frozen exterior pipe

Why Pipes Freeze During the Winter Months

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Even during a mild Boston winter, you should still expect temperatures to reach well below freezing. And when that happens, it’s critical to take extra care of your home.

Water expands as it freezes, thus putting additional stress on the pipes that contain it. Furthermore, frozen pipes can limit the ability to access water in certain parts of your home. Not to mention the fact that it increases the risk of a pipe bursting, which can cause widespread damage to your home and property.

While there is no surefire way to protect against frozen pipes in your home, knowledge of why this happens can help prevent trouble. Here are the types of pipes that are most likely to freeze[i]:

  • Those that run along an exterior wall
  • Those that have no insulation
  • Those that are located in unheated parts of your home, such as an attic and unfinished basement

If you know of any pipes in your home that fit into one or more of these categories, take action to help protect against freezing.

How to Protect Your Pipes from Freezing

Rather than cross your fingers and hope for the best, there are ways to protect your pipes from freezing. Here are four of the best[ii]:

  • Turn up the heat: Yes, it’ll increase your energy bill, but it’ll also lessen the likelihood of your pipes freezing. Along with this, make sure air is able to flow freely around pipes that are most likely to freeze. For example, don’t stack boxes and bins around pipes in your basement and attic.
  • Let your faucet drip: If you’re concerned about a particular pipe freezing, open the faucet associated with it to allow for a slow drip. This keeps the water flowing, thus reducing the risk of freezing. It also eliminates pressure in the pipe, which protects against bursting.
  • Add insulation (or more insulation): Focus on pipes located in parts of your home without insulation. This is most likely in your attic, unfinished basement, crawl space, and underneath sinks. Adding insulation will keep the heat in and the cold out. You can also apply heating tape directly to the pipe to keep it warm.
  • Keep your doors open: Don’t close off your home during the winter months, as this reduces the ability for warm air to travel throughout. Along with turning up your heat (see above), open your interior doors. It’s particularly important that you don’t close off areas that are generally colder.

What to do About a Frozen Pipe

If you come across a frozen pipe, there are things you should and shouldn’t do.

Above all else, contact a licensed plumber to schedule an immediate appointment. Not only can they solve your problem, but they can also provide tips on how to avoid the same situation in the future.

In the meantime, do the following[iii]:

  • Leave your faucet on
  • Don’t attempt to use a flame to thaw a frozen pipe
  • Do attempt to use a hair dryer to slowly warm the pipe and thaw out the frozen portion

Tip: if a frozen pipe bursts, immediately turn off the water at the main shutoff valve. Doing so will minimize damage.

If you’re dealing with frozen pipes or want to protect against this, contact us for professional guidance. We can help put this concern to rest once and for all.

Sources:
[i] https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/winter-storm/frozen-pipes.html
[ii] https://www.thebalancesmb.com/stop-freezing-pipes-2124982
[iii] https://www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/residence/dont-let-pipes-freeze-and-steps-to-take-if-they-do

winter proofing your plumbing

How to Winter Proof Your Plumbing System

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With the average high temperature in Boston falling to 36 degrees in January, it’s critical to protect yourself and your home.

Even if you’ve never done so in the past, there are some key steps you can take to winter proof your plumbing system before the next cold cycle hits.

If you’re unsure of how to winter proof your plumbing system, here are five things you can do:

Drain Your Outdoor Faucet

Due to their location in the elements, outdoor water faucets are particularly vulnerable to the cold. So, it’s a must that you take these steps:

  • Close the shut-off valve inside your home
  • Disconnect your hose
  • Drain the faucet of all water

Taking these steps lessens the likelihood of water remaining in your pipe, freezing, expanding, and causing it to burst.

It only takes a couple of minutes to do this, and taking action could save you thousands of dollars in damage to your home.

Insulate Your Pipes

This is an inexpensive way to protect your pipes and valves from extreme cold. Pay close attention to any pipes that are in colder areas of your home, such as your basement, garage, or attic.

Seal any gaps or cracks that allow cold air to reach your pipes, while also eliminating the source of the air (such as an open window).

