Why don't I have water.

I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.

I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
door neighbor and he has water too!!

**Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.

How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
or not.

I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?

But it never turns off entirely.

Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
the fish are removed at the water plant.

There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.

Where did my water go?

On 4/24/2024 5:51 PM, micky wrote:
> Why don't I have water.
>
> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>
> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
> and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
> coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
> draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
> door neighbor and he has water too!!
>
> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>
> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
> of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
> or not.
>
> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>
> But it never turns off entirely.
>
> Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
> water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
> well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
> the fish are removed at the water plant.
>
> There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
> to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
> burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>
> Where did my water go?

Is your water meter spinning like crazy?

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:34:05 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 4/24/2024 5:51 PM, micky wrote:
>> Why don't I have water.
>>
>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>
>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>> and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>> coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>> draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>> door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>
>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>>
>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>> of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>> or not.
>>
>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>
>> But it never turns off entirely.
>>
>> Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>> water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>> well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>> the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>
>> There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>> to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>> burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>
>> Where did my water go?
>
>Is your water meter spinning like crazy?
>
There is a water meter, but I've never seen it. We all share one meter,
and the one for my house, which is never read, is under a metal plate
and for which I don't have the key/socket.

On 4/24/2024 7:54 PM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:34:05 -0700, Bob F
> <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 4/24/2024 5:51 PM, micky wrote:
>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>
>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>
>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>>> and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>>> coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>>> draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>>> door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>
>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>>>
>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>>> of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>>> or not.
>>>
>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>>
>>> But it never turns off entirely.
>>>
>>> Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>>> water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>>> well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>>> the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>>
>>> There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>>> to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>>> burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>>
>>> Where did my water go?
>>
>> Is your water meter spinning like crazy?
>>
> There is a water meter, but I've never seen it. We all share one meter,
> and the one for my house, which is never read, is under a metal plate
> and for which I don't have the key/socket.

You either have a valve turned off or faulty, or other plugged pipe, or
a major leak of the pipe to or under your house.

Do you have a pressure regulator where the water comes into your house?
That could fail.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:23:58 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 4/24/2024 7:54 PM, micky wrote:
>> In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:34:05 -0700, Bob F
>> <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/24/2024 5:51 PM, micky wrote:
>>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>>
>>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>>
>>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>>>> and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>>>> coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>>>> draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>>>> door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>>
>>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>>>>
>>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>>>> of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>>>> or not.
>>>>
>>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>>>
>>>> But it never turns off entirely.
>>>>
>>>> Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>>>> water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>>>> well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>>>> the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>>>
>>>> There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>>>> to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>>>> burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>>>
>>>> Where did my water go?
>>>
>>> Is your water meter spinning like crazy?
>>>
>> There is a water meter, but I've never seen it. We all share one meter,
>> and the one for my house, which is never read, is under a metal plate
>> and for which I don't have the key/socket.
>
>You either have a valve turned off or faulty, or other plugged pipe, or
>a major leak of the pipe to or under your house.
>
>Do you have a pressure regulator where the water comes into your house?
>That could fail.

The neighbor I called called me back a while later. When returning from
walking his dog, he saw water spraying from a spigot on the side of my
house. I don't have a spigot on the side of my house, but I rushed
downstairs to check it out.

Almost to the bottom of the stairs I heard wooshing. OMGosh. But I saw
it was just the TV in the kitchen which no longer had a signal and was
playing static.

Down to the basement, first room looked fine, but in the laundry room,
water spraying up a foot from where it came from behind a wardrobe I
have there. Depending on where the source is, might be 18 or 24" high.

Rained cold water on me to turn it off.

Over an inch of water on the floor. It's the sump pump on the side of
the house.

Source is something to do with the valve or the pressure regulator whis
is just after it.

When I go away in the winter for more than a 3 weeks, I turn off the
water. A few years ago when I turned it back on, dripping from the
stemp. Tightened the stem nut (boneet nut?). Didn't use that much
force. Stopped twisting pretty quickly. That could have put a little
strain on the pipe while I was doing it, right? but not after I let go
of the wrench. 5 or more years ago. Could that have been it?

I have to wait until it dries a bit and move the warddrobe but I think
this repair is beyond me. Or at least I'm not willing to find out.

On 4/24/24 8:51 PM, micky wrote:

>
> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?

