Update on my flooding.

[Fla Dem]

I posted this in a thread on Sunday.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1045&pid=5557

Since then the plumber and Leak Detection service have been here. Now waiting for insurance adjuster. Will need all new floors, baseboards and some drywall.

Have been w/o water since last Friday night and will probably be w/o for another week. Plumber wants to repipe the house rather than just jack hammer the slab to fix the leak. Said if I had one pin hole leak in my pipes, it's not a matter of if, but when another leak will occur. House is only 17 years old, but evidently the water in this area is very corrosive on copper pipes. If anyone has had this issue, any advice? I think I'm going with the repiping, can't go through this again.

Anyway looking at probably a month to restore the house.

[SummerSnow]

1. found interesting article...

http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/3421/title/the-piping-debate-copper-vs-cpvc

[hunter]

5. Copper pipe is the devil, especially in places with aggressive water.

And copper frequently becomes the devil under a slab. (My parents once owned a house where the copper pipe under the slab went bad.)

I live in one of the few places in California where CPVC was accepted.

Nevertheless, both copper and CPVC are obsolete. PEX tubing with proper connectors is superior to both.

PEX is also the easiest to install replacement for copper or galvanized pipe that's gone bad.

I also believe copper pipe is an irresponsible use of natural resources. All the world's people deserve indoor plumbing, but we can't all have copper pipe. The environmental and human costs of copper mining are high, especially in places with inadequate environmental and labor regulations.

[Fla Dem]

7. Yes, that's what my plumber is recommending, PEX Uponer.

I've looked it up and it seems to get excellent reviews. He was not at all supportive of CPCV.

[Fla Dem]

11. Thanks for that.

My plumber was totally against PVC, but does recommend PEX Uponer.

[juxtaposed]

2. Some times if a water heater goes bad it will spill what looks like sand through a leak.

[genxlib]

3. It is hard to know what the configuration is

But the answer might be both.

A month without water is too long. I would consider the quick patch to get you running and then parallel re-piping with only short outages for connections. There is no particular reason the piping needs to be done in the same location. At the very least, it could be offset and might be fed from a completely different route.

It seems like it should be covered by insurance so it might be in their court to decide to what degree the re-piping is reimbursable.

So sorry you are in this situation. That sucks.

[Fla Dem]

8. I'm sorry I wasn't clear. Once I give the go ahead to do the repiping OR repair the leak

the work will be done next week. But the restoration of the house, the floors, drywall and baseboards could take up to a month depending on when I can get a contractor in and how soon new flooring can be ordered and installed. My current flooring extends under all my cabinets, so they will have to be removed to get rid of the flooded boards and install new. I'm hoping only a month from start to finish.

There will be a big demand for contractors in my area because of the hurricane.

[snowybirdie]

4. My sympathies

It'll be a tough winter season for many. I guess we all have to learn patience and just put one foot in front of the other every day! Good luck!

[Fla Dem]

10. Thanks snowy, that's what I'm trying to do.

While we're weighed down by what's ahead of us, we do realize there are oh so many people who are in more difficult and longer lasting situations than us. So we do try to keep that perspective.

[gainesvillenole]

6. Happened to us....

About 3 years ago we had a leak under our slab.... luckily I could hear it (sounded like someone left the outside faucet on) and called the plumber immediately. They told me it was a leak under the slab so I callled a leak detector. He found it right away, fortunately it was under the toilet room (we had just paid a fortune to retile all the bedrooms) and it was easily jack hammered and fixed. The copper pipe had a small imperfection that finally gave way 27 years after we built the house. The plumber said the copper pipes still looked good otherwise. Detection, jackhammering, fixing the pipe and re-tile of the toilet room came to about $1,500, $800 of which insurance paid after the $500 deductible. Re plumbing the house thru the walls and above the ceilings crawl space would have cost $8,000 to $10,000 dollars. I'll take my chances on another slab leak, particularly since the plumber said the copper pipes looked fine and in all likelihood this was simply one small imperfection in that piece of the original copper pipe that finally wore thru after all those years.

[Fla Dem]

9. The plumber initially quoted $6-$8,000 for repiping.

Yes my insurance company would pay for the jackhammering and repair. Not sure about the repiping. Initially told no by the Claims "Coordinator", but the adjuster today said there may be a case for them paying for it. So I'll have to see. You know maybe it's a once in a lifetime event, but how comfortable will I be leaving my house for any length of time wondering all the time that another leak may occur? That's what I'm weighing.

[Zorro]

12. Don't expect your insurer to pay for repiping

My experience is that they won't do it.