Tip: open cabinet doors under any sink that is positioned on an outside wall, such as in your kitchen or bathroom. This helps promote warm air circulation around the pipes.[i]

Let Your Faucets Drip

It sounds like a waste of water, but it’s actually a great way to keep your pipes from freezing when the temperature dips below freezing.

Find all the faucets along exterior walls in your home and turn them on to create a slight, yet steady drip.[ii]

This eliminates any pressure between the faucet and ice, thus reducing the risk of the pipe bursting.

Run Water Regularly

When was the last time you turned on the water in your basement sink? Do you remember the last time you took a shower or flushed the toilet in the guest bathroom?

It’s possible there are pipes and water valves in your home that you only use every now and again. While it’s okay to ignore these during the warm summer months, don’t make this mistake over the winter.

Running water through every valve helps prevent freezing, so make it a habit to regularly do this.

Protect Your Water Heater

Freeze damage can occur if standing water inside your water heater turns to ice. As the water expands and contracts, as a result of the freezing, it can damage the internal components while increasing the risk of a leak.

Here are some tips to protect against this:

  • Insulate the pipes leading to your water heater
  • Check the area around your water heater for cold air leaks, such as foundation cracks and windows
  • Maintain a reliable power source
  • With the gas off to the heater, run a steady flow of water through it overnight

Today’s water heaters are designed to avoid freezing, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Do you have questions or concerns about winter proofing your plumbing system? If so, read our two-part series for more tips and advice (part 1, part 2).

And of course, don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule an appointment. We can pinpoint potential problems before they turn into something much more serious!

Sources:

[i] https://todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-insulate-water-pipes-to-prevent-freezing/
[ii] https://www.consumerreports.org/home-maintenance-repairs/how-to-keep-pipes-from-freezing/

The dirtiest part of your bathroom

The dirtiest part of your bathroom

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Toilets take a lot of abuse, and some people are phobic about touching them – especially those in public restrooms. Your bathroom (heck, any bathroom!) has a bad reputation for being dirty, and frankly, it’s well deserved. Yes, your bathroom is dirty, but it’s not entirely your toilet’s fault! Your bathroom habits can make a bad situation worse. Much worse.

Here’s what’s hanging around in your loo and what you can do about it.

Mold

Ah, mold. No one likes mold. It stinks. It stains. It can make you sick. Some molds can kill you. (On the other hand, penicillin – also a mold – can save your life.) It’s hard to get rid of. There’s not much to like about mold. Mold can thrive on porous surfaces, like grout, wood and plaster.

Mold is a fungus, so it reproduces by way of spores. Spores can remain dormant until they find conditions they like. Because your bathroom is a wet space, your battle with mold will pretty much never end. Ventilation is a good antidote to mold. Mold loves water, so if you can keep your bathroom dry, you can cut down significantly on any mold growth there.

Leaks of any kind will contribute to and support mold growth. Always address leaks immediately, whether they’re from the sink, toilet or bathtub.

If you have carpeting in your bathroom, you’re going to get mold growth there. If possible, remove carpeting and replace it with a hard surface flooring material – preferably a non-porous one. Wash the window curtains, shower curtains and rugs regularly, and use a small amount of bleach in the wash to kill any volunteer growth. At the minimum, clean your bathroom once per week and more frequently if it’s heavily used.

Important side note about mold: Many varieties of mold are black in color, but that doesn’t mean they’re “black mold.” Stachybotrys chartarum is the bad actor known as “black mold.” The black stuff that appears in your bathroom around the shower is probably Alternaria. Alternaria’s not totally harmless, since it can aggravate asthma and cause allergic reactions. The good news is that even though it’s black and it’s mold, it’s not black mold. A mild bleach solution will kill Alternaria. So will vinegar. Drying your bathroom walls and ventilating the bathroom after taking a shower will also discourage Alternaria from growing.

Mildew

Mildew is actually white, so if something is growing in your bathroom that has a color other than white, it’s not mildew. It’s probably a mold of some kind. Mildew is also a fungus, so the same attack strategy for mold will work on mildew.

