Putting in a new bathroom, renovating your kitchen or moving the laundry room will all involve some serious plumbing work. This type of project requires planning, including permit applications and decisions about possibly upgrading the existing services. Even a straightforward DIY plumbing project needs to be well planned out.
Plumbing is an often-neglected part of your home - until something goes wrong. The damage from a pipe bursting or a valve leaking has enormous potential for devastation. Make sure your new plumbing project is done properly and ties into the current system well without overloading it. Protect your home and your family with quality plumbing.
Adding a Bathroom
You'll have a lot of things to consider when adding or upgrading your bathroom.
If you have a septic system, it's important to find out whether the current tank can handle the additional load. When applying for the building permit you may need to have the tank upgraded or completely replaced. It's best to find out ahead of time whether or not this is necessary.
Gather some basic information about your hot water heater and use it to make some calculations.
For instance, your hot water heater will need to be large enough to support all of the showers in your home, otherwise you may get a nasty surprise while showering or end up running the dishwater without the heated water.
You'll need to lay out the shower, sink and toilet in the new room as well, to make sure you have enough clearance for the plumbing.
Water pressure is another important consideration when adding new fixtures and plumbing. Generally, a 3/4 inch supply will deliver enough pressure for your shower. If you have a well and pump system, have your plumber calculate whether the current supply can handle a new bathroom.
Renovating Your Kitchen
Kitchens require plumbing as well and when a renovation moves your sink and dishwasher to a new location, plumbing will be a part of the project.
Leaving the dishwasher and sink in the same location is much less work. However, renovations have a way of forcing change and you may find that the current location doesn't work in the new layout.
Be sure that the plumbing is in good shape and replace any that is inferior. Also be sure to include new fittings into your budget, as some are not likely to be reusable after the move.
If your new fridge has an ice maker remember that it will require a water line tied into your existing plumbing.
Moving Your Laundry
Many homeowners are designing main floor and second floor laundry rooms into their homes. This type of renovation can become a major plumbing project and requires some consideration beforehand.
You can turn an old bathroom into a spacious laundry room using the hot and cold water supplies. Often this is just a case of removing the existing features and soldering hose thread fittings onto the pipes.
If you have a gas dryer, make sure there is also a natural gas supply in the renovation area.
Floor drains are an important part of a laundry room and will need to be included in the design. Be sure to have a plumber inspect the proposed laundry room location to see whether a floor drain will be possible and where that pipe will run.
Any plumbing project you tackle will need to be well planned out ahead of time. You don't want to be midway into the plumbing job and realize that something won't work. Detailed calculations, well thought out design and professional advice on major systems will ensure your plumbing project is completed without a hitch.
Posted by: TrustedPros