Residential plumbing is one of the many crucial cornerstones of 21st-century society. Both entering and leaving our homes, water provides for cleaning, washing, drinking, cooking, and removal of sewage and waste products. And on a daily basis, we in Western society take for granted this incredibly efficient system as often as we use it. That is until problems arise. And even when the best possible plumbing supplies are used, the normal wear and tear of these man-made products will eventually lead to a need for repair. Do you need a plumber in Portland? OR
The vast majority of the plumbing infrastructure in a residential unit involves getting water supply into the house and dispersing it throughout. Your kitchen and bathrooms will make up for the majority of water usage if not all of it. Certainly, you may have outdoor faucets and other water-based applications. But whether indoors or out, plumbing only works due to the pressure that builds up before a valve is opened. And the system can only work effectively as long as all the many individual parts remain in good repair and do their jobs accordingly.
Every residential plumbing application requires ongoing maintenance by the homeowner, and this is especially the case in those geographical locations which experience extreme weather. When pipes are not insulated properly and freeze, they can burst. When this happens, the solution moves from repair to replacement, and that can get expensive. The installation of secondary water heaters, pipe insulation and covering, and even housing for external pipes is crucial where temperatures plummet, and the initial cost is far outweighed by the money and frustration saved over time. Ongoing maintenance and repair of residential plumbing applications is one of the few areas where the homeowner needs to get involved.
Extensive residential plumbing repairs should always be carried out by licensed and reputable professionals, and in many cases, even the simplest of maintenance or repairs is mandated by your local housing codes. And as far as speed and efficiency go, professional plumbers, have handled your particular repair or maintenance hundreds if not thousands of times and can be in and out quickly. There are situations where the replacement of a leaky pipe is better than the repair, and a trained professional can make the correct decision quickly. And while damage of a pipe or joint oftentimes means simply replacing that individual part, there are times when a more extensive replacement is needed. In the case of old plumbing pipes and infrastructure, adding new piping places more pressure on the old and worn joints and unions, thereby requiring the replacement of the entire system.
It would be wonderful if every domestic plumbing job simply required the replacement of a single faucet or pipe in a house or apartment. However, those times do arise when a pipe supplying an entire apartment complex or housing development bursts. In the most fortunate of cases, the leak will be minor, and will not require water to be shut off. But usually, a burst main pipe requires at least a temporary cease in the water supply. In the best-case scenario, residents can be alerted in advance, but this is not always the case.
Emergency repairs obviously require a much higher labor rate, but regular residential plumbing jobs and services can usually be carried out with very short notice and a lower rate. When an emergency arises, however, this is not the time to be fumbling through the Yellow Pages or an Internet search engine. Do that research now, and program the number of multiple emergency plumbers into your cell phone. And if you own a smartphone, you can even store the actual website of a residential plumbing company. Usually, there is a “Tap to Call” button which allows for instant access, and a quick solution to your plumbing emergency
