Plumbing Leak Detection

As I mentioned in the previous post I had a plumber out last week regarding our water pressure. I was initially worried we might have a water leak and while we didn't he showed me a way I was not aware of about how to detect if that's the problem.

On the water meter along with the dial there's a low flow indicator. In our case it's a blue gear shape but from what I see online it can also be a triangle or other shape and another color. According to the plumber this will detect the slightest of leaks. So if you suspect that's your problem make sure the water is off at every faucet in the house and then pop the cover off in your yard where the water meter is located and look at the small dial. If it's moving, water is being used somewhere in the house. (To demonstrate it to me he turned on the water at the outside bib.)

The link above also mentions how to tell if the leak is occurring in the house or in the supply line leading to the house. It's useful knowledge to have for future reference. 

Tankless Hot Water Heater Maintenance

The past few days we've been having water pressure issues, mostly in the mornings. Not being real sure of the cause I had called a local plumber that everyone in my community speaks very highly of and asked him to come out and take a look. I was concerned that we had a leak somewhere or it was an issue with our hot water heater. By the time I got home the water pressure was back to normal but I kept the appointment because I figured it wouldn't hurt to have him come out and at the very least do maintenance on the water heater.

We have a Noritz tankless hot water heater that runs on natural gas. It's very energy efficient and up until now the only issue we've had with it was due to the water savers that are in every shower head and faucet. (Link to post from November 2015.) It's recommended that the unit be drained and flushed periodically, particularly in areas with hard water but we'd never had it done. The plumber checked the unit over including removing and checking the inline filter that was clean. (I failed to get a picture of this.) Because we've never done it I went ahead and paid him to flush and descale it.

The process involves turning the valves to isolate the heater from the house plumbing and then attaching hoses to circulate a descaling solution through it pumped from the bucket. Once it was finished the water was fairly clean indicating not much in the way of build up. Still there was no way to know for certain until it was done and we shouldn't need to do it again for a few more years. From what he told me though if you live in an area with hard water, this is something that needs to be done more often, at a minimum once a year. (Refer to your heater's owner's manual as needed for guidance regarding your particular unit.)

As for the water pressure issues, the plumber wasn't able to find anything that might be causing it and it being back to normal by the time he came out made it all the more difficult. My next door neighbor texted me to say he was having the same issue at the same time we were leading me to think it might be an issue on our county's end with the water supply. They sent someone out to take a look as well but didn't find anything either so for the moment we're in a wait and see mode with that. 

Crawlspace Vent Insulation

A couple weeks ago I went under the house with my father-in-law to do a periodic inspection. While I was under there I noticed that while the crawlspace vents were closed there was a significant amount of light bleeding through them. It was bad enough that when we emerged from the crawlspace I had to double check to make sure they were actually closed. With the recent below freezing temperatures and a major snowstorm in the forecast (that ended up dumping over a foot of snow on us) I was concerned about the possibility of freezing pipes.

On my way home the following afternoon I stopped by Lowe’s and picked up a 4’x8’ piece of foam insulation board for about $12. (The link doesn’t show it was available but my local store at least had it in stock.) From there I cut 7”x16” pieces to fit each vent and wedged them in there.

It’s worth noting that while we’d had similar cold temperatures before without an issue I didn’t want to take any chances. It’s cheap insurance against a potential bigger problem.

Water Savers

This happened back in the summer but I had forgotten to write about it until a recent post in Ryan Homes group on Facebook reminded me.
Around early August we started having issues with the water pressure in our master bath shower. Along with that we were having intermittant hot water outages. I called our service manager who felt like it was the water saver in the shower head but arranged for a plumber to come out just to be sure. And that’s exactly what it turned out to be.
Inside the shower head is a little rubber ring that when it functions correctly is supposed to save water. It’s prone to clogging however and when it does it causes the water pressure to drop which in turn causes the water flow rate to drop to the point where the tankless hot water heat shuts off. The simplest fix is to unscrew the shower head and remove the small rubber ring inside. I didn’t get a picture of the exact one from our shower head but I found a picture via Google below.

On a side note we also had a similar issue with the faucet in master bathroom a few months before this as well. While we didn’t lose water pressure it take forever and a day for the water to heat up. Removing a similar ring from the facuet spout took care of it as well.
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that the removal of the ring results in far harder water pressure coming out of the shower head. (It’s noticable in the faucet but not nearly as much.) We were slightly concerned this would lead to a higher water bill but in the months since we really haven’t noticed much, if any, of a difference.

