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SWINDON
& SURROUNDING AREA
Reliable, Flexible, Affordable
General Plumbing
The plumbing system of your home is one of the most important parts of
a house. We can live without electricity but water is everything for
common tasks such as personal hygiene and cooking among some would be
impossible. Though plumbing is a very skilled job, it would not hurt to
know some of the basics so as not to go running off to the phone to
call the plumber for small manageable problems. Let us begin by
familiarizing ourselves with the system which begins outside of the
home usually in a hole or access manhole where the mains valve is
located. This is used by the water company to isolate your house from
the rest of the system in case of maintenance and can also be used to
shut off water to the home in an emergency. Say a water pipe broke and
the space where it is located would flood if you do nothing, you simply
turn off the valve by turning it clockwise to shut it off allowing
repairs.
From there it enters the house through either copper or galvanized
metal pipes throughout the house. Some homes have water tanks on the
roof or on their own support structures that is fed by a pump. When the
tank is full, the pump shuts-off and the water flows down to the
faucets and other fixtures through the force of gravity. Some homes
have smaller tanks in the ceiling structure that has a float valve that
shuts-off water when it is full. This would be quite a problem if it
develops a problem for the overflow would drip onto the ceiling so
shut-off the mains if this happens to prevent further damage.
Fixtures such as lavatories and water closets have separate smaller
water shut-off valves that allow repairs on a localized fixture
preventing loss of water to the rest of the house.
Most taps can be repaired but heavily corroded or those with gaskets
that do not have replacement parts have to be replaced. A dripping
faucet might have a worn rubber gasket or ceramic valve that can be
replaced. Bring the faucet in question if you are not familiar with the
sizes and how to replace them and have the local hardware do it for
you. Some houses that use copper pipes in the water system use
compression fittings. These fittings are quite sensitive with regards
to the pressure you exert on them, too much and they break, too little
and you get leaks.
The information provided above is to give one a brief overview of the
plumbing system that may exist in your home for you to know what to do
in an emergency. Most major modifications or repairs to these systems
might allow only certified people and other professionals to perform so
do check first before you do anything major to your bathroom. Copper
pipes might also require some soldering for major repairs and the
proper method of doing this is a learned skill. Get professionals when
you are unsure of what to do or at least get a second opinion before
you do anything. You might just save yourself from the expense of
having to pay for additional damage your well-intentioned repair
caused.
ENQUIRE NOW ABOUT OUR PLUMBING SERVICES
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is a trading name of Butterfly-Mediasoft Ltd. Registration Number:
06170494
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