Yeast

Another member of the fungus crowd. Vinegar or bleach will do the deed on yeast, but so will hot water – 122°F or better. (That’s a scalding temperature, so your water heater might not be of help here.)

Bacteria

Coliforms: Coliforms are fecal bacteria. Yes, they originate in poop. It’s entirely possible that you have more fecal bacteria on your toothbrush holder than you do on your toilet seat. How could that even be?

First, coliforms can’t really survive well outside the human body, so most of the coliforms in your bathroom will be dead. (Good.) Coliform bacteria gets aerosolized and distributed around your bathroom when you flush the toilet with the lid open. Second, it accumulates on your toothbrush holder when you don’t clean that regularly. Quick fix: close the lid when you flush the toilet and clean your toothbrush holder more often.

Staph: Common, and likes to hang out around the toilet and on faucet handles. Your bathroom could also harbor streptococcus, E. coli, Pseudomonas, etc. A disinfectant cleaner like Lysol will kill the overwhelming majority (99.9%) of these lowlifes.

“Pink mold:” “Pink mold” is not mold. It’s actually a bacteria also known as Serratia marcescens. It feeds on soap scum and shampoo residue, which is why it likes your bathtub so much. This bacteria has the chops to make you sick, so getting rid of it is a good idea. Avoid direct contact with it, but a good detergent or spray cleaner should neutralize it. Remove any buildup of soap residues by cleaning the bathtub regularly to inhibit the growth of this bacteria.

As plumbers, we don’t clean bathrooms (except our own), but we can help you address leaks and other plumbing problems. Call the plumbing experts at Boston Standard Plumbing at (617) 288-2911. We’ll help you find and eliminate water leaks and other plumbing problems!

Photo Credit: Tony Webster, via Flickr

New Lead Free Plumbing Alloy Could Get The Lead Out

New Lead Free Plumbing Alloy Could Get The Lead Out

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Researchers at Purdue University say they’ve developed a new plumbing alloy that can eliminate the use of lead in plumbing fixtures. The alloy is a manganese and copper blend that is stronger and easier to mold than current lead free plumbing alternatives.

One reason the new combination is so interesting is that both copper and manganese solidify at the same temperature. Typically, different metals harden at different temperatures, which can allow the resulting alloy to become porous, and interfere with strength and other properties. Since copper and manganese solidify at the same temperature, they behave more like a pure metal. Initial testing shows that the new alloy does not develop porous qualities like other alloys can.

The idea of using lead free alloys in plumbing is not new. Since the late-70’s, the plumbing industry has made a major effort to reduce or eliminate the use of lead -even in small amounts. Lead-free solder, lead free pipes and lead-free fixtures are standard today, however some lead can still leech into water systems.

Brass – a common plumbing material for fixtures and valves – can contain lead, which can leech into standing water. Old plumbing solder was typically a mixture of tin and lead. As plumbing joints age and deteriorate, lead from old solder can also enter the water supply.

Another exciting property of the new alloy is that it is relatively inexpensive to make. Copper and manganese are both reasonably available materials. In production, the new alloy is comparable (or perhaps a little less expensive) than current lead free alternatives. The Purdue team will now look to scale up its production in test plumbing applications to learn more about it.

Removing lead from your plumbing system is important to your health and the health of your family. Lead is toxic in any quantity, and there is no safe or acceptable level of lead in a water system. Even systems that don’t contain lead pipes can still acquire lead particles – mainly from older fixtures and old, lead-based solder joints.

While it’s hard to believe, some homes also still have a water line that’s made of lead. You can see whether you have a lead line by looking at the pipe that connects your water meter to the municipal water supply. Lead is a soft, dull silver-colored metal. If you have a dull grey or silver colored water line attached to your meter, take a small flat-head screwdriver and try to scratch the surface of the pipe. You could also press the flat blade of the screwdriver into the pipe. If the screwdriver can scratch the pipe or make an impression, your water line is probably made of lead.

If you touch the pipe, wash your hands afterwards. You can only absorb lead by ingestion or inhalation. While you cannot absorb lead through your skin, touching the pipe can deposit lead particles or lead dust on your hands, which you can then ingest accidentally.