Sump Pump Battery Backup

Over on his blog, Our Naples Adventure in Shorewood, Illinois!, (link in the My Blog List on the sidebar) homeowner Jim has an excellent write up on installing a new sump pump with battery backup in his basement. While we don't have a basement or sump pump in our current house I speak with some experience that this is a must-do upgrade that anyone that does have one needs to make.

At our old house we had a crawlspace. Due to the high water table and the sloping of the yard we had a sump pump in the lowest corner under the house that pumped the water through PVC pipe to the ditch that ran alongside our yard. When Hurricane Irene moved through central Virginia in August 2011 it knocked our power out and with it the sump pump. The next morning we awoke to six or so inches of water in most of our crawlspace. Due to improper grading under there it had backed up onto the vapor barrier and we had to poke holes in that to get the majority of it to drain away. The power ultimately came back eight days later.

While we got lucky that the water didn't cause any actual damage if I had a basement I'd do what Jim did for sure. (Or buy a generator to power the pump.) I definitely would not want to risk the chance of flooding inside. As it is at our new house we have a French drain around the perimeter of the crawlspace that drains via gravity from an outlet in the front yard near the curb. There's no need for a sump pump and with the prior experience at the old house this was a big plus for us here.

Ten Month Review Part I

A few weeks ago we received a letter in the mail about scheduling our ten month review. It also included a sheet to send back to Ryan Homes listing anything that needed to be fixed. I spoke with the contact listed on the form and he told me it was so they could arrange to have everyone needed to complete the list at our home at the same time to correct everything at once. That being said this is the list we sent them:

1. Thorough check of the HVAC system - major temperature difference between upstairs and down.
This continues to be an issue for us. I've gone up in the attic and adjusted the dampers numerous times along with adjusting the registers (I closed the ones in the laundry room and master closet) but still can't seem to achieve an even balance between the temperature upstairs and downstairs.

2. Light above the master bath tub is intermittently working.
This we only noticed recently although it may have been happening for a while. Fiddling with the fixture makes it comes back on leading me to think there's just some of issue with the wiring.

3. Nail pop (or bulge) in the floor of the kitchen.
This might be covered under the one time nail pop and drywall patching certificate but just in case I included it on here.

4. Soft spot in the floor of the doorway of bedroom #3.
The project manager came out last June to fix this with putty to even it out but it's soft and sunken again underneath the carpet.

5. Major popping of the floor in the hallway upstairs in front of bedroom #2.
This is also a fairly recently issue that started a few months ago. It's annoying but we decided to just wait until the 10 month review to get it fixed. It seems to extend underneath the wall and into the bedroom as well.

6. Re-caulking around the tubs and sinks in both bathrooms.
This was expected and will probably end up needing to be done every year but I might as well get them to fix it now.

7. Intermittent buzzing from the microwave.
This has been occurring since we moved in but without any sort of consistency. I took video of it to document it but the microwave still works so just like with #5 we decided to wait on getting it fixed. The person I spoke with at Ryan asked me to send him the model and serial numbers so they can arrange for a GE repairman to come by the day of the 10 month review.

8. Re-caulking of the trim on the right side of the stairway.
This was also fixed back in December and expect just like with #6 to be a regular maintenance thing but I might as well get them to fix it again while the house is still under warranty.

9. Readjustment of the seal around the front door.
I've adjusted the strike plates on the door and have had Ryan out to fix this in the past year. They've told me it's a settlement and seasonal issue resulting from temperate changes but periodically a small amount of light can still be seen around the door.

10. Air register in the ceiling at the top of the stairs does not close all the way.
I discovered this when I was trying to adjust the temperature.

11. Floor on the right side of the morning room by the dining room has a bad squeak.
This one is not quite as bad the one upstairs but still fairly loud and annoying.

12. Creaking noise coming from the area of the wastewater pipe between floors behind the wall periodically when water is used upstairs.
Jenny and I aren't totally sure on this one. It might be nothing but several of my neighbors have had plumbing leaks since moving in so it concerns me a bit. We're also used to strange noises on our old house resulting in costly repairs so we might just be paranoid too. Just like with the microwave issue it's not consistent but seems to happen when the hot water is used in the washing machine or hall bath. (But not the master bath.) I've only been able to capture on video a slight recording of it. The plumbing warranty lasts two years at least so we've still got time if it really is something that needs to be fixed.

