Monday, September 8, 2014

What You Need to Know About Sewer Roots


Having trees on or near your property can be a wonderful thing as they provide shade and can make your home look more attractive. Unfortunately, the roots of trees and large plants can be a major problem for you if these roots start to impact your sewer line.

Roots can grow and expand underground and can, unfortunately, intrude upon your pipes.  This can result in major leaks, pipe breakage, water blockages and backups and a host of problems.  Plumbers may have a very difficult time dealing with roots that have impacted a sewer line and there may be times when you need to entirely replace pipes after removing roots that have become intrusive.

If you have roots in your sewer line, this is not a problem that you are going to be able to solve on your own and this is not a problem that all plumbers can deal with. You need an expert who knows how to handle root intrusion and who can provide you with an effective and long-term solution to your issues.

Problems with Roots in Sewer Lines

Roots could form in you sewer line even if trees grow thousands of feet away from your home. Many different factors impact whether a root can get into your sewer line or underground pipes.  For example, one of the biggest things that can result in roots getting into your pipes are weak spots in the pipes.

Clay pipes are made up of different segments that are each around three to six feet in length. When the clay pipes are installed, the segments are connected to each other using joints.  The joints can have weak spots that roots are able to push through them.  If the clay pipes are older, the joints may be weaker and it may be very easy for a root to push through and to take hold within the pipe.

If segments of underground pipe of any material have been welded, this can also result in a weak spot where a pipe may be able to intrude. The quality of the welding job and the skill of the welder will dictate whether the pipe is vulnerable to root intrusion.

Pipes made out of plastic may be less vulnerable to root intrusion and can be a good option or sewer lines. However, even these types of pipes could potentially be vulnerable to roots because of bad joints.

Regardless of the type of pipes that you have, you do not want to have roots growing in your sewer line.  To protect yourself, you may want to have an annual sewer camera inspection. This is a preventative measure so that you can detect problems with the sewer line as soon as root intrusion begins and before the damage is so extensive that the line needs to be replaced.

If it is too late and you already have roots in your sewer line, you will need to trust a professional to help solve your plumbing issues.   Excavation may be required, but professional plumbers have embraced new technologies to fix damaged sewer lines in a more cost effective way than ever before.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Jobs Performed By Water Main Contractors

Just like any other professional performs his job, water main contractors do their work. A lot of people think that water main jobs are the easiest jobs in the world as they can be done by anyone who has a healthy body as according to them water main issues don’t require any brains. The truth, however, is completely opposite. The job of a water main contractor is as difficult as of any other professional such as plumbers, constructors, firemen and so on.

One of the basic requirements of water main jobs is the knowhow of maintenance. After every few years a building or property requires upkeep tasks done in order for its water main and pipes to continue working in a normal manner. It is crucial that the pipes are checked and maintained in a regular manner so that there are no leaks or breakages. A leaking pipe can cause municipalities o lose a huge amount of domestic drinking water. Broken or leaking pipes also create flooding which can cause huge disturbances in the residential neighborhoods.

Then comes the repairing tasks, which are one of the most difficult ones. Repairing is in fact way trickier than the installation of new equipment such as water pipes, drainage systems and underground fire line. It is impossible for an individual to fix a water main issue without having adequate amount of knowledge in the concerned field. One has to not only know how to fix a problem in water main and pipes but to be able to diagnose the problem as well. The diagnosis is the most important and primary part of a water main contractor’s job description.

Those water pipe contractors that we see working on various sites aren’t just ordinary people. They have studied their skill and have taken courses that teach them how to repair, maintain, replace and install water main equipment. There are various institutes throughout the United States that offer trainings in this field and each individual who wants to get into the water main work has to take and complete one of these courses.

It is the very complexity of the job in water main industry that contractors have to go through various extensive training so that they can affectively carry out their day-to-day duties. Most of the contractors have to take trainings in state and federal regulations which include OSHA, HAZMAT and EPA. Furthermore, they have to acquire their certification to become licensed before they start their careers and begin working on water pipeline systems.

All of this makes it extremely important that we understand the value of these professionals who have to deal with the most intricate tasks on a daily basis. We can in fact get into this field because water main contracts can be very beneficial for professionals and can earn them a decent living. If you find interest in learning more about water main and pipes repairing, installation and maintenance, you should look up with relevant keywords on a search engine to get the information you need.