cause health problems due to mold growth or unpleasant odors. According to an article on Forbes, replacing plumbing in an existing structure can cost anywhere between $50 to $200 per hour for labor, in addition to the cost of materials.
Let’s take a look at a few useful ways to avoid common mistakes when building your home so that your plumbing system is efficient and long-lasting.
Not Knowing Your Plumbing System
A plumbing system is a network of pipes, fittings, and fixtures that carries water throughout your house. It’s crucial to know the components of your plumbing system to ensure there are no leaks before moving in.
The main components include:
- Sewer piping – It carries waste from toilets and drains to the city sewer system through a pipe buried underground or under concrete flooring.
- Drainage piping – It carries waste from sinks, tubs, showers, and other fixtures through pipes that empty into city sewers or septic tanks outside your home. If the drainage piping is above ground, it could be made of PVC pipe or copper pipe.
If these pipes aren’t installed correctly, they can collapse during construction and lead to serious flooding problems in the future.
Not Checking the Water Quality in Your Area
Before you buy a home, it’s essential to have water samples tested. Your local health department can help with this process. Also, it’s a good idea to have the water tested annually after moving into the new place, especially if you’re on a well system. It’ll help you detect problems early and prevent them from spiraling out of control.
Not Asking For Help When You Need It
Plumbing can be a difficult process, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re building your own home. Many people try to manage it on their own without proper knowledge about plumbing. If you think you can do some of the work yourself, make sure you ask for help from friends and family or even search online for guides.
If you don’t have the time or energy to learn how to do plumbing yourself, then hiring professional service providers like Beehive Plumbing will always be your best bet. Their expert plumbers are trained to install and repair different components without disrupting the entire system. Hiring such professionals will help you save money and time in the long run.
Underestimating the Complexity of Your Plumbing System
You’ll be surprised to discover the complexity of the plumbing system behind your walls. You might think that all you need is a water source, a drain, and an overflow valve. But there’s so much more to consider.
There are pipes, valves, and tubes connecting those sources and drains. And if something goes wrong with any of these components, there could be serious damage to your home.
The following parts need to work together for everything in your home’s plumbing system to function properly:
- Water supply lines from wells or public utilities
- Drain pipes (also called waste lines)
- Sewer lines
- Venting systems to allow air into pipes under pressure.
Not Planning Ahead of Time
If you’re adding a bathroom to your house or making changes to an existing one, it’s important to plan. It’ll help you avoid problems, mistakes, and unexpected costs.
If you haven’t considered the plumbing before the construction begins, it’s easy for miscommunication between plumbers and builders to cause delays or additional expenses. Plumbing issues are also one of the most common reasons inspectors condemn newly built houses because they were not appropriately installed during construction.
Not Taking Advantage of Energy Efficiency Tips
There are many things you can do to be more energy-efficient when you build your house.
For example:
- Buy energy-efficient appliances for the kitchen and laundry room.
- Insulate pipes in the walls, floors, and ceilings to prevent heat loss.
- Install a programmable thermostat to save on utility costs. It’ll help you turn down the temperature at night or when no one is home.
- You can also consider using solar panels on your roof to minimize carbon emissions.
Additionally, there are eco-friendly ways to manage water use around the house, including installing rainwater harvesting systems. As per IMARC, the rainwater harvesting market size in the U.S. was $368.7 million in 2021, and it is expected to reach $469.2 million in 2022.
You could also install low-flow showerheads in every bathroom and check that your existing water heater is high quality.
Do It Right the First Time Around
Poor plumbing work can cost a lot to fix and even cause health problems, so it’s important to do it right the first time around.
Some other plumbing mistakes to avoid while constructing your home are:
- Poor installation: Improperly installed pipes may not stand the test of time and are more likely to leak or burst in the future. Also, they may not meet code requirements, which could lead to expensive repairs down the road.
- Inadequate flow rates: If your plumbing system doesn’t have enough capacity for peak water usage, like when everyone is taking showers or flushing toilets at once, you’ll end up with low water pressure throughout your home. And that can be annoying for everyone living there.
Conclusion
As per Statista, close to 14.6 million homes were constructed in the U.S. in the first decade of the 21st century and approximately 6.9 million homes in the next one.
The best way to avoid common plumbing mistakes in the construction of homes is to seek advice from a professional. If you have any questions about your home’s plumbing system, don’t hesitate to contact a plumber in your area.