How Your Plumber Can Improve Older Homes | Conway, SC

How Your Plumber Can Improve Older Homes | Conway, SC

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Some older homes built in the early or mid 1900s still have their original plumbing. While this is a great testament to the durability of plumbing fixtures at the time, it’s probably time to consider an upgrade. Consult with your local plumber near Conway, SC, to schedule an inspection. Homes built over 60 years ago usually have pipes made of iron, clay, copper, or galvanized steel. Lead pipes are a possibility too. Get lead pipes removed and replaced as soon as you know they exist in your home.

Older homes frequently had waste pipes from the bathtub and sink connected to the waste pipe for the toilet. Modern standards dictate that waste pipes from bathtubs and sinks should connect to the home’s main drainage line. Pipes at that time also had a smaller average diameter than modern pipes. Plumbers can replace pipes, fittings, and other components of your home’s plumbing system regardless of the original materials.

Repairs and alterations may be enough to keep older plumbing functional, but any work done on your home has to be compliant with local codes that your plumber should know. Bringing old plumbing infrastructure up to code can be tricky, so replacement is usually the best option. An older home may not have vents installed near drains, but this is required in modern building codes. Addressing this problem isn’t just a matter of codes though, it can also improve the performance of your plumbing. Vents are essential for efficient, fast drains, and they help keep sewer gases from backing up into the home.

New Appliances and Fixtures

Upgrades and new appliances or fixtures can be very beneficial in newer homes too. Although adding an extra room and complex renovations may not be high on your to-do list, even small changes can add value to your home and make daily tasks easier. A designated space for laundry can reduce clutter in your home and improve aesthetics. A plumber can help set up the washing machine and necessary pipes and connections in a new area.

Many professional plumbers also handle appliances powered by natural gas, which is a common choice for dryers in Conway, SC. Organize a neat, organized corner or designated space along a wall for your washer and dryer and at least one set of shelves to hold laundry soap, dryer sheets, and other supplies. You can separate the laundry area from the rest of the room with partitions or curtains.

A pull-out faucet is a minor upgrade with impressive benefits that really save time and improve convenience in the kitchen. Many sinks have an attachment of some sort off to the side, but a pull-out faucet is attached to the faucet head. This small device becomes a high-pressure sprayer that you can operate with only one hand. Move the sprayer in any direction and manipulate the high-pressure stream to clean sinks or countertops, wash and rinse dishes, fill pots and basins, and any other task you can do within a few feet of the sink.

An energy-efficient water heater installed by a professional plumber in good condition can save money on energy bills and provide a dependable supply of hot water. Old water heater models may not be very efficient for a variety of reasons. Rust or sediment inside a tank heater can cause discolored water with a slightly metallic taste. Accumulated sediment eventually lowers tank capacity because the debris takes up space that should be storing hot water. This can lead to running out of hot water unexpectedly.

Rust indicates deterioration. The water inside storage tanks is under pressure, so rusted areas will eventually become leaks as water forces its way out through weakened areas on the tank. Ask your plumber about tankless water heaters when it’s time for an upgrade. Large households with multiple people using hot water at the same time may need to install two or more tankless hot water heaters, but tankless models tend to be more energy efficient because they only heat water when it’s needed.

The absence of large amounts of stored water also reduces the risk of water damage if something happens to the appliance. Newer water heaters, tankless or otherwise, also offer quiet operation, streamlined designs, and relatively simple settings. You can even ask about setting up a smart thermostat and controlling it with your phone or laptop.

Sewer Lines

Sewer lines may be older or newer than plumbing inside the house. It depends on when the sewers were built. A sewer line, or sewer pipe, connects plumbing in your house to public infrastructure. Homeowners are responsible for lines on their property. Keep an eye out for signs of a leak or other problem. Wet, soggy ground, a foul odor, and new depressions in the lawn may indicate a sewer leak. Although sewer lines can maintain their integrity for decades, they are at risk from tree roots, clogs, rocky soil, and changes in pressure due to shifting ground.

Planning

It’s important to have a professional plumber involved in any home improvements right from the start. Choosing locations for fixtures and replacing old pipes with new ones isn’t nearly as simple as it looks. Water flows into the house through pipes and wastewater leaves the same way, but the system depends on appropriate positioning and angles of plumbing pipes and connections.

Poor planning reduces efficiency and may cause problems such as temperature fluctuations, erratic water pressure, sewer gas backups, and frequent clogs. Strange noises during the night and at other random times may be the result of poor planning and positioning. The noise is often caused by water and air displacing each other in pipes, bit water and air shouldn’t be moving so much when no one is using plumbing fixtures.

The experienced professionals at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Myrtle Beach are ready to help with all of your plumbing needs in Conway, SC. They handle installations, repairs, renovations, and emergency services for incidents that simply can’t wait. Call today to schedule an appointment with a trustworthy plumber.

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