Water Supply Piping Defects List & Home Inspection Education
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Inspection recommendations for water supply piping in buildings
Water supply piping typical defects list
Lists of important defects for residential buildings
What does a home inspector need to know? Home inspection training and education curriculum recommendations

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This article lists significant water supply piping defects, definitions, and home inspection education topics. This article series, beginning at BUILDING DEFECTS LISTS, provides lists of common building defects and basic defect knowledge that also outline recommended curriculum content for home inspector education. The building defects and inspection points listed in these articles also guide homeowners and home buyers to building areas that merit careful attention and often point areas of safety concern or important maintenance and repair tasks.

Readers should see PLUMBING SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR for our complete list of articles on this topic. Also see HOME & BUILDING INSPECTORS & INSPECTION METHODS. Use the Search Box at the top or bottom of these pages to find in-depth information about building, energy savings, and indoor environment inspection, diagnosis and repair at this website. Watch out: these inspection lists do not list all possible defects for the systems discussed, and not all home or building inspectors will examine all of the items listed here. CONTACT us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website.

Also see these related article groups:
PIPING IN buildings, Clogs Leaks Types
WATER PURIFIERS
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
WATER PUMP PROBLEM DIAGNOSTIC TABLE
WATER QUANTITY IMPROVEMENT
WATER SOFTENERS & CONDITIONERS
WATER TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
WATER TESTS, CONTAMINANTS, TREATMENT
WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
WINTERIZE A BUILDING

These curriculae and building defect lists are based on smilar curriculum documents first prepared by Joe Scaduto, an ASHI member who prepared course material for Northeastern University's Building Inspection Certificate program in 1988, subsequently by DF, InspectApedia's editor, for New York University ca 1988 and later, with others, recommended to ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. ASHI did not adopt this material though currently that association as well as others offer extensive HOME INSPECTOR EDUCATION material. The curriculum and lists of defects are informed by additional analysis of the process of home inspection that was developed beginning Calgary, AB for Canadian and U.S. home inspector education and certification examinations in 1997. Other early contributors to home inspection education in the U.S. and Canada include Dr. Jess Aronstein, Alan Carson, Mike Casey, Mark Cramer, John Cox, Dwight Barnett, Douglas Hansen, Rick Heyl, Larry Hoytt, Bill Merrill, Kevin O'Malley, Dennis Robitalille, Keith Peddie, Pat Porzio, Roger Robinson.

© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website.

Home Inspection Education Curriculum - Plumbing, Supply

6.0 PLUMBING System Inspection Recommendations & Typical Defecs List

6.1 Supply Plumbing Inspection & Typical Defects

6.1.1 Knowledge Base for Inspecting Building Supply Piping Systems

1. Describe the function of residential supply plumbing.

2. Describe public and private supply systems.

3. List the materials and components of public and private systems, including wells, pumps, pressure tanks, service piping, shut off valves, piping, isolating valves, hangers.

4. Describe the features of adequate installation and repair technique on supply plumbing systems.

5. Define the following terms: (note- private well systems not required to be inspected, but nice to know, maybe delete well pump terms below?)

cross connection, static pressure, anti-siphon device, potable water, pressure, flow, volume, pressure loss due to friction, pressure loss due to elevation, pressure regulator, distribution piping, shallow well, deep well, foot valve, reciprocating (piston) pump, centrifugal pump, jet pump, submersible pump, foot valve, venturi, total head, suction head, discharge head, pressure tank, globe valve, gate valve, ball valve, type M, L, K and DWV copper piping, flare fitting, dielectric union, water hammer, backflow, back siphonage, air gap.

6. Outline the life expectancy of each common supply plumbing material.

7. Identify the codes or standards which apply to public and private plumbing systems in your area.

6.1.2 Inspection skills for Inspecting Building Supply Piping Systems

1. Describe the inspection procedure for supply plumbing systems.

2. Identify the common defects listed on the next page.

3. Describe the implications of each defect.

4. Identify the safety issues for the inspector and occupant of the home (fall hazard re: wells, contaminated water causing illness)

5. Communicate findings to client verbally and in writing, recommending corrective action when needed.

SUPPLY PLUMBING TYPICAL DEFECTS

WATER SUPPLY PUMPS, Typical Defects PRESSURE REGULATORS, Typical Defects

• Damaged • Leaking

• Excessive noise or vibration • Missing

• Frozen • No bypass or relief valve

• Inoperative • Poor location

• Leak • Rust

• Lost prime • Set wrong

• Overheating

• Running continuously SUPPLY PIPING IN HOUSES, Typical Defects

• Rust

• Short cycling • Combustible piping ???

• Wiring problems • Cross connections

• Excess pressure

PRESSURE TANKS, Typical Defects • Excessive noise

• Leak

• Condensation • Non-standard material

• Leaking • Poor pressure or flow

• Rust • Poor support

• Tank wobbling or unstable • Rust

• Waterlogged • Split, damaged, crimped

• Suspect connections on polybutylene

WATER SERVICE PIPES, Typical Defects

SHUT OFF VALVES, Typical Defects

• Freezing

• Leaking • Damaged handle

• Low pressure • Exposed to mechanical damage

• Mechanical damage • Inoperable, inaccessible, buried

• Leaking

• Missing or cannot be located

• Partly closed

• Rusted

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education including the ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program (home study course), publications such as the Home Reference Book, report writing materials including the Horizon report writer, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Standards Committee. Mr. Hankey has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles. Contact Roger Hankey at: 952 829-0044 - rhankey@hankeyandbrown.com. Mr. Hankey is a frequent contributor to InspectAPedia.com.
Arlene Puentes, an ASHI member and a licensed home inspector in Kingston, NY, and has served on ASHI national committees as well as HVASHI Chapter President. Ms. Puentes can be contacted at ap@octoberhome.com
Wikipedia provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ^® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.

ASHI Certification Links
Home Inspection Reports - a Critique narrative vs. checklist type home inspection reports
ASHI Standards of Practice - Jan 2000 and ASHI Standards History - links to older and alternative versions of Home Inspection Standards
ASHI Code of Ethics 1993, and ASHI Ethics History - links to older versions; Note: newer may be found at ASHI
ASHI in 1996 ASHI History - association description from 1996
American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) Official Website
Basement Moisture Control, U.S. Department of Energy
Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724 ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
Building Pathology: Principles and Practice, David Watt, Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (March 7, 2008) ISBN-10: 1405161035 ISBN-13: 978-1405161039
Building inspection education & report writing systems from Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd
Crawl Space Moisture Control, U.S. Department of Energy
Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer, Robert A. Young, Wiley (March 21, 2008) ISBN-10: 0471788368 ISBN-13: 978-0471788362
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Home Inspection Education Curriculum - Plumbing, Supply

6.0 PLUMBING System Inspection Recommendations & Typical Defecs List

6.1 Supply Plumbing Inspection & Typical Defects

6.1.1 Knowledge Base for Inspecting Building Supply Piping Systems

6.1.2 Inspection skills for Inspecting Building Supply Piping Systems

SUPPLY PLUMBING TYPICAL DEFECTS

WATER SUPPLY PUMPS, Typical Defects PRESSURE REGULATORS, Typical Defects

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Technical Reviewers & References

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair