AFFORDABLE PLUMBING SERVICE IN Brunswick, GA

What Are the Most Common Plumbing Issues in Brunswick?

Brunswick faces some common plumbing problems that you may need to address quickly to reduce future risks. By addressing plumbing problems quickly, you can reduce the water loss and decrease the costs you may face while managing plumbing repairs.

Leaks

Homeowners may not immediately notice a slow leak on their water bill, especially if it starts small and grows over time. However, you may find that those slow leaks lead to serious water bills and can cause significant damage throughout your home. 12% of water usage per day in Brunswick is caused by leaks. Over time, minor leaks and sprays can lead to mold and mildew growth in your home or damage the area around the leak, requiring replacement. Addressing a leak quickly can help protect your home and prevent further damage. 

Dripping Faucets

Over time, the seals in your faucets can degrade or become displaced, which may cause the faucet to start dripping. Not only can this pose a potent irritation; it’s hard to focus on other tasks or to fall asleep while water drips steadily in the background, leading to the waste of hundreds of gallons of water each year. Fortunately, a dripping faucet is usually fairly easy for us to resolve. 

Low Water Pressure

Low water pressure can stem from several things. Sometimes, it results from challenges with the greater water system like a break in the water main near your home, for example. In other cases, it can occur quickly as a result of a fast leak or break within your property which you need to address quickly to eliminate the problem and prevent immense expense. If you have a well, as is common in many Brunswick homes, you may find your water pressure dropping during periods of drought. You may also be unable to access your water if the power is turned off, since most modern wells rely on electricity to work.

Clogged Drains

Your drains can clog for a variety of reasons. Most notably, drain clogs often result because you put something through your drain that shouldn’t have been there such as grease or hair. Clogged drains in Brunswick can lead to sewage backing up in your home, which may bring about a giant mess and even biological hazards. Often, you cannot clear large clogs on your own, especially if they are no longer accessible. You may notice seemingly clogged drains and sewage backups if you have tree roots growing into your pipes, which an experienced plumber like us can quickly diagnose.

How Does the Water in Brunswick Affect Your Plumbing?

In general, water throughout Georgia is considered soft water, according to the rating scale used across the United States. The average water hardness in Georgia hovers around 60 ppm. Most of the time, soft water has less of an overall impact on your plumbing than hard water. Hard water can lead to significant mineral buildup which can increase the risk of damage to your drains, fixtures, and pipes. The softer water in Brunswick may mean that you face fewer overall plumbing challenges over time.

However, if you have lead pipes, you should note that soft water can pull dangerous chemicals from those pipes, resulting in increased risk to you and your family. If you have an older home that may have lead pipes, it may be worth having those pipes replaced as soon as possible.

Brunswick also has several aquifers or underground layers of water-bearing, permeable rock. This water can be extracted through the use of wells, which are common throughout the Brunswick area. If you have well water in your home, you may not be hooked up to a city water supply. Many people prefer the taste of well water. However, maintaining a well may entail some unique plumbing challenges, including the need to keep up with routine maintenance. 

How Much Does Plumbing Usually Cost in Brunswick?

Plumbing repairs often sound like an expensive proposition, especially if you have a big job that needs to be done. In 2021, homeowners paid an average of $290 for plumbing installation in Brunswick. Consider these factors that could influence the cost of your plumbing repairs. 

How Much Work Does Your Job Require?

Plumbing costs usually rely on two things: the cost of the parts to get the job done and the cost of labor needed to finish the project successfully. In general, the more work your job requires, the more it will cost to get your plumbing challenges taken care of. Talk to Mr Blue Plumbing about the size of your job and how much labor will be required. 

How Specialized Is the Work?

To determine how much you will pay for plumbing repairs, you may want to consider how specialized that work really is. Some plumbing repairs like clearing a blocked drain can be taken on by an experienced plumber like us. Others, on the other hand, may require more specialized skills. Talk to Mr Blue Plumbing about the skills needed to take care of your plumbing job, including whether your efforts will require any specialized skills. 

How Urgently Do You Need to Complete Your Plumbing Project?

Some plumbing projects can wait. That dripping faucet in your kitchen might be annoying, but unless it’s gushing water, it can probably wait until convenient business hours for us to come out. Chances are, you can let it wait until we have room in the schedule to deal with that task. Other plumbing projects, however, need immediate attention. Suppose, for example, that you have a large leak in your yard. You may need us to come out as soon as possible to handle that task. If you have suffered severely low water pressure in your home, you might need us to come and address it as soon as possible, so that you aren’t without water. If you need us to come by on nights and weekends or if you have an emergency that requires immediate attention, you may pay premium costs for your repairs. Homeowners paid an average of $290 for emergency plumbing repair in 2021.

Can Better Plumbing Save You Money in Brunswick?

Better plumbing can help decrease your overall costs and save you money in a couple of key ways. Keeping up with general plumbing maintenance and repair can make a big difference for your home.

First and foremost, good plumbing means fewer leaks. Annually, household leaks mean more than a trillion gallons of wasted water across the United States. While your personal costs certainly won’t climb that high, you could find yourself losing hundreds of gallons of water to a leak or dripping faucet. That, in turn, can mean considerably increased costs on your water bill. 

Good plumbing can also help reduce the risk of drain blockages. You may find that dealing with an experienced plumber like us can help you eliminate potential barriers or make it easier for you to keep your system functioning at peak efficiency. Sewage backups can cause costly damage to your home, especially if they spill out of your drains and onto the floor. 

Keep in mind that plumbing problems rarely go away on their own. Most of the time, the longer you wait to address potential challenges, the more your overall costs may increase. Dealing with plumbing problems upfront, before they have the chance to get out of control, can leave you with fewer overall costs and less damage to deal with, which can help keep you on budget. 

When Should You Call the Water Utility Company in Brunswick Vs Hire a Plumber?

In general, you, as the homeowner, are responsible for any plumbing problems that occur once the water moves past your water meter. Anything on the other side of the meter, however, is the responsibility of the water company. You should contact the Brunswick-Glynn Joint Water and Sewer Commission if you notice any large leaks outside your property.

If you aren’t sure if the leak is coming from inside your property or outside, try this: shut off every source of water within your home and check your meter. If the meter continues to run, the water leak is probably on your property and you should contact us to address it. On the other hand, if you notice a water leak outside your home and your meter does not continue to run, the problem probably lies within the City’s jurisdiction and you should contact them to handle it.

Keep in mind that if you do have a large leak on your property, you can often contact the water company to let them know about the problem and receive a one-time credit or assistance on your bill, which can help decrease your costs as a homeowner. You may need to show evidence that you have taken the steps necessary to complete those repairs, including presenting a bill from us, to receive the full credit you deserve.

When Do You Need Permits for Plumbing Service in Brunswick?

In Brunswick, you may need permits to complete plumbing tasks in your home. Those permits can help protect you, as the homeowner, and ensure that any work done to your home is done correctly and efficiently. You should assume that you will need a permit to put in a pool. You will also, according to Brunswick guidelines, require a permit for the installation, extension, relocation, replacement, or general repair of any plumbing system.

In general, you will not need a plumbing permit if you need to replace a water heater or conduct minor repairs or replacements in the plumbing system. You can often get by without a permit if you do not need to disrupt the original water supply or interfere with waste or ventilation systems. Any time repairs require touching those systems, however, you will need a permit for the work. Mr Blue Plumbing can inform you when you need a plumbing permit to manage any repairs on your system and make sure that all your repairs comply with local guidelines.