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PLUMBING TOPICS
AGE of Plumbing Materials & Fixtures
BLOCKED DRAIN REPAIR METHODS
BOILERS, HEATING
CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR
CLOGGED PIPING & Hot Water Flow
DRAIN a WATER HEATER TANK
FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING
Key Winterizing Topics
How to Winterize a Building
Winterize - Heat On Procedure
Winterize- Heat Off Procedure
De-Winterized a Building
  Thawing Frozen Pipes
  Repairing Burst Leaky Pipes
  Turning on Heating
  Restoring Drains
  Turning on Water
  Water Supply/Drain Pipe Leak Types
  Restoring Water Softener & Treatment Equip
GAS PIPING
HOT WATER HEATERS
LEAD WATER PIPES
MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS
ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE
OIL FIRED WATER HEATERS
OIL TANKS
PIPING IN BUILDINGS
  AGE OF PIPING
  CHECK VALVES
  CLOGGED DRAINS
  DRAIN & SEWER PIPING
  DRAIN NOISES
PLASTIC PIPING
SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT
TRAPS on DRAINS
VENT PIPING
WATER PRESSURE LOSS
WATER SUPPLY PIPING
  Water pipe clog diagnosis
  Water pipe clog repair guide
PLUMBING FIXTURES
  FAUCETS & CONTROLS
  SHOWERS SINKS TUBS
  TOILETS
    TOILET ALTERNATIVES
    TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY
RANGE BOILERS
RELIEF VALVES - TP Valves
SEPTIC SYSTEMS
SEWER GAS ODORS
SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT
SOLAR HOT WATER HEATERS
SUMP PUMPS GUIDE
TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL
TANKLESS COILS
TOILET OVERFLOW EMERGENCY
WATER HEATERS
AGE of WATER HEATERS
ALTERNATIVE HOT WATER SOURCES
ELECTRIC WATER HEATERS
GAS FIRED WATER HEATERS
HOT WATER IMPROVEMENTS
HOT WATER QUANTITY IMPROVEMENT
INDIRECT FIRED WATER HEATERS
WATER HEATER PROPERTIES
WATER, WELLS, WATER TANKS: TESTING GUIDE
WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS GUIDE
WATER PRESSURE & FLOW MEASUREMENT
WATER PUMPS & TANKS
WATER PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
WATER PUMP SHORT CYCLING
WATER PUMP & WATER TANK REPAIRS
WATER SUPPLY & DRAIN PIPING
  CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS
  DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS

WATER TESTS, CONTAMINANTS, TREATMENT
WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS
  Basement Wells
  Cisterns
  Drilled Wells - steel casings
  Driven Point Wells
  How Much Water is In the Well?
  How to Test Well Water Quantity
  How to Get More Water From a Well
  Hand Dug Wells
  Springs as Water Supply
  Well Pits
  WATER PRESSURE LOSS
  WATER TANK TYPES
  WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
  WELL LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WELL PIPING CHECK VALVES
  WELL PIPING FOOT VALVES
  WELL PUMP TYPES & LIFE EXPECTANCY
  WELL PUMP PRIMING GUIDE

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Authors pickup truck in front of a winterized and frozen-in building in upstate New York (C) Daniel FriedmanGuide to Types of Leaks in Water Supply & Drain Piping
InspectAPedia®  -    

  • A simple guide to the types of leaks that occur in water pipes, drain pipes, & plumbing fixtures
  • Catalog of types of plumbing leaks helps find leaks in buildings
  • When where, why, and how to check for & fix water supply and drain leaks
  • How to de-winterize a building and restore the plumbing & heating systems to service
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/appointment.htm.

The articles at this website will answer most questions about freeze protection for piping and other building plumbing and heating system components: how to winterize a building to avoid frozen pipes, and how to thaw frozen water supply & drain piping, wells, & water tanks.