I've seen this hot water self-shutoff on the original hot water faucets
in this 1950s house. They are a Crane "Dial-Eze" model that has a unique
form of gaskets. It appears that the gasket swells under hot water,
causing the flow to slow, and sometimes even stop !

Fortunately I found a source for replacement stems of the all-metal
cartridge type. No more problem.

Hope you found your loss of water problem.

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 23:59:12 -0400, retired1
<retired@home.usa> wrote:

>On 4/24/24 8:51 PM, micky wrote:
>
>>
>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>
>I've seen this hot water self-shutoff on the original hot water faucets
>in this 1950s house. They are a Crane "Dial-Eze" model that has a unique
>form of gaskets. It appears that the gasket swells under hot water,
>causing the flow to slow, and sometimes even stop !

Well, it never stops, but I set it at one level and a few minutes later,
when the valve is not accessible, the flow is inadquate. So I'm trying
to learn to set it at a higher level. This is, I think, only a 2 or 3
degree difference in how far the handle is turned.
>
>Fortunately I found a source for replacement stems of the all-metal
>cartridge type. No more problem.
>
>Hope you found your loss of water problem.

I found the problem. I'm waiting for you guys to hire me a plumber.

So I need the water turned off at the meter outside, which has not been
turned on or off in 45 years; the main water pipe to my house patched on
the inside, somewhere near the presssure regulator, but maybe just a
pipe.

(If that valve doesn't work, I think they can turn the water off for all
100 houses. I know that valve works. What else would they do, turn the
water off for all 100 houses and replace the valve they currently can't
turn? That would take just as much time as the repair I need, so it
would double the cost of my repair.)

How do people handle that? Just call a plumber and let him charge his
hourly rate, and most plumbers will work at a normal pace and be done in
a normal time?

I do most of my own repairs, don't get into big projects, and I've never
really hired somone on an hourly rate before, and certainly not an
expensive skilled craftsman.

Or do they get estimates, and are estimates only estimations?

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:51:27 -0400, micky
<NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

>Why don't I have water.
>
>I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>
>I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>door neighbor and he has water too!!
>
>**Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>
>How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>or not.
>
>I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>
>But it never turns off entirely.
>
>Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>the fish are removed at the water plant.
>
>There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>
>Where did my water go?

micky wrote:
> I do most of my own repairs, don't get into big projects, and I've never
> really hired somone on an hourly rate before, and certainly not an
> expensive skilled craftsman.
>
> Or do they get estimates, and are estimates only estimations?

Good thing you're a wealthy Democrat with a big fat government pension.
To work on city pipes, you will likely have to hire an excavator crew and at least 2 union plumbers and maybe a helper or two.
No feral illegal invaders allowed on this job.

FWIW, they usually just freeze the pipe upstream of the faulty valve and then replace it. Should only take an hour, two if they have to dig.

On 4/25/2024 2:41 AM, micky wrote:
> So I need the water turned off at the meter outside, which has not been
> turned on or off in 45 years; the main water pipe to my house patched on
> the inside, somewhere near the presssure regulator, but maybe just a
> pipe.
>
> (If that valve doesn't work, I think they can turn the water off for all
> 100 houses. I know that valve works. What else would they do, turn the
> water off for all 100 houses and replace the valve they currently can't
> turn? That would take just as much time as the repair I need, so it
> would double the cost of my repair.)
>
> How do people handle that? Just call a plumber and let him charge his
> hourly rate, and most plumbers will work at a normal pace and be done in
> a normal time?
>
> I do most of my own repairs, don't get into big projects, and I've never
> really hired somone on an hourly rate before, and certainly not an
> expensive skilled craftsman.
>
> Or do they get estimates, and are estimates only estimations?
>
>
> In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:51:27 -0400, micky
> <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:
>
>> Why don't I have water.
>>
>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>
>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>> and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>> coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>> draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>> door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>
>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>>
>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>> of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>> or not.
>>
>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>
>> But it never turns off entirely.
>>
>> Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>> water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>> well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>> the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>
>> There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>> to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>> burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>
>> Where did my water go?

Does your home owner's association have a property manager, property
engineer, or other person who would know an appropriate person to
contact? At least you might want to contact the president of your HOA
and explain your issue to him/her. The bill for water usage comes to
your HOA from someone somewhere. There must be a point of contact at
the organization that measures the usage and sends the bill. You should
be able to contact someone who knows something or at least can recommend
a competent plumber. Are you sure that the leak is coming from your
personal property and not the common property of the HOA? Makes a big
difference in who's responsible for doing the repair and paying for it.

micky wrote:

>Why don't I have water.
>
>I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>
>I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>
>**Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>more.
>
>How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>anything or not.
>
>I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>
>But it never turns off entirely.
>
>Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>the fish are removed at the water plant.
>
>There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's
>hard to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>
>Where did my water go?

