Quality of Plumbing is a ¨Lottery¨
Like electrics, plumbing is one of the hidden aspects of the services in your new property that is “out of sight and out of mind”.
The quality of the plumping in your property is a lottery that will may not cause you issues or will be a long running battle.
A Property Survey of your potential new home can help in establishing such things as water pressure and the general condition of pipes and even if there is a possible leak by monitoring the water meter but not where the leak is, unless it is very obvious.
Garden Plumbing
Underground water leaks are often the most common. Usually it is not until a large water bill is presented by the local Town Hall that the client is even aware that a problem exists. Thankfully, they are usually relatively easy to mend, unless the leak is beneath a terrace. Often the problem stems from irrigation pipe connectors being used rather than brass fitting which are more robust.
Interior Plumbing
I find that most hot water pipes in the properties I work on are not insulated against the cold of winter. The pipes are usually buried in concrete and will leach heat at an alarming rate. Being bedded in concrete makes them difficult to replace as they require channelling out. Any leaks can at times be difficult to find as the water migrates over a large area.
If your property is to be reformed, especially bathrooms and the kitchen, I would suggest always replacing the existing water pipes with new. Remove the old copper or iron pipes and replace them with PEX piping.
PEX Piping
PEX, or cross-linked polyethylene, pipe is one of the newest and most popular pipes to hit the plumbing market. PEX piping is used only to supply water and is a pipe that is rigid enough to withstand the pressures of water supply but flexible enough to weave throughout walls, ceilings, basements, and crawlspaces.
The advantages of PEX piping over traditional copper piping:
Colour-coded red for hot water and blue for cold water, therefore there is no confusion when making connections at a future date.
The hot water pipes have in-built insulation.
Highly flexible, with 90-degree curves possible and so it eliminates the risk of leaks at multiple connection sites.
Attaches with push-fit plumbing fittings and so much faster to install than soldering joints with copper pipes.
Inexpensive compared to copper.
Poor Water Pressure
Reduced water pressure can be related to a number of issues. The water in the majority of Spain is hard, cal will form in the pipes and reduce the flow of water, taps will block up as well as heating elements in the kettle and water heater will fur up, reducing their effectiveness.
A water softener is the solution. We have a number of different option for this problem.
If you live out in the campo, you will experience a reduction in the water pressure in the summer months or in the worst cases, cut off for a few days.
The solution is a water tank and pump to maintain the pressure and get you over the Town Hall inflicted drought.
Call LT Construction today for all of your plumbing problems.