Replacing your lead water line with a safer material can remove an immediate health hazard and give you peace of mind. If you would like more information about replacing a lead water line, or removing lead from your home’s plumbing system, please give us a call at Boston Standard Company at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to inspect your home’s plumbing system and identify potential lead hazards.

Photo Credit: Richard King, via Flickr

Plumbing as a career

Plumbing as a career

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If you’re looking for a career, a new career or a better career, consider plumbing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the plumbing industry is wide-open. Experts expect employment to grow by 16% 2016-2026. Better still, the median salary for a plumber in 2018 exceeded $25 per hour. Some plumbers even report making six-figure salaries.

Plumbing is a skilled trade, which means that you will spend time working with a licensed master plumber in an apprentice position while you learn. As an apprentice, your ultimate goal is to become a master plumber. That process can take several years because you’ll need to complete both classroom and on-the-job instruction. You’ll work as a journeyman plumber for awhile as you accumulate work experience. Once you’ve completed all of the journeyman training and work requirements, you can become a master plumber.

As a licensed plumber, you can work in a commercial setting, a residential setting or both. In addition to the sink-and-toilet plumbing you know, you could also work in highly specialized commercial settings, like power plants, hospitals, manufacturing facilities and water treatment plants. Plumbers also install gas lines and fire suppression systems.

Every year in Massachusetts, about 75% of high school graduates go on to college. For the other 25%, a plumbing apprenticeship pays you a good salary while you learn on the job. You can also put yourself in a position to have a stable, high-earning, high-demand career within just a few years.

If you’d like more information about how to get into a plumbing apprenticeship program, or you’d simply like more information about plumbing as a career, please give us a call at Boston Standard Company at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to talk to you about job opportunities and the job training requirements for plumbing as a career.

Photo Credit: Natalie Wilkie, via Flickr

Life without indoor plumbing? Is that still a thing?

Life without indoor plumbing? Is that still a thing?

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According to a report earlier this month, nearly 25% of households in Russia lack indoor plumbing. While that’s hard to accept, it’s apparently true. The majority of the affected households are in rural areas. Only about 9% of urban-dwellers in Russia lack indoor sanitation.

It’s at this point we should mention that according to a recent American Communities Survey, 630,000 US households also lack an in-house outhouse. So what gives?

Historically speaking, indoor plumbing is a relatively new thing. By the 1930’s in the United States, new construction included indoor plumbing as a standard design element. Likewise, owners of many older homes retrofitted plumbing into these structures. However, Census data from that time show that in 1950, the indoor plumbing revolution had yet to reach about 25% of US homes.

Indoor plumbing – as defined by the Census Bureau, includes:

  • Toilet
  • Bathtub
  • Running water

If you’ve got at least these three, you’ve got the whole kit. Areas in the US that are still waiting for indoor plumbing include very rural areas, Native American reservations, Appalachia and Southern Texas. Here’s a surprise. According to the American Communities Survey, in 2017 more than 9,000 Massachusetts homes did not have complete plumbing facilities. Nearly 600 of these homes were in Suffolk County.

Most people in the US today take indoor plumbing for granted, but ye Olde Outhouse has not yet been relegated to the history books anywhere in the world. Good sanitation makes for good, healthy communities, so taking care of your plumbing should be a priority.

Tips for taking care of your indoor plumbing

There are some major plumbing repairs that require a trained professional, but you can take a few simple actions to care for your plumbing. Regular maintenance can help limit your exposure to major plumbing failures.

  • Keep your drains running clean and clear.
  • Address leaks when you find them.
  • Check your fixtures regularly (sinks, tubs, toilets, faucets, water heaters) for leaks, cracks and wear
  • In the winter, keep your home’s temperature high enough to discourage frozen pipes
  • Drain your garden hoses and drain the bibs before winter!

When you do need a hand with your plumbing (or if you live in one of the 600 Suffolk County houses without plumbing), give us a call at Boston Standard Company at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to help out!

Photo Credit: Mark Bray, via Flickr

Changing your habits can save money on energy bills*

Changing your habits can save money on energy bills*

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*Your mileage may vary.

