InspectAPedia ^®

• Wells & water tanks, water supply piping, drain waste & vent piping, water supply: how to inspect, diagnose, test, repair water supply & drain piping
• Tank Types Encyclopedia an encyclopedia of tanks in buildings, water tanks, oil tanks, gas tanks, expansion tanks, cisterns, antique, modern
• Plumbing system inspection, testing, & repairs

The articles at this website will answer most questions about water supply & drain piping, wells, & water tanks as well as many other building plumbing system inspection or defect topics.

This page contains links to in-depth articles on inspecting, testing, and repairing problems with water supply and drain waste vent piping, wells, water supply pumps, water tanks, water testing and water treatment. New York State License # 16000005303 (inception to 2008) Sketch of piping details that affect the water supply in a building is provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop.

Reproduction of this web page electronically at other websites is prohibited.

© Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

• Pressure/Temperature Relief Valves, proper inspection methods, issues and hazards (article due in 2007)
• Clearances Required for Wells Distance Between Well & Septic System and other water pollution sources, Online Table of Well Distances
• Clearances Required for Septic Systems Between Septic System & Wells, Streams, Trees, property boundaries, Online Tables of Septic Distances
• Clogged Drain Diagnosis: Is it a blocked drain or the septic system? - A First Step for Homeowners
• CROSS CONNECTIONS, PLUMBING - bacterial contamination of buliding piping - sources
• DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS: may indicate defective or clogged plumbing: how to diagnose and cure drain sounds
• FREEZE-PROOF PIPES: how to freeze-proof plumbing in a building, how to avoid freezing pipes, how to thaw frozen pipes: how to winterize a building against freezing and frost damage.
• HOT WATER HEATERS - a detailed guide to all types of hot water sources, problems, inspection, repair
• Life Expectancy of Water Pumps - Well Pumps: how long should a water pump last? What affects pump life?
• Life Expectancy of Wells & Water Tanks how long should a water well and its components last?

PLASTIC WATER SUPPLY PIPING - Water Supply Piping Defects and Plastic or polybutylene water supply piping failures, leaks, and litigation

• Tank Types Encyclopedia an encyclopedia of tanks in buildings, water tanks, fuel tanks, gas tanks, heating system expansion tanks, oil tanks, water cisterns, water pressure tanks, pressure booster tanks, antique, modern
• TANKLESS COILS for making domestic hot water
  • Mixing Valves to avoid scalding hot water
  • Tankless Coil Leaks and how to evaluate and repair them
• Transite Pipe Water Supply Piping - what are the health hazards and other risks from cement asbestos (transite) water pipes?
• WATER HEATERS - a detailed guide to all types of hot water sources, problems, inspection, repair
• AGE of WATER HEATERS
  ALTERNATIVE HOT WATER SOURCES
  HEATING SYSTEMS
  AIRBOUND HEAT SYSTEM REPAIRS
  ANODES & DIP TUBES on WATER HEATERS
  ANTI SCALD VALVES
  CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR
  CLOGGED PIPING & Hot Water Flow
  DRAIN a WATER HEATER TANK
  ELECTRIC WATER HEATERS
  GAS FIRED WATER HEATERS
  HOT WATER IMPROVEMENTS
  HOT WATER QUANTITY IMPROVEMENT
    Alternative Hot Water Sources & Methods
    Anti-Scald Valves & Hot Water Quantity
    CLOGGED PIPING & Hot Water Flow
    Extra Tanks to Increase Hot Water
    Insulate Hot Water Piping
    Insulate Hot Water Tank?
    Larger Diameter Water Supply Piping
    Tankless Coil Hot Water Increase
    Temperature of Hot Water is Too Low
  INDIRECT FIRED WATER HEATERS
  ODORS IN WATER
  OIL FIRED WATER HEATERS
  MIXING VALVES
  RANGE BOILERS
  RELIEF VALVES - TP Valves on Boilers
  Relief Valves - Water Heaters
  SEWER GAS ODORS
  SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT
  SOLAR HOT WATER HEATERS
  TANKLESS COILS
  WATER HEATER PROPERTIES
  