A Quick Tutorial on Types of Water Supply & Drain Pipe Leaks Helps Find Leaks in Buildings

Understanding the types of water leaks that occur in building piping can help you find or watch out for leaks that are not so obvious when water is first turned on in a building. Keep in mind that these are by no means all of the building leaks that can occur. Others include leaky shower pans, leaky air conditioning condensate drains, bad sump pump drains, leaky water tanks, leaky water heaters, leaks at tankless coils, and leaks from outside the building from roof runoff or surface runoff. Here we focus attention on leaks that occur in building piping:

  • Gusher water supply pipe water leaks: if a water supply pipe has burst, split, been cut open, or has separated at a solder joint, as soon as water is turned on to that area of the building the pipe will probably leak a lot of water very quickly: you will notice gusher leaks almost immediately by sound or by the visual evidence of water flooding or wetting some area of the building.
  • Drip and pinhole water supply pipe leaks: a small leak may be present at a water supply pipe such as from a loose threaded fitting, worn valve stem packing, or even a pinhole due to corrosion or due to a nail or screw having been driven into a supply pipe. These leaks can take a longer time to discover because the rate of leak is so slow. (Don't pull out that nail or screw when you find it until you've first shut off the water supply or a bigger leak will ensue.) But these leaks normally are indeed discovered in days or weeks after they occur.
  • Plumbing fixture faucet leaks: sometimes a sink, tub, or shower faucet develops a leak, usually around the valve stem packing, that will leak only when the valve is in the open position - that is, when water is running at that faucet. These leaks fall in two sub-classes: visible and hidden.
    • A visible water faucet leak shows up where you can see it, such as dripping into the sink, tub, or shower around the faucet control when the control is opened, but stopping when the faucet is shut.
    • A hidden water faucet leak is much more sneaky. Particularly at tub and shower controls mounted on a vertical wall, some faucets may leak inside of the wall cavity when the faucet is open and water is running. Because these leaks are usually just a slow drip, the leak may be present for months or even longer before it is finally noticed. Typically these surreptitious faucet leaks show up as a stain in a ceiling below the fixture or as mold or moldy odors in a building. Opening a wall or ceiling cavity may be necessary to find and repair such leaks.
  • Plumbing drain leaks: plumbing drain leaks are a bit like our hidden water faucet leak: they only show up if the particular leaky drain is carrying wastewater. For example, a leaky shower trap in an upstairs shower may go unnoticed for a long time if it's the guest-bath shower that is rarely used.

    Except where the drain pipes are visible, such as in a basement or crawl space, plumbing drain leaks may be slow to appear and show up as a stain in a ceiling or wall below the offending drain, or as mold or mold odors in a building.

    Of course if a plumbing drain has literally burst or fallen open the leak will be enormous and will show up quickly as was the case with our gusher water pipe leaks described above.

Also see Thawing Frozen Pipes which addresses how to find frozen and burst pipe leaks in buildings, and see  Repairing Burst Leaky Pipes.

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.

FREEZE-PROOF A BUILDING
Key Winterizing Topics
How to Winterize a Building

Winterize - Heat On Procedure
  Thermostat Settings
  Turn Water Off ?
  Winterize Water Softener & Treatment Equip.
  Find & Fix Water Pipe Freeze-Up Points
  Heat tapes, Heat, Insulation prevent Freeze-Up
  Freeze Protect Drains

Winterize- Heat Off Procedure

De-Winterized a Building
  Thawing Frozen Pipes
  Repairing Burst Leaky Pipes
  Turning on Heating
  Restoring Drains
  Turning on Water
  Water Supply/Drain Pipe Leak Types
  Restoring Water Softener & Treatment Equip

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Technical Reviewers & References

  • Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia® Website
  • Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
  • "New Electric Heat Tapes Help Prevent Fires," US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) #00936
  • Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
  • "Freezeproof Your House," Mike McClintock, Rodale's New Shelter, p. 30, October 1985 (approximate date)
  • "How to Winterize Your Pipes," Mike McClintock, Homeowners How-To Magazine, p. 59-62, Nov-Dec 1979.

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.



PLUMBING TOPICS

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