Is this real or are you testing us?

--
"Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe you're not sure
about." ~ Andy Rooney

On 4/24/2024 11:41 PM, micky wrote:
> So I need the water turned off at the meter outside, which has not been
> turned on or off in 45 years; the main water pipe to my house patched on
> the inside, somewhere near the presssure regulator, but maybe just a
> pipe.
>
> (If that valve doesn't work, I think they can turn the water off for all
> 100 houses. I know that valve works. What else would they do, turn the
> water off for all 100 houses and replace the valve they currently can't
> turn? That would take just as much time as the repair I need, so it
> would double the cost of my repair.)
>
> How do people handle that? Just call a plumber and let him charge his
> hourly rate, and most plumbers will work at a normal pace and be done in
> a normal time?

Block off the leak as well as you can, then maybe pack dry ice around
the pipe ahead of the leak to freeze the pipe so you can quickly put a
valve on the pipe. If the leak is a complete break in the pipe, hammer a
dowel into it.

>
> I do most of my own repairs, don't get into big projects, and I've never
> really hired somone on an hourly rate before, and certainly not an
> expensive skilled craftsman.
>
> Or do they get estimates, and are estimates only estimations?
>
>
> In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:51:27 -0400, micky
> <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:
>
>> Why don't I have water.
>>
>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>
>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>> and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>> coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>> draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>> door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>
>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>>
>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>> of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>> or not.
>>
>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>
>> But it never turns off entirely.
>>
>> Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>> water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>> well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>> the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>
>> There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>> to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>> burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>
>> Where did my water go?

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 08:41:49 -0400, Retirednoguilt
<HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com> wrote:

>
>>> Where did my water go?
>
>Does your home owner's association have a property manager, property
>engineer, or other person who would know an appropriate person to
>contact? At least you might want to contact the president of your HOA
>and explain your issue to him/her. The bill for water usage comes to
>your HOA from someone somewhere. There must be a point of contact at
>the organization that measures the usage and sends the bill. You should
>be able to contact someone who knows something or at least can recommend
>a competent plumber.

Well there is the company that fixes leaks in underground water mains
when they leak, which has happened. I don't know if they do what two
other posters have made sound like a small job after all.

You're right, the management company should know a good plumber.

> Are you sure that the leak is coming from your
>personal property and not the common property of the HOA? Makes a big
>difference in who's responsible for doing the repair and paying for it.

I'm definitely responsible. It's in the basement, 50 feet from the
propery line. These are not co-ops or condos, just private homes,
even though** there is an HOA. **Well, "even though" is the wrong
conjuction.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 07:57:23 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 4/24/2024 11:41 PM, micky wrote:
>> So I need the water turned off at the meter outside, which has not been
>> turned on or off in 45 years; the main water pipe to my house patched on
>> the inside, somewhere near the presssure regulator, but maybe just a
>> pipe.
>>
>> (If that valve doesn't work, I think they can turn the water off for all
>> 100 houses. I know that valve works. What else would they do, turn the
>> water off for all 100 houses and replace the valve they currently can't
>> turn? That would take just as much time as the repair I need, so it
>> would double the cost of my repair.)
>>
>> How do people handle that? Just call a plumber and let him charge his
>> hourly rate, and most plumbers will work at a normal pace and be done in
>> a normal time?
>
>Block off the leak as well as you can, then maybe pack dry ice around
>the pipe ahead of the leak to freeze the pipe so you can quickly put a
>valve on the pipe. If the leak is a complete break in the pipe, hammer a
>dowel into it.

Hmmm. So maybe I can do this myself. I would like that.

I don't suppose I can use a Shark-bite even on the house's main water
pipe, in the basement where, like this time, I won't know it's leaking
for days. (I have reconnected two toilets with Shark-bite valves and
they haven't leaked yet.)