A recent study by researchers at the Australian National University showed that behavior has the potential to save 10%-25% on residential energy costs. Saving 10%-25% on energy costs sounds good, especially since the average Massachusetts household spends more than $2,500 on energy costs each year. That means optimizing your energy consumption could reduce your energy bills by $250-$625 per year.

Now, for the bad news. Another equally relevant Israeli study showed that providing people with a lot of personalized energy consumption data had no positive effect on their behavior.

At all.

In fact, study participants who had been given very detailed information about their energy consumption actually used more energy than those who just received general tips on how to reduce their utility bills. Those with the most information about their specific energy habits could have easily spotted costly consumption behaviors. Yet, the exact opposite outcome occurred, even after adjusting for external factors like weather changes and weather extremes.

It’s easy to focus on the “save money on energy bills” part of the headline here (especially when $625 is at stake), but it is harder to succeed at the “changing your habits” stuff. So, if knowledge can’t help you when it comes to changing your energy consumption patterns, is there a strategy that can work?

How to lower your energy bills

“Automating” energy-saving habits is one way to change your actual energy consumption. That would include using a programmable thermostat- which won’t forget to turn the heat or A/C down. Motion-sensing light switches and timers also ensure that the lights get turned off when they’re not in use. Today, lighting won’t account for much of your home’s electric bill, as long as you have switched to LED bulbs. (If you haven’t, switch!)

Another major behavior change involves your buying habits. When you have to replace an appliance, look for EnergyStar-compliant models. Likewise, using WaterSense-compliant faucets, showerheads and appliances can reduce your water consumption significantly. These appliances and fixtures will cost more up-front, but they will quickly repay you in the form of lowered operating costs. You may also need to reconsider replacing appliances that still work well, but consume a lot of energy. This situation can happen easily with freezers and refrigerators. By replacing energy-hogging major appliances even though they may still work, you can reduce your utility bill significantly.

Take the time to seal the drafts and gaps in your home’s “thermal envelope.” Improperly insulated and sealed gaps can leak a lot of air into (and out of) your home. Closing these gaps will reduce your winter heating bill and your summer cooling bill.

Consider using fans to cool your home at night. Typically, the temperature drops after the sun sets. Bringing naturally cooled air into your home with fans can reduce the temperature and save money. But there’s a big caveat here. The humidity is a major factor. If the humidity is high, you’re better off leaving cool-but-wet air outside. You’ll ultimately spend less to cool the drier air that’s already in your home.

Your heating and cooling equipment consume most of your energy

Finally, take the time to understand how much your heating and cooling systems actually cost to operate. It’s very tempting to let an older, less efficient system run. A new, high efficiency replacement could pay for itself in just a few years through sharply reduced operating costs. A newer, high-efficiency system can help you lock in savings, while your older less efficient model locks in your expenses.

If you’d like more information about reducing your heating and cooling costs, give us a call at Boston Standard Company at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to show you how you can take advantage of rebates and tax incentives to lower your energy consumption affordably.

Photo Credit: Nan Palmero, via Flickr

Eliminating water hammer

Eliminating water hammer

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If you’ve never heard of water hammer, you’ve probably never heard water hammer. Water hammer is your plumbing’s reaction to valves in your system opening and closing quickly. The sound – which can be loud and sometimes scary – is a result of fast-moving water hitting a suddenly closed valve. It’s essentially a type of shock inside your pipes.

Water hammer can be more than an annoyance. It can also cause damage to your pipes and appliances. When a valve is open in your plumbing system, the water – which is still under pressure – is flowing. Some fixtures need to control water flow quickly and precisely. That would include your washing machine, dishwasher, and toilets; you definitely don’t want these devices overflowing! Standard faucets can also trigger water hammer, but because you manually control their shut-off, they’re less likely to cause it.

Water travels in one direction in your plumbing. When a valve closes quickly, the water stops exiting the system instantly – but it’s still being pushed by the municipal supply. When the flowing water hits a closed valve, it does so with a lot of force. The shock of impact transfers to the rest of your system (and all of the attached fixtures), as the system tries to absorb this blow. That’s when you hear the pounding and banging associated with water hammer. This noise may not be a one-time event. It may take the system a few tries to distribute the shock force effectively.

