Water main breaks are not something that any homeowner ever wants to experience. Unfortunately, breaks can happen. When the water main breaks on your property, you need to make sure you take the right steps to get repairs done right away and to get the repairs done right. You cannot just get any plumber to deal with fixing a water main break, you need to make sure you get someone who knows how to work with water mains.
Key Facts to learn About Water Main Breaks
Water main breaks happen for lots of different reasons. One big issue is that the water main gets old. Piping and plumbing aren't meant to last forever and as time passes, deterioration occurs. Water pressure increases and decreases; adverse conditions with corrosive soil; stray electrical currents; and movement of the ground can all make it more likely that a water main will end up breaking. Freezing and thawing of soil tend to make a lot of ground movement occur, so if the water main is not installed below the frost line, this too is going to increase the chances of a water main break.
When a water main does break, the key to getting it repaired is first to make sure that there are no other underground lines in the immediate vicinity which could be damaged when efforts are made to dig up the water main. Water mains are under the ground, and you do not want to hit underground sewer lines, or gas or electrical lines when digging to do the repairs.
After hazards are identified, the next step is to drill into the ground in order to access the water main and identify the break or leak in the main. Water can travel along under the ground, so you cannot assume that the spot where the water is coming out is necessarily the spot where the water main break is. The water main break could be difficult to find, depending upon the break location and on how far the water is traveling.
After the leak is found, the nature of the break has to be assessed. A determination has to be made if the problem is with a valve or if the problem is with a main pipe. When the problem is identified, options for repair must be discussed.
In some cases, it is possible to just do a quick fix by using a sleeve to go around a leak. This can work under certain circumstances but it may not be an option or the best approach in a variety of cases where water main problems have happened. In other situations, the best thing to do is to have the valve replaced that caused the problem or even sometimes to have a full section of piping removed.
Throughout this process of fixing a water main break, homeowners and property owners should be kept informed of developments. When you learn about the issues with your water main break during the repair process, you'll be better able to recognize and respond to problems in the future.
Key Facts to learn About Water Main Breaks
Water main breaks happen for lots of different reasons. One big issue is that the water main gets old. Piping and plumbing aren't meant to last forever and as time passes, deterioration occurs. Water pressure increases and decreases; adverse conditions with corrosive soil; stray electrical currents; and movement of the ground can all make it more likely that a water main will end up breaking. Freezing and thawing of soil tend to make a lot of ground movement occur, so if the water main is not installed below the frost line, this too is going to increase the chances of a water main break.
When a water main does break, the key to getting it repaired is first to make sure that there are no other underground lines in the immediate vicinity which could be damaged when efforts are made to dig up the water main. Water mains are under the ground, and you do not want to hit underground sewer lines, or gas or electrical lines when digging to do the repairs.
After hazards are identified, the next step is to drill into the ground in order to access the water main and identify the break or leak in the main. Water can travel along under the ground, so you cannot assume that the spot where the water is coming out is necessarily the spot where the water main break is. The water main break could be difficult to find, depending upon the break location and on how far the water is traveling.
After the leak is found, the nature of the break has to be assessed. A determination has to be made if the problem is with a valve or if the problem is with a main pipe. When the problem is identified, options for repair must be discussed.
In some cases, it is possible to just do a quick fix by using a sleeve to go around a leak. This can work under certain circumstances but it may not be an option or the best approach in a variety of cases where water main problems have happened. In other situations, the best thing to do is to have the valve replaced that caused the problem or even sometimes to have a full section of piping removed.
Throughout this process of fixing a water main break, homeowners and property owners should be kept informed of developments. When you learn about the issues with your water main break during the repair process, you'll be better able to recognize and respond to problems in the future.
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