Plumbing in good condition is essential to guarantee the comfort of a home. In order to avoid unpleasant surprises and the use of a plumber , our experts give you their advice and various points to check on the water installation.
What should you look at at the level of the water connections of the accommodation?
During your visits, several points must be checked to ensure that the installation is well done at the connection level and to avoid subsequent plumbing problems. If you do not have expertise in this area, you can ask a plumbing-heating or sanitary plumbing expert to accompany you and draw up a plumbing diagnosis.
Is the plumbing diagnosis mandatory?
Unlike the electrical diagnosis , the plumbing diagnosis is not mandatory in the event of the sale or rental of real estate. However, as a future buyer, it may be worth calling on a professional plumber and heating engineer to take stock of the state of the installation before buying the house or apartment. This will avoid unpleasant surprises and unforeseen expenses for urgent leaks/repairs.
Its appearance: is it in good working order? Is it rusty? Well fixed?
You will most often find the water meter in the rooms with water (kitchen, bathroom). If the property you are visiting is an apartment , there is a good chance that it will be at the entrance level of the accommodation or in the landing shaft in the common areas. In the house, it is generally installed on the ground floor, but it can also be found outside the home, or in the garden!
Since 2007, the installation must be done outside when it comes to new constructions, in order to facilitate the reading of water consumption.
You will find a hot water meter only in collective accommodation. Individual houses do not have them.
In apartments , it is often located inside the accommodation, but it is also possible that there is none, because it is not mandatory . If there is no meter and the production of domestic hot water (DHW) is collective (i.e. the apartment does not have a boiler or individual water heater instantaneous or cumulus water), the costs can be divided between co-owners according to the rules defined in the co-ownership regulations.
The distribution of water in the rooms of the dwelling
A house can have several separate cold water outlets. More expensive in terms of production, this device makes it possible to isolate a network if there is a problem with it (in the event of a leak or flow, for example) without cutting off the drinking water supply to the other rooms thanks to at the various taps.
Important : if you call on a plumbing company to repair your water damage, remember to ask for a free estimate in order to have a precise idea of the cost of the repairs before any troubleshooting.
In collective housing, there is only one cold water outlet: the pipes are then distributed by sanitary equipment (sinks, washing machine, toilets, etc.). Check that each piece of equipment has a shut-off valve: if necessary, you can isolate equipment and avoid general water cuts. The stopcock is easily recognizable. Usually it has a red or gold handle or the shape of a ¼ turn ball valve.
The nature and condition of cold and hot water pipes
Today, the pipes are mainly made of copper, PER, PVC (used more for the evacuation of waste water) or multilayer. Depending on the material, brass bar, copper or PVC fittings are for crimping, screwing or soldering.To visually check the condition of the pipes, check the pipes, observe if there are traces on the ground, on the wall and of course any visible leaks at the level of a fitting, a radiator, near the sinks, etc
In the case of an old dwelling that has not been renovated, make sure that the supply pipes are not made of lead . Exposure to lead has harmful effects on health (disease of the nervous system, kidneys, etc.). Lead pipes should therefore be limited as much as possible in order to reduce the presence of the metal in the water.
To go further, remember to consult the lead diagnosis of the accommodation visited, mandatory for houses and apartments dating from before 1949.
How to properly renovate the plumbing in your home?
To find out if costs are to be expected to replace or renovate the plumbing, follow our advice to get an idea of the state of the sanitary installation and plumbing equipment.
Look at the type of faucet : is it a mixer, a mixer or a thermostatic mixer? To help you find it, here are the characteristics of each.
The mixer is the most traditional faucet, with its two handles to turn to obtain the right dosage between hot and cold water. To avoid scalding, always open the cold water tap first and gradually add hot water to achieve the desired temperature.
With its unique control lever, the single-lever mixer tap automatically mixes hot and cold water.
The only equipment to prevent burns is the thermostatic mixer : reserved for showers and baths, this equipment has a safety ring that limits the temperature to 38°C. To get a warmer temperature, just unlock it.