The effects of water hammer

As you might imagine, over time, this kind of abuse takes its toll on your plumbing. Water hammer can damage faucets and fixtures to the point of leaking. It can also damage appliances over time. Finally, if the pressure from the municipal supply is very high, water hammer can cause pipe damage! In short, water hammer is a situation you will have to address, one way or another.

In some plumbing systems, water hammer is all but guaranteed. The longer your supply line from the municipal system, the more likely you are to experience water hammer. Since you’re unlikely to be able to shorten your supply line, you can modify your plumbing to accommodate the shock.

Another component of water hammer is how the offending valve is being closed. Usually, appliances like washing machines and dishwashers have automatic valves. These valves open and close suddenly and precisely because the appliance mechanically controls them. This is another situation that you probably can’t change, but it can cause water hammer.

Also, municipal systems operate under higher pressures because they have to deliver a lot of water to a lot of customers. It’s entirely likely that the pressure from your municipal supply is too high for your plumbing. This also causes water hammer.

Correcting water hammer

Water pressure is actually one element of water hammer you can control. You can place a regulator on your system just after the meter to reduce the incoming water pressure. If you have a serious problem with water hammer, or chronically leaking fixtures, you might want to have your incoming pressure measured and regulated.

The other, more common way to address water hammer is to install air chambers near the offending valves. An air chamber is a closed, vertical add-on to your plumbing system that normally stays empty. When an appliance valve shuts off, the extra pressure compresses the air in the chamber, giving the shock wave somewhere to go.

If you’re experiencing water hammer and you already have air cushions in your system, it’s possible that they’ve just filled with water. To correct this, you can turn off the shut-off valve(s) to that part of your plumbing system, open the closest tap and let the water drain out. This will empty the air cushion(s). Open the shut-off valves again, and the system should operate quietly. You may have to repeat this periodically if your system is prone to water hammer.

If you don’t have air cushions, a plumber can install them. This will reduce the wear and tear on your plumbing and your appliances. It’s a good solution to counteract the causes of water hammer that you can’t control. It will also save you money by eliminating the need for repairs for your fixtures, appliances and plumbing.

If you’re experiencing water hammer and you would like to correct it, please contact us at Boston Standard Company at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to help you eliminate water hammer in your home.

Photo Credit: Bill Smith, via Flickr

Why you should fix your leaking faucet

Why you should fix your leaking faucet

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We’ll be the first to admit that in the grand scheme of things, a drop of water isn’t a lot of water. But the water that leaks from a drippy faucet can add up over time. The average drop of water is a mere 0.25 of a milliliter. In other words, it would take more than 15,000 drops added together to come up with a gallon of water.

But before you dismiss your leaking faucet as some other day’s problem, consider this. If your faucet drips once every five seconds, that’s twelve drops per minute. It’s also 720 drops every hour, and 17,280 drops per day. Which adds up to 6,307,200 drops per year. In the bigger picture, that’s more than 400 gallons of water that goes through your meter and right down your drain. If your faucet drips faster than that or you have multiple drippy faucets, you’re losing even more water.

To be fair, a “drop” of water isn’t uniform, so the precise amount of water your leaky faucet is releasing will vary. The US Geological Survey offers a drip calculator to estimate the cost of a broken faucet. Their calculator is also based on assumptions about the size of a drop of water, and the rate of the leak.

In the United States today, leaky plumbing accounts for about one-sixth of our water consumption. You read that correctly; one out of every six ounces of treated water goes down the drain, never having been used. While water is a “renewable” resource – every trip it makes through your meter costs money! A lost drop here or there isn’t enough to impact your water bill, but 400+ gallons per year certainly is.

Replacing a leaking faucet is easy

There is no way to overstate the importance of clean water. As our population grows and our infrastructure ages, it becomes more expensive to treat and deliver healthy, safe and clean drinking water. By repairing or replacing dripping faucets, you can not only reduce your water consumption (and your water bill), but also ease the burden of treating and delivering clean water in our area.

