Plumbing involves more than putting together a few pipes.

by Bill Jablonski

Whether your interested in remodeling your kitchen or creating the addition of a new bathroom, plumbing is a big consideration.

"We get most of our calls about home improvements in the spring just after everyone gets done paying their taxes," said John Gross of Bailey Plumbing and Heating, 29760 U.S. 24 in Buena Vista.

A variety of the calls Gross receives are from contractors or homeowners who are building new homes to install a new home's entire plumbing system. Remodeling projects and changing fixtures are also the types of call he gets.

"As far as a remodeling project goes, you have to go into the existing plumbing system including water, waste and vent and reconfigure it enough to accommodate something like an addition of a new bathroom," he said.

This detailed process also applies to work such as moving the location of an existing bathroom to a different part of the house. Gross indicated that this process can sometimes be difficult because at times you may or may not have some of the elevations you need to make all the plumbing work on gravity.

"Sometimes you have to use your imagination to make things work that still meet the code and works," Gross said, "A lot of the times, what you run into with remodeling projects is the elevation of a sewer line coming into the house versus where the homeowner may want to put a bathroom such as down in a basement."

In such a case where gravity cannot obviously be applied John suggests installing what is called a lifting station which will act as a pump in place of gravity. This particular choice can cost in the range of $600 to $1,000 for installation and the actual lift station equipment.

A main concern of most home owners has to do with either too much or too little water pressure.

"We get calls a lot from people with problems in subdivisions where a gravity-fed system is used," Gross said.

With this type of system, the farther away you are from the main source of the water, the higher the water pressure is and the closer you are to the source, the lower the pressure will be.

"I've seen water with as high as 120 pounds of pressure," said Gross.

This would require a pressure reduction valve to help reduce such a force of water. In the other case where there may be low or even no water pressure John suggests installing a water booster. The booster allows water to come into a holding tank and has a surface mounting pump which will than boost up the water pressure.

Plumbing codes also play a big role in water system work done to your house. Always hire plumbers who are well-educated with your town's codes and is fully licensed.

With the majority of communities already having or going towards water meters and systems you should be aware of your town's code.

The plumbing code in Buena Vista, each existing water system which uses the municipal water system requires a check valve or back flow prevention system to be applied to water meters.

If the town shuts off their water main for any reason, this check valve prevents water that is within the house plumbing to re-enter the town's water main and possibly contaminate it.

This particular piece of equipment is attached to the outlet side of water meters.

If you may have any questions regarding plumbing codes, it's best to contact an experienced plumber rather than your town hall.

The reason behind this according to John is, "You should keep in mind that it's not town hall's job to give you the type of advice you may need.

"There's a little more detail and understanding of the mechanics involved that most homeowners need to know. Knowledge and an experience level enter into this and that's where we or another experienced plumber can help you."

For further information on plumbing concerns contact Gross at Bailey plumbing and Heating at 395-2124