One additional thing we're going to bring up that isn't on the list is an issue with the hot water. We have a tankless system but the only spot in the house where it warms up quickly is the hall bath shower. Everywhere else, including the kitchen and downstairs half bath sinks that are closest to the water heater take a long time to receive hot water.

We will also need to get the one year drywall patching done soon. We've got a number of nail pops and settlement cracks around the house but it's nothing major and not as bad as I expected.

Overall, we continue to be really happy with our house. We expected we'd have some issues this first year but nothing we've encountered defect wise has been major. And everything that has been a problem has been addressed quickly by either the project manager (the first month or so) or the service manager.

Winterization

With the weather getting colder it's time to do a bit of winterization around the house to prevent problems later.

A few weeks ago I had the company that installed our irrigation system out to shut it down until spring. There wasn't much to it. The technician that came out ran an air hose from a tow-behind air compressor to a valve under the house and blew air through the lines to clear them out. Had we received a frost while water was present in the lines it could have caused them to crack. I'll have to get the company back out in the spring to open it back up and adjust the sprinkler heads.

With a frost warning scheduled for tomorrow morning I also took a few precautions to keep the pipes underneath the house from freezing. The main thing is closing the crawl space vents. I also ran out to Lowe's this afternoon and picked up two styrofoam covers for the outside spigots. They're on a drawstring that fits over the handle and then tightens to form a seal against the side of the house. At $3/each it's cheap insurance against having to repair a frozen pipe.

Crawlspace vent closed and spigot covered.

The last thing I did this weekend was to adjust the dampers in the attic to change the airflow. Like I referenced in this post from over the summer, in the winter time the downstairs damper needs to be wide open while the two for upstairs upstairs need to be half closed. Since heat rises this directs more airflow downstairs.

Week 6 Progress

The house is coming right along. From the outside at least the major things completed this week have been the siding, shutters, trim, and garage door.

The project manager called me this afternoon to give me an overall progress update. In addition to what I noted above several other things have been completed as well. The big thing inside is that drywall has been hung. And just this afternoon the water, sewer, and gas lines were finished, inspected, approved, and buried. He also told me that the sidewalk had been pulled up and re-poured because he wasn't pleased with the finish on the original one. I've arranged to meet him Monday afternoon to do another walkthrough to see the progress on the inside and take pictures. 

Water and Sewer Lines

Jenny and I drove by the house this afternoon on the way out to get some groceries. We noticed as we approached that a small excavator was out front and a guy was working in one of the trenches that had been dug. I thought one of them was for the drain line from the French drain under the house but come to find out from talking to the contractor doing the work that it was our sewage line out front and water line on the side. Standing at the street I snapped a few photos:

Sewage line coming from the house.

Curving around to where it connects with the sewer underneath where the driveway will eventually sit.

Trench for the water line.

I didn't notice it until this evening until Jenny pointed it out but you can also see from that first photo above that the sidewalk that was poured earlier in the week has apparently been removed. It looked fine when I walked through with the project manager yesterday but something must have happened to cause it to be ripped up. I guess I'll ask him the next time he calls. 

Pre-Drywall Meeting and Closing Scheduled

I met this afternoon with the project manager to do the pre-drywall walkthrough of the house. Similar to the walkthrough we did last Wednesday it was another chance to see everything done so far and prior to the hanging of drywall and ask questions. Similar to the pre-construction meeting Jenny and I read through numerous other Ryan Homes blogs to find out what to expect and questions to ask.

The major things were to double check to make sure that things such as cable and phone jacks, ceiling fan rough-ins, and similar things were installed and placed where we wanted them. Most everything else were things we went over in the walkthrough last week or even in the pre-construction meeting or subsequent phone calls with the project manager.

One thing I noticed today that I was especially impressed by was how thorough they seem to be with the energy efficiency thing. Everywhere you look there's either yellow or pink expanding insulation foam that has been used to seal every possible area where air could leak into the house. Even the electrical outlets and ceiling fan rough-ins have been sealed in this way.

