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.

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.

Factors that Contribute to Water Main Breaks

When the water main breaks, you may experience a disaster in your home or building. In addition to the risk of bacteria coming into your water and into your home, you also have to cope with a potentially devastating flood as a result of a leaking or burst water main. You want to avoid this at all costs, of course, and this means that you want to prevent a water main break from occurring.

To prevent a water main break from happening, the first step involves knowing exactly what is likely to cause a water main break. While sometimes such breaks just happen and you cannot anticipate them because there are few or no signs, there are certain factors that can significantly increase the chances of a water main break occurring. You need to understand what some of the risk factors are so you can better assess whether you are at risk of a water main break.

Some of the big factors that can contribute to the risk of a water main breaking include the following:

• Temperature changes. A 10-degree change in the temperature of either the air or the water can dramatically increase the stress on a pipe and can increase the chances of a water main break occurring.
• Low water temperature. When the water temperature is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, this can put more stress on the pipes and can result in the pipe becoming brittle and more prone to breaking or bursting.
• Low air temperatures. Air temperatures that are at freezing or below freezing can result in the ground above the pipe freezing. This increases the external stress on the pipe and ups the chances of a break occurring.  Because the drop in water temperature occurs more slowly than the drop in air temperature, it is common for a water main break to occur just a day or two after a cold spell comes through. 
• Pipe material. A cast iron water main is more likely to experience a break than water mains made of other type of piping material including copper or PVC.
• Soil erosion. Excavation and construction activity nearby can result in soil erosion and can increase the chances of a water main break occurring. A previous break in a pipe line is also a potential contributing factor that makes a water main break more likely to occur.
• Corrosion. An older pipe that is not lined with cement might begin to corrode both inside and outside. Of course, this increases the chance of a break occurring.
• Small pipes. When a pipe has a small diameter, there is a greater risk of breakage.
• Older pipes. When a pipe is 60 years old or older, the break rate of the pipe significantly increases. While older water pipes are not guaranteed to break, there is certainly an increased chance.

If you are in a situation where your water pipe is at risk of breaking, you may wish to consult with a professional to see what your options are before a devastating leak occurs.

Know more about Sewer Line Replacement visit our corporate website at http://harriswatermainandsewers.com/services/sewers.