4701 Patrick Henry Dr. Santa Clara, CA 95054
E-mail us: caplumbingpointinc@gmail.com
24 Hour Service - 7 Days a Week
Older homes are optimal for a lot of reasons. Beyond often being more affordable, they tend to have perks such as sturdier build materials, appliances built to last, and a bit of old-timey charm.
However, there is one big problem everyone has to deal with when they own an old home. The plumbing doesn’t last forever, and problems tend to occur fairly regularly.
So, we’re going to go over 6 common plumbing problems in older houses and solutions you can use to solve those problems.
Let’s get started.
This is extremely common. Most of the pipes used in old houses have extremely long lifespans, but that doesn’t help if the fixtures don’t last just as long. In most cases, they don’t, and you run into a huge problem.
A common example of this is a basic sink valve. You go into your bathroom, you realize your sink won’t shut off fully even if you turn the valve off, and you deal with a constant trickle of wasted water. Then, you go to remove the valve, and it’s so old that it twists a pipe, breaks, or otherwise causes major issues.
If you’re looking to fix a valve on your own, it’s fairly simple assuming there is enough pipe left to use a storebought valve without messing with the plumbing. Typically, you cut the pipe as little as possible, the new valve pops on, and you hook everything up.
That’s the general process for most small fixtures. A valve is just an example.
However, even a simple valve change can quickly become a very big problem in an old house. If you twist a copper pipe, break a pipe connector, or do anything else wrestling with it, you can end up needing new pipes installed in the area, and you’ll end up calling a plumber, anyway.
In most situations, you should call a plumber and have it replaced at a fair price instead of making it worse.
If you have trees around your home, this is a big threat, and it tends to be a problem with older houses that have older, larger, trees.
The roots grow out, wrap around the pipes beneath your yard or home, and eventually, cause them to break. Sewer pipes commonly have this issue due to their size and how they run out of the main line.
There isn’t a DIY solution for this one. It’s a complicated fix that involves removing the roots and fixing underground lines. Most of the time, you can’t even turn the water off from your normal household main valve, and even when it’s done, you have a tree with severely damaged roots.
The best solution in this case is to call a professional plumber who can work with the water company and knows how to repair your pipes properly and safely.
Some modern pipes snap together or use PVC glue, but old pipes were typically soldered together or used serious industrial adhesives. Those solutions last far longer, but eventually, they start to break down, and they no longer hold water perfectly.
Unfortunately, once a drip starts, it only gets worse as it erodes the rest of the material.
This isn’t something you want to deal with on your own. There are a variety of products on the market to help, but they tend to be temporary solutions. Even if you go to replace connections on your own, you’re likely to experience more leaks from torquing surrounding pipes, or you can mix-and-match pipe systems for something that isn’t optimal.
In this situation, it’s also best to call a plumber. However, you can leverage store-bought solutions such as hydro tape to keep your water bill from skyrocketing while you wait.
Unfortunately, Uncle Sam has a lot to say about the pipes in your home, and if you don’t have the right ones, you can be fined for compliance issues. This is particularly common with the lead pipes that used to be an industry standard.
If this happens, your only solution is to call a plumber, because it means you need to have all your plumbing redone. That’s not something you can do on your own unless you are a seasoned professional yourself. Even then, it’s a ton of work.
To see if this is an issue, you need to identify your water pipes, and you need to check your local regulations to make sure they’re not considered outdated and non-compliant.
Faulty sewer lines are serious matters. They’re not only unpleasant, but they can be unhealthy, and they pose an explosion risk due to methane gas.
Your sewer lines can fail for several reasons in an older home. They could be clogged too badly, have tree root problems in your yard, or the pipes might have just degraded too much.
You can’t do anything about this on your own, but you can understand the warning signs.
First, you’ll smell rotten eggs. You might even have sewage water come back into your home.
Beyond that, you’ll notice puddles in your yard that don’t make sense. That’s sewage water seeping up from the pipes and into your yard.
Finally, you’ll smell methane and in the worst-case scenario, you might deal with an explosion.
If you start seeing those signs, call a plumber right away.
This is common in old homes because the house shifts and the rigid pipes are “bellied” as they’re forced to move while still connected. Sometimes, this can accompany foundation issues, or it might happen without that issue being present.
Usually, you’ll notice lower water pressure, blocked water pressure, odors, and leaks when this is the case, but most homeowners don’t notice until the pipes are seriously bent.
A plumber is required to fix this issue.
If your older house has these plumbing issues, the best solution is to contact a plumber immediately. They’re too complicated to do on your own, and attempting to will likely make matters worse.
Having a plumbing emergency? Our emergency plumber in Santa Clara is available 24/7. Call us now!
