Plumbing issues
We’ve had no water since Sunday. Had water authority come out and checked. They said that the main and meter are fine and it seems from a quick diagnostics that it might be the prv immediately downstream of meter. He came to this conclusion because the first outlet in the line doesn’t have any flow to it. Plumbers(installers) came in yesterday and replaced prv but we still don’t have any flow to the house. You can feel fluid moving through meter and new prv, also meter is reading flow. But still no flow to house. Wife received email from water authority that we’ve used up 16,000 gallons of water in last two days but our average monthly usage is 4,500 gallons. Installers said with that much water usage(16,000) it would’ve been noticeable anywhere there’s a leak. But they’re lost as to where water is going. Their boss, a licensed technician plumber will be here in a couple of hours to run diagnostics and all that good jazz. Any ideas on where water is going? Any help is appreciated.
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Did you try turning it off and turning it back on
Line broke and its trenching the yard
My mistake - I thought this was going to be about something else. I was going to suggest this:
Your mistake indeed but it’s still in the right place haha.
How did nobody else find this funny??? Miserable FUCKS!!!!! LMAO
Not everyone has our sense of humor braddah man lol.
Imagine not having a sense of humour ----- Life would suck balls LMAO
Lmao for real!
It's totally funny.
HAHAHAHHA!!!!
Before you turn on the water after the repair you might want to check all the utilities. You live in Tejas, so you most likely have natural gas and city sewer. I suggest having any intake or outtake scoped. I do full inspections but only for good friends and family as most people these days can barely afford the closing costs. First test in Texas would be testing the paint to see if the Bandidos ever cooked there. That being said I will tell you the worst case I ever came across. I hope this makes you feel better.
A good friend asked me look at a property that both his brothers had paid for in cash to house their families. It was a corner lot that used to be part of a ranch that grew hay. Several upgrades had been added over the years. Plumbing, septic, electrical, coal furnace. Surrounding the property were large weeping willows gas wells and a large barn and several outbuildings. none being on their corner lot. They had added a bathtub upstairs and two bedrooms and a washer dryer in the dirt cellar. They ran a new 220v line to the dryer but could only use it when no other appliance was in use. The new owner of the ranch land started pile driving large pipe fence posts around their property and the washer had suddenly started backing up. Here is where a full inspection would have saved their ass. First the electrical panel was 20 amp and older than dirt. Second the well was contaminated with benzine, Third the septic system was not on their property, and the land was too small to accommodate a new one. The last nail in the coffin was when the ranch fencing was completed, and the ranch transformed into a feedlot.
Count your blessings
The water is following the path of least resistance through porous soil, utility trenches, or existing drainage pipes. In time, it can wash away dirt creating a sinkhole.
Watch for soggy areas in the lawn and foundation cracks (the fountain or stem wall, driveway, walkway) chalk a line across cracks to see if they are moving or just normal settling.
Most likely the water is traveling along the gravel or sand used to backfill the waterline or other pipes (like sewer or gas lines)
Edit: Many utilities offer a leak adjustment if you provide proof of repair, often credited once per year.
The path of least resistance was the ground and into sewer line smh. Plumber opened up main water line and the sewer clean out and heard water flow. He closed main line and flow stopped. He was surprised to know both water and sewer lines are broken. He ran a camera in sewer and saw tree roots with water flowing in. He shut water line and the flow stopped. Very unfortunate circumstance and very unfortunate for my wallet. This is our first house ever bought. I’m just glad we’re in a position where we can pay for these kind of things.
Hey Greg, do you look anything like your profile pic? I’m asking because it reminds me of Sam Elliot haha. Also, not kissing ass or anything but you sound extremely intelligent and wise with your responses to people’s comments.
I got the hat.
Kinda good news bad news.
Bad news about the sewer break; it should have showed up in your home inspection report when you bought the house.
Good news about the sewer break; that the water had a place to go.
Curious as to why the waterline broke.
Our water is back online- 4 days and $6300 later.
Sewage break was due to tree roots. We have two trees in the front yard that I’ve wanted to get rid of but the wife likes them as they provide a shady spot to chill under on a hot day.
Water line broke close to the house- less than a foot away from foundation. Plumbers think the break was caused by the house shifting- not good. They suggested to get someone to inspect foundation and city for zoning measurements or something like that. While we’re happy we have running water again, the house shift has raised questions on whether we should sell and get outta here.
I can see why you haven't been in a Jokey mood lately then buddy - $6300 of dead money spent.
That goes back to chalking cracks and measureing gaps for movement. How long have you owned the house?
I'd check the city/county for any past work done on the house for gas lines, sewer line, electrical, basically anything that the house shifting was known but not disclosed by the previous owner... even prior work on that waterline. (god forbid if the house is moving that fast your taxes could go up for having a mobile home)
You should talk to the plumber to get a feel how much it moved. If it moved an inch or two over 20, 30 or 40 years. Not a big deal. If it's a new development you might have some recourse against the developer/builder as the foundation wasn't settled before the build out.
Talk to others living along that hilltop. Are they seeing cracks/gaps/uneven floors? Had similar issues?
We’ve only been here for 3yrs. House was built in ‘08.
Plumber was really nice and professional. I talked to him earlier and he said he’ll be back tomorrow and ask neighbors after I told him I’m going to. He said he’s also going to help with getting ahold of inspectors and people from city and county. Definitely blessed either way this guy.
Thank you for all the advice as I wasn’t too sure of next steps other than results from google searches.
You have a cracked line past the meter, possibly under the house and draining somewhere efficiently, sewage or even cavern, which if you live in somewhere like Florida, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, etc, could point to your house shifting, breaking a line and draining into a sink hole.
16,000 gallons is enough to fill a decent size lap pool, quite concerning.
As it turns out Unc, it seems tree roots caused water line to break and leaking into sewer line which was confirmed by camera that tree roots definitely broke it.
Texas and I never thought to google how much 16k gallons for a visual. Our house is at the top and “side of a hill. Front of house basically sits flush but the backyard slopes. I don’t know how deep the foundation is but it’s up about two feet in the front of the house and the back about 10. It is concerning now that you’ve mentioned sinkholes and if we’re not seeing water on surface then yeah, makes sense that it’s all underground. Appreciate it Unc and hopefully plumber can confirm it.