Based on suggestions I received from several coworkers one thing I did today during the walkthrough was take photos of each wall to have a record of where the wires and plumbing are before they're covered up by drywall. This way if we ever want to hang a picture or something else that requires putting a nail into the wall we have a rough idea of where things are. (Along with using a stud/wire finder of course.)

Over the weekend we also received a letter in the mail with the schedule for our new home orientation meeting and closing. The former is scheduled for Tuesday April 22 and the latter for April 24. It sounds like this is pretty much set in stone at this point although after talking with my realtor the closing date might change slightly since we're using an outside law firm for settlement.

Breaker box in the garage.

Main air intake and wastewater lines.

Laundry room hook ups and plumbing for washing machine and dryer.

Upstairs central ductwork.

Upstairs bathroom plumbing.

Bedroom wiring.

Surprise Walkthrough

I got a call from our project manager early this afternoon. Along with the usual progress updates (ductwork and HVAC installed over the weekend; plumbing and wiring being installed this week) he also asked if I was available to meet with him and do a walkthrough of the house later in the day. (NOT the pre-drywall meeting. That's going to happen next week.) Since I work at a school and my day generally ends by 3pm anyway I jumped at the chance meet him. As luck would have it Jenny was also able to leave work a bit early and also attend.

Jenny and I had walked through the house over the weekend and noted a number of minor issues that we went through with him. Among other things (and his responses):
-Gouges in the garage floor. (Normal and unavoidable. Will be patched prior to closing.)
-Several cracked 2x4's in the framing. (Imperfections are common and these were on non-load bearing walls so it's not an issue.)
-Several holes in the plywood on the walls. (Apparently the construction crew will do this intentionally to give them hand holds to lift walls into place and they will be patched later.)
-Numerous spots where you could look up at the second floor and see where nails were secured into the floor joists. (Also normal and results from going so quickly with a nail gun. The subfloor is secured with not only nails but screws and glue as well to prevent squeaks.)

We also found out what the deal was with the bedroom closet/laundry room nook issue I noted in my previous entry, Slight Deviation in Plans. According to him this was a result of a common tweaking of the house plans based on customer input and other factors and it just hadn't been reflected in the sales materials yet. Like I mentioned in that entry Jenny actually preferred it that way and is glad to have the spot in the laundry room for extra shelving/storage space. (Although he said if we really wanted it the other way it wouldn't have been a problem to re-frame the space.)

We went room by room and had a chance to ask questions. All the ductwork and plumbing had been run, and a crew was working inside on the wiring as we went through it. Being as curious as I am about such things I probably bordered on the annoying with everything I asked about. Seeing as all of this stuff is covered up behind the walls it was absolutely fascinating to me seeing how these systems come together and work.

A few other things of note I learned today that I found especially interesting:
-Electrical wiring around the exterior walls of the house is run at the bottom instead of in the middle as you see on interior walls. Apparently this is an energy efficiency thing. Lower on the wall creates a smaller gap when insulation is placed over it.

-Each spot where the wire is passed through a stud is covered by a little metal plate. This prevents a nail from accidentally hitting the wire if someone goes to put up a picture or otherwise do something that involves putting a hole in the wall through the stud.

Small metal plate protecting the electrical wire.

-One of the things Jenny and I had noticed over the weekend and were curious about was why there a piece of house wrap on the interior wall of the master bathroom. It's the only spot inside the house like that and we figured it was there for a reason but just weren't sure what that was. Turns out we were right and it's actually yet another energy efficiency thing. That piece of house wrap sits between the tub and the exterior wall and helps to keep the water in the tub warmer.

House wrap on the wall of the master bathroom.

I also received a slight slap on the wrist so to speak from the project manager regarding my visits to the site. He had told us any time we wanted to go on the property we needed to check in with the neighborhood office and be escorted. The first time I had done this I was told by the sales representative there that this was more of a formality and I could go down there whenever. I've also read on numerous blogs and talked to other folks that have been through the build process that they had no problem visiting anytime so I didn't think much about it. I've been waiting until evenings once the crews leave to go look around and snap photos and check on things but I was reminded this afternoon that I do need an escort for my own safety.

As it is we're scheduled to do our pre-drywall meeting next Monday and should find out for sure at that point our expected closing date. Hopefully we've finally seen the last of the snow and things should move right on along from here.