• Water Pressure Adjustment how to adjust the water pressure in a building
• Water Pressure Loss - Diagnosis how to determine why water pressure has been lost or why there is no water at all in a building
• Water Pressure Tanks what they are for, how they work, what goes wrong, how to fix them
• Water Pump Pressure Control how to adjust the pump cut-on and cut-off pressures
• Water Pump Short Cycling what to do if the water pump keeps turning on and off too rapidly
• Water Pump and Pressure Tank Diagnosis & Costs an specific case offers an example of diagnosis of loss of water pressure, loss of water, and analyzes the actual repair cost
• Water Requirements, Home & Outdoor Living
• Water Tank Air Charge how to fix a water tank that has lost its air charge
• Water Tanks - how to diagnose problems with water tanks, such as the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.
• Water Testing for contaminants in drinking water - what test are available, what tests to ask for, what they cost, how people cheat on water tests
• Wells, Cisterns,& Springs types of sources of drinking water, what they look like, what goes wrong, what to do about it
  
  • Basement Wells as a water source, what to watch out for, how to inspect, test, make safe
  • Cisterns
  • Drilled Wells - steel casings and also bored wells, how to inspect, diagnose, & repair well problems
  • Drilled Well with Submersible Pump what is a submersible pump, how to inspect, diagnose, & repair
  • Shallow Well with One Line Jet Pump what is a one line jet pump, how to inspect, diagnose, & repair
  • Well with Two Line Jet Pump what is a two line jet pump, how to inspect, diagnose, & repair
  • Driven Point Wells what is a driven point well, what are its characteristics?
  • How Much Water is In the Well? how do we find out well water quantity - well flow rates or draw down tests
  • How to Test Well Water Quantity how can a homeowner or home buyer make a simple well water quantity test
        Do Your Own Well Yield Test
        How Water Flow & Pressure Behave
        Reasonable Water Flow Rate
        Step by Step Well Yield Test
        How to Calculate Well Yield if Run Out of Water
        Fixing Inadequate Water Pressure /Quantity
        How to Conduct a True Well Flow Test
        Visual Clues of Limited Well Capacity
        Faucet Flow Rate is Inaccurate Test
  • How to Get More Water From a Well how to improve well water yield - steps to try before drilling a new well
  • Hand Dug Wells what are they, can they be sanitary and safe?
  • Springs as Water Supply what are they, can they be sanitary and safe?
  • Well Pits - special warnings for properties where the well and well equipment, pump, tank, etc. are outside in a pit
• WATER PRESSURE LOSS how to diagnose the cause of bad water pressure
• WATER PRESSURE BOOSTING how to install a system to increase water pressure at a building
• WATER TANK TYPES what are the types of water pressure tanks, how are they tested, maintained, repaired
  
• WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES how far should the well be from the septic, road, property borders, buildings
  
• WELL, PUMP, TANK LIFE EXPECTANCY how long should a typical well, water pump, or water tank last?
  
• WELL PUMP PRIMING GUIDE how do we re-prime the well pump ?
• WINTERIZE A BUILDING: how to freeze-proof plumbing in a building, how to avoid freezing pipes, how to thaw frozen pipes: how to winterize a building against freezing and frost damage.
• Plumbing Links our big list of links to plastic piping and other plumbing defects

Share this Article      

...

Technical Reviewers & References

Search InspectAPedia

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• ABS Plastic Drain/Waste/Vent (DWV) pipe failures: reported for Centaur, Phoenix, Polaris, Gable, and Spartan pipe mfgs. for pipe made betweeen 1985 and 1988. CPSC Hot Line: 800-638-8270 or ABS Drain Leaks/Failures-Class Action Settlement COX settlement through Shell Oil set up by a contractor involved in the settlementPolubutylene Plumbing Failures: Spencer Class settlement. 10% of replacement cost/damages, only for acetal (plastic)fittingsPolybutylene plumbing info at U. ArizonaPolybutylene piping lawsuit settlement websitePolybutylene plumbing lawsuit proposed settlement-old site
• Polybutylene Plumbing Failures, Lots of Info about, but slow-loading busy site
• Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. (727) 595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

...

InspectAPedia® Home & Site Map - Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair, & Problem Prevention Advice: In-depth research & advice on diagnosing, testing, correcting, & preventing building defects & indoor environmental hazards. Unbiased information, no conflicts of interest.

The Mold Information Center: What to Do About Mold in Buildings, When and How to Inspect for Mold, Clean Up Mold, or Avoid Mold Problems

Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.

Building Inspection, Problem Diagnosis, Forensic Investigation & Testing, Repair Consulting

Contact Daniel Friedman for website content suggestions or for fee-paid consulting