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• A step by step guide to staged water turn on procedure in a building to detect leaks and prevent water damaged from leaky supply or drain piping
• How to restore water supply to a winterized or shut-down building
• How to de-winterize a building and restore the plumbing & heating systems to service

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.

Staged Steps in Turning on Water Supply System to Minimize Water Leak Damage in Buildings

Here we describe a staged step by step approach to turning on water in a building where the water supply has been shut down over a winter or during a period of absence. The staged approach lets us check each building area and fixture one by one, minimizing the chances of extensive water damage even if a leak has occurred while the building was unattended.

Even for buildings located in areas not subject to freezing and burst pipes, a staged water turn-on approach is useful. A pipe may have been damaged or cut by building activities, a trap may have corroded through, or other plumbing damage may be present even if no freezing conditions occurred..

Step 1: Repair any supply piping or drain leaks found by visual inspection

The photos above show two visually obvious water supply pipe leaks that need to be repaired before hot water heating (above left) or water supply (above right) can be turned on in this building.

Don't turn on the water supply before any known cut or broken pipes have been repaired. Well this is not exactly true. You may think that all cut or broken pipes have been repaired and then try turning on the building water supply.

Step 2: Repair any drain piping leaks found by visual inspection. Replace any open or damaged plumbing traps.

Step 3: CLOSE all faucets indoors and outside. Turn OFF hot water. Turn OFF other water supply shutoff valves.

Closing every faucet makes sure that you can open and check each fixture individually without being flooded by leaks in one area of a building while you're checking somewhere else. Don't forget to close outside hose faucets as well as all indoor faucets.

If the building was winterized and pipes drained, chances are that all faucets and valves were left "open".

Don't turn on the water supply before closing all supply piping drains that were left open.

Close building plumbing supply pipe area shutoff valves: First, if the building has additional water supply control valves that shut off water to various building areas, let's close each of them so that we can later open them one by one. If the building was winterized in a freezing climate it is likely that all of these valves were left open to drain piping earlier.

If you cannot close an old corroded water shutoff valve, don't force it as you may break it and cause a worse problem. Just add this valve to your list of necessary plumbing repairs.

Step 4: Turn ON the building water supply at the main valve.

Municipal or community water supply: if your water is supplied by a municipal water main, turn on water at the main water shutoff valve. Look for leaks at the water shutoff valve itself, then look and listen for other leaks as we describe in more detail below. Stop, look, and listen for leaks at the water main valve or water pump and water tank. Also look and listen for leaks in the supply piping nearby.

Private well and water tank systems: if your water is supplied by a private well take these additional steps: Turn off the water shutoff valve at the water tank. This is the valve that lets water out of the water tank to supply the building piping. Most water pressure tanks will have only a tank outlet valve between the tank and the building water supply piping. In our photo the water valve at the bottom of this pressure tank is in the "open" position - the the handle is parallel to the pipe. For the procedure we are starting here, this valve should have been left in the up or closed position.

Make sure any valve between water pump and water pressure tank inlet is in the open position: But some systems include an additional shutoff between the water pump and the inlet to the water tank.

If this valve is shut and the pump turns on, depending on just where the pump pressure control switch is installed, the pump may short cycle on and off rapidly or it could even be damaged or burst a part or pipe - a dangerous condition. Make sure that any valves between the water pump itself and the water tank inlet from the water pump or well are in the open position.

Do we need to prime the water pump? If the water pump is above-ground in the building or in a well pit, the pump may be dry and it may need to be primed through a priming inlet port on the pump itself.

Our photo (left) shows a two-line jet pump that will need priming through its top plug if it was drained and left dry during building shut-down or winterizing.

If building water is supplied by a private pump and well system, you may need to bring along water to re-prime the well pump.

Don't let a well pump run "dry" for more than 30 seconds or there is risk that you will damage the water pump's impeller, bearings, or other internal parts.

If the water pump is a submersible unit, it is located in the well pipe and under-water - it does not need to be primed.

Stop, look, and listen for leaks at the water main valve or water pump and water tank. Also look and listen for leaks in the supply piping nearby. If there were no other shutoff valves to individual areas of the building, look and listen for leaks in supply piping throughout the building before continuing to check individual plumbing fixtures (Step 6-below).

Of course if you detect a leak in the water supply equipment, tanks, or piping system turn the water supply off immediately and remove any spills before starting the leak repair.

Step 5: Open water shutoff valves that supply water to each individual building area, one by one

Step 6: Turn on and test individual plumbing fixtures - brief test

Stop, look, and listen for leaks. Do not leave after turning water on at a previously winterized or shut-down building before you have spent some time looking and listening for leaks, including the hiss, spurt, or just drip of a water supply pipe that may have burst hidden in a wall or ceiling cavity.

Step 7: Drain leak test: full water test at each plumbing fixture

Once we have seen that the sink and tub traps are not leaking, go ahead and use the plumbing fixtures normally. When several gallons or more of water have been run into a fixture drain, check for visible leaks or sounds of dripping from the building drain piping.

Some slow leaks in supply piping or drain piping are harder to detect - we describe these at  Water Supply/Drain Pipe Leak Types.

Stop, look, and listen for leaks. Do not leave after turning water on at a previously winterized or shut-down building before you have spent some time looking and listening for leaks, including the hiss, spurt, or just drip of a water supply pipe that may have burst hidden in a wall or ceiling cavity.

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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• 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.

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

• Clogged Drain Diagnosis: Is it a blocked drain or the septic system? - A First Step for Homeowners
• DRAIN NOISE DIAGNOSIS: may indicate defective or clogged plumbing: how to diagnose and cure drain sounds
• Guide to Heating Thermostats - how to install, adjust, set thermostats - avoid freezing pipes
• Heating Boiler Operation Details - 39 steps: keep the heat working to avoid freezing pipes
• Heat loss diagnosis: for hot water systems (boilers) and for warm air systems (furnaces)
• HOT WATER HEATERS - a detailed guide to all types of hot water sources, problems, inspection, repair
• Water Pressure Loss - Diagnosis how to determine why water pressure has been lost or why there is no water at all in a building

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