If you have a lot of dripping faucets in your home, you may be experiencing an over-pressure issue. The municipal water supply operates at a certain pressure to ensure that everyone always gets all of the water they need. That pressure is generally too high for residential plumbing. Over time, this high-pressure condition can deteriorate the water valves in your system. As the valves deteriorate, leaks develop. It is possible to reduce the pressure inside your home by adding a special regulator to your pipes. The regulator will throttle back the municipal water pressure to better match the capabilities of your plumbing fixtures. Over time, this can reduce the wear on your plumbing fixtures and delay or eliminate the development of leaks.

If you’d like help with fixing a leaking faucet or reducing the water pressure in your home, please give us a call at Boston Standard Company at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to set up an appointment.

Photo Credit: Denise Rowlands, via Flickr

Barrier free plumbing can enhance your home

Barrier free plumbing can enhance your home

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Most people don’t consider barrier free homes until they need to. Generally, homes aren’t initially constructed with accessibility in mind. Modifying a home to eliminate barriers for wheelchair-dependent individuals can represent fundamental changes to a home’s layout.

Beyond modifying entryways and doorways, barrier free designs must take the home’s plumbing into account. Older homes may require extensive interior remodeling to widen spaces, reduce fixture heights and eliminate barriers to toileting and showering. The same is true of newer homes that feature traditional room designs and fixtures.

The good news is that once a home has been redesigned to support accessibility, the value of the home rises significantly. What exactly is involved in barrier free plumbing?

Barrier free plumbing: toilets

Barrier free toilets often mount directly to the wall, rather than the floor. Floor—mounted barrier free toilets are generally taller than a standard toilet. This better accommodates transfers from a wheelchair to the toilet and back. The alternative is to mount the toilet directly to a wall. Installing a wall mounted toilet offers some flexibility with regard to height. You can determine the best height for your particular needs. Wall mounted toilets also require the soil pipe to be moved into the wall. In addition, the tank and the plumbing needed to flush and fill the toilet are also hidden in the wall.

Wall mounted toilets can also offer options for homeowners with very small bathrooms, or those with non-standard soil pipe rough-ins. By removing the soil pipe altogether from the floor, a wall mounted toilet makes the most of a small space. Their design also can increase the available floor space by as much as 10 inches over a standard toilet.

Wall-mounted toilets are built to withstand loads in excess of 800 pounds, so there’s no danger of the toilet collapsing from the user’s weight. These toilets can also offer amenities like hands-free flushing, pushbutton flushing and remote flushing. In addition, removable panels allow easy access to the interior fixtures for maintenance and repair. As an added bonus, wall mounted toilets are also easier to clean.

Toilets aren’t the only wall-hung fixtures you can install. You can also find wall mounted bidets and urinals that offer similar benefits. Although you might think of these fixtures as “commercial” options, you can find several designed for residential use.

Barrier-free sinks

An accessible bathroom will also require a barrier free sink. Many ADA-compliant sinks feature an off-set drain. This enables the sink to meet ADA compliance regulations, which have minimum height and depth requirements. The key to a barrier free sink is the amount of open space under the fixture to accommodate wheelchairs. ADA regulations don’t require the sink plumbing to be in the wall. Many people find this approach to be an easy way to meet ADA space regulations, however.

Barrier free showers

Well done barrier free shower designs can enhance the utility, appearance and value of your home. Many people are moving to barrier free designs, even when accessibility isn’t necessary. The most important things to remember about barrier free shower designs is that they’re very individual to the home. You can create an accessible full bathroom using a relatively small amount of space. Rain heads can help limit water spray by dropping water from the ceiling, instead of spraying from a showerhead. Special drains can also help capture and drain water. Many people who opt for barrier free showers are opting for “one-level” wet rooms that have a single level floor. These rooms are equipped to manage water, regardless of where it makes contact with the walls or floors.

If you’d like more information about accessible plumbing for your home, please give us a call at (617) 288-2911. We’ll be happy to show you your options.

Photo Credit: Francie’s photos, via Flickr