g'day katherine,

if it is the bottom line? ie.,. the money factor that is rising with
each bill then that is the nature of the beast hey?

regardless of what happens they are simply going to charge more and
more and more. wait until it is federaly controlled and sold off to
private profit rakers.

we currently don't use any of their water but we still pay for it.

now if you are using more and more water then you best do an audit i'd
suggest, and as has been suggested read the meter when there is a
quiet time ie.,. at night after everyone has retired to bed turn
toilet taps off and direct everyone no to use water then before water
is needed the next morning read the meter again if it has moved then
you have a leak somewhere. the dripping tap is very obvious.

another way follow the new slogan "if it yellow let it mellow - if it
os brown flush it down"

too much drinking quality water gets wasted flushing waste water.
alternatively use some of you grey water to flush toilet solids use
water twice at least.



On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:28:21 +1100, "jones" wrote:
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

Thanks Len and others,

Good suggestions. Actually we are less people now only 2 of us, and we are
using less water - less washing (of clothes) etc.

I use grey water to flush the solids in the toilet, but will try checking
the meter and see if there is a leak.

Thanks again people
Katherine



and as has been suggested read the meter when there is a
quiet time ie.,. at night after everyone has retired to bed turn
toilet taps off and direct everyone no to use water then before water
is needed the next morning read the meter again if it has moved then
you have a leak somewhere. the dripping tap is very obvious.
http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:16:43 GMT, len garden
wrote:

g'day katherine,

if it is the bottom line? ie.,. the money factor that is rising with
each bill then that is the nature of the beast hey?

regardless of what happens they are simply going to charge more and
more and more. wait until it is federaly controlled and sold off to
private profit rakers.

we currently don't use any of their water but we still pay for it.

now if you are using more and more water then you best do an audit i'd
suggest, and as has been suggested read the meter when there is a
quiet time ie.,. at night after everyone has retired to bed turn
toilet taps off and direct everyone no to use water then before water
is needed the next morning read the meter again if it has moved then
you have a leak somewhere. the dripping tap is very obvious.

another way follow the new slogan "if it yellow let it mellow - if it
os brown flush it down"

too much drinking quality water gets wasted flushing waste water.
alternatively use some of you grey water to flush toilet solids use
water twice at least.



On Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:28:21 +1100, "jones" wrote:
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

We are checking the meter numbers and they seem to be going up without us
doing anything. There are no dripping taps, so it may be in the pipes
somewhere.

We rang the Water Board and they said to get a private plumber to check it.

My question - has anyone else had this problem, and would the plumber have
to dig up all the concrete to get to the pipes? :-(

Is there an easier way for him to check for leaks?

Thanks for any suggestions.
Katherine

g'day katherine,

they can test along yout pipes for teh leak and once they find it yes
they may have to dig up concrete major work, in some constructions the
pipes are in the cement slab of teh home that is very major work and
none of it will be cheap, apart from the disruption of it all.

if it came to some or any of teh above i'd be looking to see if that
section could be bipassed even if you had visible pipes running along
the bottom of an outside wall.

have you noticed any wet patches that seem forever to dry out that
could indicate where the problem is. those hidden in the wall shower
units can leak inside the wall and cause timber damage as well, they
are a big job to replace usually means pulling out that section of
inside wall, if it is the shower then do yourself a favour and have it
replaced with one of those chrome or brass external units they are far
easier to maintane and lots cheaper to do as well, and they can't leak
inside the wall.

out of sight - out of mind - out of pocket, plumbers gold mine, the
joys of modern building practises.

the bifg downside of modern home builkding with all plumbing conceled
is when there is a problem it can be biggun. and be sure any new
copper pipe doesn't mmake contact with the cement reaction between the
2 can cause pipe failure.

for now at least each evening fill some bucket or dishes to get you
through the night and turn off the maind tap. get a number of quotes
and diagnosis there are plumbers then there are plumbers.

On Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:42:44 +1100, "jones" wrote:
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

Thank you Len,

Some good advice there in your reply. A lot to think about.

