Plumbing Headache! Any ideas?

[OnMyWay]

1 minute ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Thats why its puzzling as even if its under the concrete it should soak out somewhere at some stage.  

I asked the water company guy where it was going and he just said "into the soil".

I have a feeling that this is not an unusual situation here.  These houses are 50-60 years old on mostly hilly terrain with concrete floors.

[Clermont]

16 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I asked the water company guy where it was going and he just said "into the soil".

I have a feeling that this is not an unusual situation here.  These houses are 50-60 years old on mostly hilly terrain with concrete floors.

I'd say it is time you replaced the entire water system if the house is in that age bracket. Acidic soils will deteriorate even copper piping, go with PVC food grade. Easy to replace in the future and easy to repair if need be.

[Dr. Shiva]

You can also find a leakage by the sound it makes. The company which did searched our leakage used a highly sensitive microphone to locate it. A bigger leak makes bigger noises.

[sonjack2847]

There is a system which uses electrofusion to join the pipes together.You buy a small hand held machine which heats the pipes and sockets/elbows etc and you push it together.I have used this before in the UK and if you are going to replace the water system I would recommend this system.Not so expensive and very durable.

[OnMyWay]

19 hours ago, Clermont said:

I'd say it is time you replaced the entire water system if the house is in that age bracket. Acidic soils will deteriorate even copper piping, go with PVC food grade. Easy to replace in the future and easy to repair if need be.

Actually that is what I want to do, but I have a complication, so I would like a short term work around.

We have a lot of room to expand on the side of the house and we need more room.  We would like to add a new master bedroom and master bathroom, and possibly another maids room(s) with CR.  In addition, our back patio, dirty kitchen, current maids room CR all need refurbishment.  And, we need a new kitchen.

I am planning on selling my house in Florida later this year and I can use part of the proceeds to work on this house.  Given the scope of the work we might do, we may have to move out for a while.

So, a short term workaround is in order.  Right now we are turning off one valve to kill the leak, but the main pain in that is that is also turns off the water in our master bathroom.  Hoping to find a way to route water to that bathroom through the hot water piping.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, sonjack2847 said:

There is a system which uses electrofusion to join the pipes together.You buy a small hand held machine which heats the pipes and sockets/elbows etc and you push it together.I have used this before in the UK and if you are going to replace the water system I would recommend this system.Not so expensive and very durable.

Do you mean a copper pipe system?

[Clermont]

2 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Actually that is what I want to do, but I have a complication, so I would like a short term work around.

Yeah take the cheapest option first, I thought it was a permanent fix. Just do a bypass in the meantime, don't worry what it looks like it will blend in with all the plumbing I've seen over there. When you finally get around to doing the expansions, think it through with no hidden piping, also look into your electrical because it will most probably have no earthing. Electricity doesn't discriminate who it bits.

A few years back we renovated our six bedroom house and I'm not sorry we refurbished both water and electricity. All our electricity point were put up 1100 ml from the floor for safety of children poking things in the sockets. Good luck.

[robert k]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

Do you mean a copper pipe system?

I think he was talking about polypropylene which is really durable, whether you butt weld or use fittings.

[Jack Peterson]

On 5/11/2018 at 1:58 PM, OnMyWay said:

We have a long term lease, so we spoke to SBMA yesterday.  No help.  Basically, "You need to hire a plumber to fix the house we leased to you".

 OMW I have to ask, is this really your problem? The problem to me is that it is not your House but Rented/leased and to me, it is a Structural thing, Inside i would say yes it would be your problem But............................

[OnMyWay]

12 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 OMW I have to ask, is this really your problem? The problem to me is that it is not your House but Rented/leased and to me, it is a Structural thing, Inside i would say yes it would be your problem But............................

Yes, it is my problem.  In the long term lease, the lessee is completely responsible for the building maintenance and repairs.  You can tear it down as long as you replace it with something better.

Many of the leases here have started as leasing a completely run-down house and lot, and of course those are cheaper.  you might find those for 2-4 million.  A complete refurbishment is done, electrical and plumbing, new roof, etc., and then it might probably be worth 5-8 million.  For an average 2-3 bedroom.  All ballpark figures, of course.

My lease purchase was kind of in the middle.  It had been extended and a new roof put on, about 10-15 years ago.  Extended the dining room and master bedroom, added master bath, added big lanai in the back.

Ironically, it is this newer part where the leak is!

My neighbor across the street has a leak and they are just living with it.  Not as big as mine though.

We are managing it for now.  I checked the meter yesterday and we are using about 2 cubic meters per day since the last bill reading.  That includes the first few days where we didn't manage it, so I think we are using less than that now, while managing.  Our last bill was over 3 CM per day.  Our former average of normal usage was about 1 CM per day.