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#1
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water usage bill
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/ |
#2
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water usage bill
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 |
#3
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water usage bill
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/ |
#4
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water usage bill
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. |
#5
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water usage bill
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/ |
#6
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water usage bill
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. |
#7
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water usage bill
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. |
#8
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water usage bill
"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) |
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