Suburban Plumbing Experts

The first time you hear the term “drain tile”, your inclination might be to think of the tiles on the floor of your home. But drain tiles have nothing to do with your home’s flooring. They are perforated pipes surrounded by stones that are used to keep groundwater from getting into your home’s basement. UNDERSTANDING DRAIN TILE SYSTEMS Originally, drain pipes were made from sections of clay. Hence, being called tiles instead of pipes. Today, however, most drain pipes are made of PVC or plastic. They consist of sections of perforated pipes laid inside a gravel trench and overlaid with more gravel. The gravel allows groundwater to collect in the trench and find its way into the pipes through the holes on the sides of the pipes. The  water is subsequently transported away from the house . Sometimes drain tiles are covered with sleeves to keep dirt from getting into them. Drain tiles are essential for keeping the house safe in the event of heavy rain or rapid snowmelt. They can be inst...

You probably know you should do a home inspection when buying a house. You may also realize the value of doing additional testing for mold, radon, lead, or foundation damage when the home inspection report recommends them, says   Windermere Management . But did you know that you should do a sewer line camera inspection before you pay for any property? Home inspections check the condition of a home’s major structures and systems, plus the appliances inside it. It will look at the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems. Home inspections also examine the building’s foundations, roof, walls, flooring, and main mechanicals. But home inspections do not include an assessment of the sewer lines. WHY SEWER LINES ARE EXCLUDED FROM HOME INSPECTIONS Home inspectors conduct a general evaluation of a building’s physical structures. They are not meant to dig deep into the condition of every single aspect of the house. But, if, during the inspection, a home inspector encounters a problem that...

Every homeowner experiences water problems in their home once in a while, but most of those happen within the home or the pipes within the immediate vicinity of the home. Sometimes though, the unexpected happens and you will have problems with your main water line. When this happens, it can be a big issue because most homeowners are not even aware of that portion of the plumbing. The exterior water line to your home may be buried up to nine feet in the ground, so early detection of problems with the line can be hard. The other thing is even when homeowners know of the existence of the main water line, they assume that responsibility for maintaining the line belongs to the city. But as TE Johnson & Sons Management explains, this assumption is wrong; it is your job to look after the main water line to your home. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR WATER SERVICE LINE AND THE PUBLIC MAIN Knowing how your home connects to the public main water supply will help you understand how the ...