One of the biggest home improvement problems when building a new home is drain blockage. Many homeowners or builders ignore this aspect of home construction. As a result, repetitive drain blockage starts to prevail a few months after installation.
Drainage or plumbing problems are dangerous and increase the cost of maintenance each month. Also, regular household chores like washing, cleaning, bathing, etc. become a hassle due to clogged pipes.
If you want to avoid these problems in your precious home, read this article as we share nine common mistakes that cause clogged drains during construction.
Drain blockage
Once your home is fully built, dealing with drain clogs will be much more difficult than during construction. Drain blockages start as slow drainage, so treat the problem early before it gets worse.
Failure to address blocked drain symptoms early or even before the home is fully built will cost much more than expected.
Let's find out the nine mistakes you should worry about when it comes to drain blockages:
1. Undersized pipes
If you are renovating a house, there is little chance that you will focus on plumbing. However, if you're building from scratch, know this: Undersized plumbing pipes are a major cause of clogged drains.
The standard size for household pipes is four inches in diameter, which many technicians often overlook when plumbing. They may have undersized pipes or pipes with a less smooth surface, which makes the drainage function difficult.
Therefore, always opt for standard-sized pipes or buy one a little larger than that during the construction of your new home.
2. Natural Clogs
You should be careful when purchasing an older or renovated home as it may contain clogged pipes. It may not seem like a big problem initially, but it will later boil down to a series of drain blockage problems.
Look around the front or back yard of the house and check for old trees with strong roots. These trees often develop roots underground that grow into sewer or bathroom pipes.
As a result, you will face slow drainage or flushing risks.
3. Cheap materials
Plumbing or sewer pipes made from cheap materials can quickly break or accumulate debris and cause drain blockage. Check whether these pipe materials meet the quality standard and work perfectly before purchasing a house.
And if you are building a house, buy the appropriate pipes for that purpose. You must understand the importance of drainage options when building a new home so that you can purchase the right materials for it.
Traditionally, copper pipes are much better than other pipes as they guarantee longevity and strength. Copper pipes are corrosion-free, which allows hot and cold water to pass through them seamlessly. They won't break easily and will keep your home's water flowing and disposing for a long time.
4. Improper installation
Sometimes you will experience drain clogging even after using the best quality pipes on the market. The main reason behind this is improper installation.
If plumbing is done haphazardly and in a hurry, it is likely that the pipes will become loose and the drainage function will be disrupted.
This will cause mud, dust, sand, etc. to enter. pass through the broken pipes, preventing all types of small and large pipes.
In turn, you will see clogged water in your kitchen or bathroom sink, toilet pipe, bathtub, etc. If you don't want to go through this mess, consult your plumber or mechanic to correctly install the pipes with the appropriate nuts and bolts and ensure adequate torque.
5. Construction site debris
It is highly possible for debris from the construction site to enter your pipes and sewers, rendering them inoperable in the future. Pieces of bricks, mortar, pebbles, etc. may pass into the pipe during the installation process.
Most of the time, this incident remains unnoticed or ignored by workers and the mechanic himself. Thus, the tubes become stuck due to the passage of grease, oil, food substances, etc. in a short space of time.
6. Faucets leaking water
When you are buying a new home, chances are there will still be some faulty taps left that will leak water shortly after you enter the home. These faucet leaking problems can arise from cheap faucet materials, warranty expiration, etc.
However, if you don't want your water bill to skyrocket in a few months, it will be mandatory to take care of the entire set of taps in your home.
Start counting how many taps you have in your home, including the kitchen, bathrooms and roof. You should also check your garden hose if you have one.
Once you have identified the faucets, replace and repair the faucets before you begin living in the house. Even if you rent your home to someone, it will put tenants at various utility risks. And obviously you will have to take care of the expenses arising from these emergencies.
7. Water heater problem
One of the many plumbing or drainage problems you may face when moving into a new home is a water heater problem. A water heater may show some signs of trouble if it is an old machine or if it has developed some type of malfunction due to external causes.
One of the common signs of a water heater problem is that you need to heat your running water to a higher temperature to meet your needs. Not only does this cost you more utility bills, but at the same time, excessive pressure on the heater will cause it to slow down soon.
The reason behind heater problems could be the entry of dust or debris from outside or there could be a faulty internal thermostat.
You can try relighting the pilot light to see if the heater works fully again. However, if it doesn't, you should call a professional plumber to fix it as soon as possible.
8. Wrong Slope Measurement
During construction, care must be taken to make the slope the correct size. A misaligned slope will likely cause drain blockage later when you use your home's water supply.
A correct slope will allow running water to flow well without any obstructions, while also reducing the chances of pipes and drains clogging. Typically, the standard measurement is ¼ inch per foot, although it can be a little more depending on the home's construction site.
For example, you should consider roof drainage specifications before making gutters and drainage systems. This way, there will be no water blocking the roof.
The slope should be an ergonomic addition to your construction that will make water and waste disposal easy and fluid.
9. Not hiring a plumber
Many homeowners these days are trying to do various DIY construction jobs; plumbing is one of them. While clearing a clogged sink pipe or garden hose yourself is fine, plumbing a new home is a complex job that requires long-time experience and skills.
If you try to do this work yourself, without having the necessary knowledge on the subject, things can go wrong, followed by high expenses to repair any faults and blockages in drains, pipes and sewage.
Therefore, call a local professional plumber who is trustworthy enough to provide plumbing installation and post-installation services at a reasonable price.
Signs of Drain Blockage
Catching the drain blockage first will prevent you from spending more on repairs than necessary. Let's find some signs that indicate that your home is experiencing clogged pipes or drainage obstacles;
- You will hear a gurgling noise in the pipes whenever you use kitchen faucets, toilet flushes, garden hoses, etc.
- There will be small puddles of water in the sink, bathtub, toilet or gutter.
- You may find that your water services are not working properly and there will be low pressure in toilet flushes, taps, etc.
- You will smell the odor from the sink, gutter or drain along with the gunk accumulated in them.
- You will not be able to use multiple water outlets at the same time; water pressure will be low at one outlet while the other is running.
- There may be a puddle of water in the basement.
- Bubbles in the toilet bowl could indicate a problem with the sewage system.
- There may be times when you are taking a shower and find yourself in a pool because the water coming out of the shower is not draining properly.
As you have already noticed the signs of water clogging or blocked drains in your home, it is time to take necessary measures such as repairing or cleaning the pipes in the kitchen, getting the plumbing checked and repaired by a plumber, etc.
Also, take preventative measures, such as not throwing hard materials down the kitchen sink or toilet. Throwing things like celery, bones, fruit or vegetable peels, etc., down the toilet or drain will only cause clogging of pipes or drainage systems.
Conclusion
For many homeowners, repairing or replacing sewer or water pipes is a nightmare due to the immense cost of materials and services.
But if you act prudently, you can save your home from the mess of clogged bathroom pipes or a flooded basement.
Many of the construction mistakes can be resolved in time to avoid drain blockage if you know where to look and how to resolve the problems.