>
>>

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:37:46 -0400, micky
<NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

>
>>Block off the leak as well as you can, then maybe pack dry ice around
>>the pipe ahead of the leak to freeze the pipe so you can quickly put a
>>valve on the pipe. If the leak is a complete break in the pipe, hammer a
>>dowel into it.
>
>Hmmm. So maybe I can do this myself. I would like that.
>
>I don't suppose I can use a Shark-bite even on the house's main water

It's wet still, and I have a heavy box of scrap metal in front of the
warddrobe which is in front of the pipe. Since the box for the scrap
metal is totally wet, it will fall apart. Have to get another box, move
the metal, move the warddrobe and look, but I may well be able to fix
this myself in a few days.

When I turned off the valve, it stopped spraying, so unless the leak is
within the valve body (not likely), or where the output pipe comes out
and I can't get that apart, I wont' need dry ice. But I have to see it,
of course. I'll get back to you.

>pipe, in the basement where, like this time, I won't know it's leaking
>for days. (I have reconnected two toilets with Shark-bite valves and
>they haven't leaked yet.)

They now have shark-bite slip connectors, meant to fill a space of up to
2 inches, when you cut out a leaking area. Might be very useful here.

I don't think they had these 2 or 3 years ago when last I looked at
shark-bite products. ?????

In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:51:27 -0400, micky
<NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

>Why don't I have water.

It turns out I do have water. It's on the floor in the basement.

Turned off the water yesterday, waited so it would dry, but today I
looked for the first time and saw I hadn't turned it off enough.

Maybe by tomorrow it will dry.

But I found the problem. A hole bigger than a quarter, a full 1 inch,
in the presssure regulator body!! How can that happen? No wonder it
was spraying a foot high!!

And it turns out my 2-door away neighbor had the same problem.
Townhouses, built at the same time with same model parts.

I'd like to warn my neighbors and give them a way to tell in advance
when this is going to happen. Any suggestions. plainly, if I'd pushed
on the spot that corroded through the brass case a week before it broke
I could have broken it right then and known there was a problem, but
there must be a better way? Should all such valves be replaced at 45
years? I thought brass didn't corrode?

Do you think I'll have trouble unbolting the old one, 45 years old?

Or finding the right replacement? 1 inch.

Or adjusting it to the same pressure it used to be? Need I buy a gauge
that screws onto the garden faucet? or should I just settle for
whatever pressure the new one has?

Should I install a sharkbite, 1/4 turn valve also, while I'm at it. The
current gate valve works well enough afaict, no leakege when tightly
closed, though when I go away in the winter and turn off the heat and
the water, it's a question:
Should I turn off the faucet to the laundry sink in the basement and
risk a small leak/drip from the main valve refilling the drained water
pipes, which may then freeze and crack? OR
Should I leave the cold spigot open in the laundry sink and risk the
laundry sink filling up and overflowing onto the floor? OR
Should I take the plug out of the laundry sink drain and risk an
overflowing stream while I'm gone that backs up water into the basement,
more water than would overflow in the second choice?

>I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>
>I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>door neighbor and he has water too!!
>
>**Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>
>How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>or not.
>
>I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>
>But it never turns off entirely.
>
>Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>the fish are removed at the water plant.
>
>There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>
>Where did my water go?

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:35:59 -0000 (UTC),
"badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:

>micky wrote:
>
>>Why don't I have water.
>>
>>I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>
>>I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>>checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>>the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>>in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>>called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>
>>**Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>>more.
>>
>>How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>>100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>>anything or not.
>>
>>I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>
>>But it never turns off entirely.
>>
>>Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>>water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>>well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>>the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>
>>There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's
>>hard to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>>burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>
>>Where did my water go?
>
>Is this real or are you testing us?

It's for real. I seem to have had more than my share of 'floods'.

Not in chronological order:

Stream rises after rain, getting higher than sewer line that parallels
it, overflows manhole, fills sanitary sewer and backs up into my
basemaent, one of 4 in this n'hood that are, it seems, lower than the
top of the manholes.
After second time I call the Dept. of Sanitation and the man
volunteers to put water-tight manhole covers on two manholes, but he
says it won't help! Sure enough, it doesn't help.
Put rubber cork with 2 bricks on top of them in the sink. Water
lifts it right up, not surprising considering the water pressure is
enough to fill a sink more than 12" deep.
Install checkvalve in the sink drain. Doesn't work. Maybe lint keeps
valve from closing fully. Washing machiune has no lint filter, only a
lint chopper.
Finally ram a 1x2 between the cork and a shelf attached to the wall
and with 50 pounds of stuff on it. Keep it that way all the time except
when doing laundry. This works.