Katherine



"len gardener" wrote in message
...
g'day katherine,

they can test along yout pipes for teh leak and once they find it yes
they may have to dig up concrete major work, in some constructions the
pipes are in the cement slab of teh home that is very major work and
none of it will be cheap, apart from the disruption of it all.

if it came to some or any of teh above i'd be looking to see if that
section could be bipassed even if you had visible pipes running along
the bottom of an outside wall.

have you noticed any wet patches that seem forever to dry out that
could indicate where the problem is. those hidden in the wall shower
units can leak inside the wall and cause timber damage as well, they
are a big job to replace usually means pulling out that section of
inside wall, if it is the shower then do yourself a favour and have it
replaced with one of those chrome or brass external units they are far
easier to maintane and lots cheaper to do as well, and they can't leak
inside the wall.

out of sight - out of mind - out of pocket, plumbers gold mine, the
joys of modern building practises.

the bifg downside of modern home builkding with all plumbing conceled
is when there is a problem it can be biggun. and be sure any new
copper pipe doesn't mmake contact with the cement reaction between the
2 can cause pipe failure.

for now at least each evening fill some bucket or dishes to get you
through the night and turn off the maind tap. get a number of quotes
and diagnosis there are plumbers then there are plumbers.

yes work out an alternate route for the pipe from the mains to the
house, i've done it before and if you can do some digging whatever
that will save you heaps, jobs like theses are like gold mines to
tradesmen.

a neighbour needed an ag drain fitted because of a water issue feeding
down the hill under ground from down pipes, plumbers wanted up to
around $2k or more at the time and the best bit they had no idea if
what thery where going to do would even work (they have no knowledge
is what he meant no common sense). and prices me neighbour couldn't
afford.

anyhow because this water was a minor issue in my place i was already
thinking about an ag drain down the fence on the neighbours side, so
when this came along hey presto even better, so i used me nut a bit
so to cut a long story short $600 later and few blisters on me
neighbours hands (he was younger than me without the back problems)
and a tad of advice from the digger bloke the ag drain worked a treat
amazed us realy stopped the problem.

look for someone with ethics

On Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:49:19 +1100, "jones" wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

jones wrote:

Is there an easier way for him to check for leaks?

It really is about money. Plumbers do not come cheap and competent
plumbers can be rare.

Len's comments are spot on about looking for wet ground, etc. If you can
find the leak yourselves, you can save a lot of the plumbers time and
your money.

The alternative is replacement. If you think about it, if you have to
dig up extensive lines of piping, then you have done the hard work and
might as well replace it with new stuff.

According to the Bill, we only use $20 worth of water, the rest seems to be
sewerage charges etc, so maybe we don't have a leak - just their charges
have been going up and up.

Also on the graph at the bottom of the Bill, it shows we are using more than
this time last year (we were an extra body here last year).

Maybe......... could it be a faulty meter. I really don't want the whole
yard and driveway dug up. The kitchen, bathroom and laundry were done from
scratch 20 years ago.

There doesn't seem to be any wet areas around the place :-(

Will keep you informed of this saga. Thanks for all your help(s).

Katherine




The alternative is replacement. If you think about it, if you have to dig
up extensive lines of piping, then you have done the hard work and might
as well replace it with new stuff.

"jones" writes:
Maybe......... could it be a faulty meter. I really don't want the whole
yard and driveway dug up. The kitchen, bathroom and laundry were done from
scratch 20 years ago.

I'd reckon the meter will tick over only if there is flow through it.
So while your property is using no water, then the meter will not advance.

I think my water board will check a meter for a fixed charge and if the
meter is found to be faulty they will refund their meter-check charge.

You could maybe check your own meter. Turn on a garden hose and ensure
all other taps, etc., are off. Allow the flow to stablise and measure
the flow (litres/min) from your hose by filling graduated buckets or
some such. Note the water meter reading. Water the garden for an hour,
checking every 15 mins that the flow rate is held constant. After an
hour record the increase in your meter's reading. Compare the reading
with your calculated increase.

You can often hear water escaping from pipes by listening to the pipe
at another location. I don't know whether this will work for under-
ground leaks, but I'd try it. If you can borrow a stethoscope from a
friendly doctor you can try listening to the pipes around your
property first with the mains tap turned off, then with it turned on
but all other taps off. The lounder the sound of whistling, the closer
you are to a place where water is escaping. I deduced that the owner
in another unit had a dripping tap because I could hear the pipes
'whistling' when I put my head close to my washbasin while brushing
my teeth. I left her a note about getting leaking taps fixed and the
whistling soon ceased. I bet she wondered how I knew she had a dripping
tap in her unit! We don't have individual water meters in my unit block
so when one resident wastes water, we all generously share the expense!
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)