Broken pipes represent a plumbing emergency for homeowners. In the event that your pipes are broken, they need immediate repair, as there are many risks associated with broken pipes. Upstairs leaks can cause damage to the ceilings and walls, and all types of leaks can damage the floors. Will your community insurance policy cover you if your pipes break?

When you have a broken pipe, ask yourself:

Why did the pipe break?
Was the pipe rusty?
How long has the pipe been leaking?
Was that part of the home worked on recently?
Have you filed any other recent water damage claims due to plumbing in the past?

If the pipe broke due to neglect, community insurance probably won?t cover your damages. In your agreement with the insurance company, you are obliged to perform all necessary maintenance to keep the pipes in good working order. The good news is that if you kept your part of the deal, and the pipes were well-maintained and in good working order prior to the plumbing emergency, you should be covered.

Broken Pipes After Construction

If any construction or remodelling took place near the broken pipe, it is possible that the contractor caused the damages. Therefore, the contractor?s liability insurance should cover your water damage. But this doesn?t apply if you did the construction yourself. That?s why more homeowners opt to hire contractors to work on their homes instead.

Water Damage & Your Homeowner Insurance

Your personal property and parts of your home that are suddenly and unexpectedly exposed to water, will generally be covered, provided the damage is not caused by flooding, and that there is no negligence. Coverage will differ from one insurer to the next, so it is best to discuss this with your mutual insurance representative.

Broken Pipes and Your Insurance Claim

Sometimes, it may not be in your best interest to file a claim, even if your broken pipe is covered by your insurance. In most cases, policies have deductibles that have to be paid out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. If your deductible is only small than the repairs by a small margin, filing a claim will damage your insurance reputation.

Insurance customers are evaluated based on the amount of risk they pose of filing future claims. Past losses and liabilities are evaluated across all policies they own. In the event that you have had several claims, this will blemish your profile and end up costing more in premiums. Therefore, it is better to pay for small damages out of pocket if repair costs are minimal.

While it is important to contact your insurance company after any incidents, it may be a better idea to first call a professional master plumber to assess the damage. In the event that the plumber attributes the broken pipe to construction damages, old pipes or negligence, it may be best to pay for the repairs out of pocket. However, if the damages are covered by your insurance, and the costs are significant, take advantage of your mutual insurance.

A leak anywhere in a plumbing system is a problem. As we?ve discussed many times on this blog, even a small amount of water damage can cost quite a bit to repair. One of the most damaging leak types that can afflict your home is a slab leak. Read on to find out more about slab leaks, how to detect them, and the kind of damage they can inflict if they aren?t caught and repaired soon enough.

What Is a Slab Leak?

Your home?s slab is the concrete foundation that it rests on. Two pipes run underneath the slab: your water and sewer lines. These two pipes are arguably the most important plumbing pipes in your home. A slab leak is when one of these pipes develops a leak under the slab. The water from the leak is eventually forced upwards through the slab and into your home. This often happens without the homeowner noticing until the water damage is quite advanced, at which point it?s too late to avoid paying through the nose for remediation. This is why slab leaks are so dangerous.

How to Detect It

Professional equipment is needed to pinpoint the exact location of a slab leak. However, there are a couple of things you can do to determine if you have one:

• Turn off all the water appliances in your home, then look at your water meter. If it?s still running, then there is likely a leak somewhere in your system.
• Listen for running water. Slab leaks will always affect the bottom floor of the home, so wait for a time when your home is quiet and walk around. If you can hear running water where there shouldn?t be any, you may have a slab leak under the floor.

The Sunny Plumber offers slab leak services throughout Tucson, AZ. Call today to schedule an appointment with one of our plumbers.a

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When it comes to your bathroom, you want to make sure that the pipes are kept in as good condition as possible. This might not always be easy, as bathrooms are one of the most frequently used areas of any household. That is why it is so important for you to be diligent and stay on the lookout for any signs that could indicate an issue with the plumbing.

The great news about plumbing is that you don't have to be an expert in order to find out when there is a problem. In fact, most homeowners are more qualified to spot an issue than they even realize. You just need to know what you should be looking for!

If there is a continuous dripping out of your sink or shower, this is a problem that needs to be fixed. It is likely that the water pressure is set too high, or that the tap is not able to properly drain once the water is shut off. If you allow the dripping to continue, you will end up spending money on hundreds of gallons of wasted water.

Nobody likes to take a cold shower, but there are some instances when that cannot be avoided, such as heavy usage by others in your home. But if you turn on the shower for the first time in hours and the water cannot heat up, there is an issue. Chances are the problem is with your water heater, so a professional should be called in.

If you are facing an issue with your bathroom's plumbing and cannot fix the problem on your own, be sure to schedule an appointment with John C. Flood today!

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Becoming HVAC Students And Great Study Tips!

Posted by Hy-Pro Plumbing & Drain Cleaning on March 07/2014 | 0 Comments

Study Tips For HVAC Students

Becoming HVAC students mean you will be transitioning into being an HVAC professional. This means being responsible for the comfort and safety of people?s homes and workplaces. It requires knowledge and skill, and the tests aren?t easy. Here are some tips for HVACa students.

Major Topics

HVAC installation and maintenance requires solid knowledge of all major areas of the trade. One study guide for HVAC technicians suggests that students have broad knowledge of the following topics.

• Controls, troubleshooting, repair and mechanical tools
• Refrigeration, fluid flow and heat transfer theory
• Filters and charcoal absorbers
• Electrical theory, motors, instruments and tools
• Operations and safety

Check with your instructor to find out what exactly will be covered on your test.

Reading The Material

Usually, trades like HVAC involve reading and hands-on practice. When reading, instead of just passively ingesting the material, consider these tips on ?Getting the Most from Your Study Material? from this study guide:

• Survey the chapter by reading the title, introduction, section headers and the summary and questions that you may find at the end of the section. This will help you understand the main points.
• Ask questions as you read, jotting them down as you go.
• Go over what you?ve learned, writing it down in your own words.
• Review after 24 hours and once again a week later to ensure you?re retaining what you?ve learned.

Be attentive when reading the material and don?t skim. With skimming, you?ll likely miss important points and key details that will help you in your understanding of the topic.

Getting Ready For Tests

If you haven?t been a student for a while, you may need to prepare yourself psychologically by having some strategies ready. Aastudy guide for trade entrance exams provides some solid advice:

• Measure the time you spend on each section of an exam and adjust based on the marks the section is worth.
• Pace yourself by figuring out where you should be in the test after, say, two hours. Then check that you?re not falling behind.
• Multiple choice questions can be tricky. Read the question carefully to check for negative or positive phrasing, or words like ?never? and ?always,? which can completely alter the meaning of the question.
• When you read the list of answers, try using a process of elimination, mentally striking out the answers you know are false.
• If you cannot find the right answer, try re-reading the question. If none of them seem right, come back to that question later when your memory may feel refreshed.

If anything, get a good night sleep even if it means sacrificing studying time. Getting a good rest will ensure that your mind is refreshed, and you won?t feel groggy in the morning. During your study days, maintain a healthy sleep schedule as this will allow you to recall information a lot better.

Join The Pros

The best education HVAC students can get is within and outside the classroom is experience. Hy-Pro Heating and Cooling operates across Southern Ontario, providing high-quality residential and commercial services. It?s a company that?s seeking the best professionals to join its team.