Water heater leaks a little bit for days, but I mistake the water on the
floor for left over water from the last time basement sink backed up.
Finally after days, water heater leaks fully, reaching the adjacent
room.

Washing machine cold-water hose leaks and sprays 3 feet high, soaking
and ruining my DC phone books. Replaced with steel covered hose. Clerk
says he sells lots of them, always after one leaks. This one I could
hear the water running in the pipe even when I was in the second floor
bathroom.

Milky plastic hose to humidifier on furnace leaks, even though under no
special stress, spraying all over work bench and drawers with tools.
Replaced with copper.

Kitchen sink hose, maybe the one to the dish washer, leaks, soaks
through floor into basment, raining from the laundry room ceiling.

Finally, main water pipe leaks and sprays up two feet. I assumed the
water was cut off for a repair in the n'hood and don't do anything for
22 hours.

There were, I think, 2 or 3 other novel ways it got wet that I can't
remember now.

Also had a leak from toilet tank where it meets the base, but the water
all ran into the toilet!

Also had very small leak from bathtub, water supply I guess, that came
out of the dining room fixture, ran down the chain and all went into the
globe surrounding the light. I would empty the globe before the water
level reached the light bulb (a hot one in those days). This stopped
altogether after a couple years, 37 years ago.

Also had leak from bathtub water supply, which I didn't know about until
I got out of the bath and found water pouring into the dining room
below. This made the carpeting wet and seems to have damaged even the
subfloor in one 10x10" area, which is now soft. But I can't tell
without lifting the carpet. When i first got here 40 years ago, I
noticed that 2, maybe 3, of my neighbors had ceiling damage in the same
place, houses built by the same people, but I seemed to be free of the
problem. Until a couple years ago.

Only the bathtub leaks and this last basement leak represent problems
with the house.

The others were things brought in to the house, the humidifier supply
hose which came with the humidifer that I bought (use copper, not
plastic), the washing machine hose, the dishwasher supply hose.

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 23:06:58 -0400, micky
<NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

>
>
>When I turned off the valve, it stopped spraying, so unless the leak is
>within the valve body (not likely),

Surprise! A one-inch hole right in the valve body!!!

> or where the output pipe comes out
>and I can't get that apart, I wont' need dry ice. But I have to see it,

But the valve works pretty well so still don't need dry ice. ;-)
>of course. I'll get back to you.

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 26 Apr 2024 18:07:00 -0400, micky
<NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:

>In alt.home.repair, on Wed, 24 Apr 2024 20:51:27 -0400, micky
><NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:
>
>>Why don't I have water.
>
>It turns out I do have water. It's on the floor in the basement.
>
>Turned off the water yesterday, waited so it would dry, but today I
>looked for the first time and saw I hadn't turned it off enough.
>
>Maybe by tomorrow it will dry.
>
>But I found the problem. A hole bigger than a quarter, a full 1 inch,
>in the presssure regulator body!! How can that happen? No wonder it
>was spraying a foot high!!

Miscellaneous related questions:

In a video about replacing a pressure regulator, she puts 5 or 6 layers
of teflon tape around the threads and then used pipe joint compound on
top of that!!! Isn't this big time overkill? How many layers would one
use? I've done smaller stuff before, used only 2 layers and it didn't
leak. I'm doubtful I could get the nut on with 5 layers, or it would
bunch of tape that is there. And I thought the purpose of the tape was
to replace joint compound? The plumbess is a girl so I'm especially
doubtful. :-()

She says the regulator she's using has a built-in thermal bypass and
that when the water heater increases the presssure in the system, it
should open up and allow the water to flow backwards into the municipal
system. I thought that was exactly backwards from what was supposed to
happen. I thought that systems now are supposed to have an expansion
tank so that increased pressure fills the tank more so that water DOES
NOT flow into the municipal water supply.
https://youtu.be/KJ1MReTK7GA?t=406

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GG1Q1DW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NHOPUW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_6

https://www.zurn.com/media-library/web_documents/pdfs/specsheets/reg-nr3xl-pdf

https://www.zurn.com/media-library/web_documents/pdfs/installation/isnr3xl-pdf

>And it turns out my 2-door away neighbor had the same problem.
>Townhouses, built at the same time with same model parts.
>
>I'd like to warn my neighbors and give them a way to tell in advance
>when this is going to happen. Any suggestions. plainly, if I'd pushed
>on the spot that corroded through the brass case a week before it broke
>I could have broken it right then and known there was a problem, but
>there must be a better way? Should all such valves be replaced at 45
>years? I thought brass didn't corrode?
>
>Do you think I'll have trouble unbolting the old one, 45 years old?
>
>Or finding the right replacement? 1 inch.
>
>Or adjusting it to the same pressure it used to be? Need I buy a gauge
>that screws onto the garden faucet? or should I just settle for
>whatever pressure the new one has?
>
>Should I install a sharkbite, 1/4 turn valve also, while I'm at it. The
>current gate valve works well enough afaict, no leakege when tightly
>closed, though when I go away in the winter and turn off the heat and
>the water, it's a question:
> Should I turn off the faucet to the laundry sink in the basement and
>risk a small leak/drip from the main valve refilling the drained water
>pipes, which may then freeze and crack? OR
> Should I leave the cold spigot open in the laundry sink and risk the
>laundry sink filling up and overflowing onto the floor? OR
> Should I take the plug out of the laundry sink drain and risk an
>overflowing stream while I'm gone that backs up water into the basement,
>more water than would overflow in the second choice?
>
>>I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>
>>I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she checked
>>and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by the water
>>coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water in the pipes
>>draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just called my next
>>door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>
>>**Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2 more.
>>
>>How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all 100
>>of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do anything
>>or not.
>>
>>I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>
>>But it never turns off entirely.
>>
>>Did a stone get stuck in the pipe? First, we have no stones in our
>>water, not even tiny pebbles, not even sand. It's not some communal
>>well... the water comes from 3 reservoirs, so it's made of water. All
>>the fish are removed at the water plant.
>>
>>There's a valve to turn the water off inside my basement, but it's hard
>>to turn and takes several turns to do it. I can't imagine that a
>>burglar turned my water off when I was away yesterday evening.
>>
>>Where did my water go?

On 4/26/2024 3:11 PM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:35:59 -0000 (UTC),
> "badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> micky wrote:
>>
>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>
>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>
>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>>> checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>>> the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>>> in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>>> called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>
>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>>> more.
>>>
>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>>> 100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>>> anything or not.
>>>
>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?

Because the pressure drops in the pressure tank until the pump turns on,
which then slows or reverses the drop.

On Fri, 26 Apr 2024 22:28:10 -0400, micky wrote:

> In a video about replacing a pressure regulator, she puts 5 or 6 layers
> of teflon tape around the threads and then used pipe joint compound on
> top of that!!! Isn't this big time overkill? How many layers would one
> use? I've done smaller stuff before, used only 2 layers and it didn't
> leak. I'm doubtful I could get the nut on with 5 layers, or it would
> bunch of tape that is there. And I thought the purpose of the tape was
> to replace joint compound? The plumbess is a girl so I'm especially
> doubtful. :-()

Sexist pig! Two should do. I've used more when working with Harbor
Freight crap where the threads were hand chewed by a Chinese chipmunk but
it's overkill with decent fittings.

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:37:47 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 4/26/2024 3:11 PM, micky wrote:
>> In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:35:59 -0000 (UTC),
>> "badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> micky wrote:
>>>
>>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>>
>>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>>
>>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>>>> checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>>>> the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>>>> in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>>>> called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>>
>>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>>>> more.
>>>>
>>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>>>> 100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>>>> anything or not.
>>>>
>>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>
>Because the pressure drops in the pressure tank until the pump turns on,
>which then slows or reverses the drop.

Pressure tank? Pump?

I don't have an expansion tank, only the hot water tank. Is that what
you mean?

Don't have a pump either.

On 4/26/2024 9:56 PM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:37:47 -0700, Bob F
> <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 4/26/2024 3:11 PM, micky wrote:
>>> In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:35:59 -0000 (UTC),
>>> "badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> micky wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>>>
>>>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>>>
>>>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>>>>> checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>>>>> the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>>>>> in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>>>>> called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>>>
>>>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>>>>> more.
>>>>>
>>>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>>>>> 100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>>>>> anything or not.
>>>>>
>>>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>
>> Because the pressure drops in the pressure tank until the pump turns on,
>> which then slows or reverses the drop.
>
> Pressure tank? Pump?
>
> I don't have an expansion tank, only the hot water tank. Is that what
> you mean?
>
> Don't have a pump either.

Does your water source? If there is a gauge at your regulator you could
watch to see if the drop you see is from the water source.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 28 Apr 2024 11:17:23 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 4/26/2024 9:56 PM, micky wrote:
>> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:37:47 -0700, Bob F
>> <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/26/2024 3:11 PM, micky wrote:
>>>> In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:35:59 -0000 (UTC),
>>>> "badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> micky wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>>>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>>>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>>>>>> checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>>>>>> the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>>>>>> in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>>>>>> called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>>>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>>>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>>>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>>>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>>>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>>>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>>>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>>>>>> more.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>>>>>> 100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>>>>>> anything or not.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>>>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>>>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>>
>>> Because the pressure drops in the pressure tank until the pump turns on,
>>> which then slows or reverses the drop.
>>
>> Pressure tank? Pump?
>>
>> I don't have an expansion tank, only the hot water tank. Is that what
>> you mean?
>>
>> Don't have a pump either.
>
>Does your water source? If there is a gauge at your regulator you could
>watch to see if the drop you see is from the water source.

No gauge, though i'm probably going to buy one, because some of the
presssure regulators gave disclaimers and said to check if they are
really set right. they're only 10 or 13 dollars, mostly.

Some small pressure regulators have built-in valves. They're inexpensive
too but seem to be for RVs. I wonder if I can register my house as an
RV and then I can use one.

My street number is 5230, but I can start using 5230RV. That will
probably work.

On 4/28/2024 8:51 PM, micky wrote:
> In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 28 Apr 2024 11:17:23 -0700, Bob F
> <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 4/26/2024 9:56 PM, micky wrote:
>>> In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 26 Apr 2024 19:37:47 -0700, Bob F
>>> <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 4/26/2024 3:11 PM, micky wrote:
>>>>> In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:35:59 -0000 (UTC),
>>>>> "badgolferman" <REMOVETHISbadgolferman@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> micky wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Why don't I have water.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I noticed last night that I had no water, and eventually I tried 2
>>>>>>> toilets, the bathroom and kitchen sink. No water.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I assumed the water was turned off for the n'hood**, but I taked to a
>>>>>>> woman 5 doors away and she said she drank bottled water, but she
>>>>>>> checked and she had water. Then I figured that she was just going by
>>>>>>> the water coming out of her garden hose, and that was just the water
>>>>>>> in the pipes draining. Still it seemed like quite a bit so I just
>>>>>>> called my next door neighbor and he has water too!!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> **Probably because the original builder used the wrong kind of water
>>>>>>> pipes, trucks driving over the road have broken the water mains in the
>>>>>>> area several times, and indded there are again two streams of water
>>>>>>> running down the street to the drain, from different directions, but
>>>>>>> they are like leaky washers, not enough to deplete the water pressure.
>>>>>>> Every time a repair is done, it's about 10,000 dollars, 100 to each h
>>>>>>> household, not even countiung repairing the asphault or cement, which
>>>>>>> never looks as good as it did originally, and it seems we need 2
>>>>>>> more.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> How can I not have water? It's not that I didn't pay the bill, all
>>>>>>> 100 of us share one bill, and it gets paid every month whether I do
>>>>>>> anything or not.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I noticed when the water worked that when I turn on the water,
>>>>>>> especially the hot water, after a couple minutes it runs less strongly
>>>>>>> than it did at first. Have any of you noticed that? How come?
>>>>
>>>> Because the pressure drops in the pressure tank until the pump turns on,
>>>> which then slows or reverses the drop.
>>>
>>> Pressure tank? Pump?
>>>
>>> I don't have an expansion tank, only the hot water tank. Is that what
>>> you mean?
>>>
>>> Don't have a pump either.
>>
>> Does your water source? If there is a gauge at your regulator you could
>> watch to see if the drop you see is from the water source.
>
> No gauge, though i'm probably going to buy one, because some of the
> presssure regulators gave disclaimers and said to check if they are
> really set right. they're only 10 or 13 dollars, mostly.

There are pressure gauge assemblies that screw onto hose bibbs.

>
> Some small pressure regulators have built-in valves. They're inexpensive
> too but seem to be for RVs. I wonder if I can register my house as an
> RV and then I can use one.

I believe that where I live, pressure regulators have to have double
check valves with proper test ports. I don't have a regulator or check
valve on my old house.

>
> My street number is 5230, but I can start using 5230RV. That will
> probably work.