Water Pressure

[Ponyboy]

How many inspectors check and report on high water pressure?

[Marc]

I always check and report the water pressure but I don't know how high is too high.

Marc

[Ponyboy]

In WA the water pressure is not supposed to be over 80 psi, per the plumbing code. A pressure regulator should be installed for any service pressures higher then 80 psi.

The state inspection standards do not require home inspectors to check and report on water pressure.

Check or not check is the question?

[Scottpat]

80psi is the max and below 40 is the low around the country.

If an inspector does not report if it is too high(over 80psi) or low (below 40psi) then that inspector is negligent, IMVHO even if they do not have a written SoP that says they need to report on such. This would fall under the "standard of care" which trumps all of the SoP's if you are ever called into court.

[Scottpat]

I always check and report the water pressure but I don't know how high is too high.

Marc

Over 80psi is high.......

[Nolan Kienitz]

40 to 80 is the IRC required range.

Below is low ... over is high.

Texas TREC SOP requires that HIs check for water pressure. If they don't and get caught it ends up being a fine from the TREC Inspector's Penalty Matrix that can be 'spensive.

[hausdok]

I don't.

I think it makes more sense to worry about whether there is adequate water for a family's needs versus whether the pressure is optimum.

What's the point? I can be in parts of seattle where the water pressure is extremely high and water volume at a sink will suck because the plumbing is so badly occluded from rust. I can be in another neighborhood where an old house in a neighborhood with less than 40psi (as identified by the color of the fire hydrant caps) has phenomenal volume because of a nice large and new supply pipe to the house and newer pipes that allow full flow of water.

Pressure doesn't mean a lot of your pipes are completely screwed up. Without installing a booster pump inboard of the city, which can you fix if you are on a muni water supply?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

P.S.

In nearly 17 years I've only seen two pressure booster pumps. One was in a house in the city and another was at a rural property way out beyond Marysville where they had their own well pump. I could be wrong, 'cuz I don't deal with well pumps a lot, but it seemed to me like that pressure pump was causing the well pump to cavitate. Referred 'em to a well guy for a more in-depth look at their entire system.

[Marc]

Maybe that explains why Louisiana's plumbing code requires only 8 psi but it's measured at each fixture and under conditions of full flow - valve fully opened.

How in the heck do they expect me to measure that at a kitchen or bathroom faucet?

It does require a regulator if the static pressure is over 80 psi.

Marc

[Charles46]

I measure and report whether it is to low, to high, or within acceptable range.

[Scottpat]

I don't.

I think it makes more sense to worry about whether there is adequate water for a family's needs versus whether the pressure is optimum.

What's the point? I can be in parts of seattle where the water pressure is extremely high and water volume at a sink will suck because the plumbing is so badly occluded from rust. I can be in another neighborhood where an old house in a neighborhood with less than 40psi (as identified by the color of the fire hydrant caps) has phenomenal volume because of a nice large and new supply pipe to the house and newer pipes that allow full flow of water.

Pressure doesn't mean a lot of your pipes are completely screwed up. Without installing a booster pump inboard of the city, which can you fix if you are on a muni water supply?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

P.S.

In nearly 17 years I've only seen two pressure booster pumps. One was in a house in the city and another was at a rural property way out beyond Marysville where they had their own well pump. I could be wrong, 'cuz I don't deal with well pumps a lot, but it seemed to me like that pressure pump was causing the well pump to cavitate. Referred 'em to a well guy for a more in-depth look at their entire system.

Big difference between pressure and volume. You can have a home with good to high water pressure and low volume or flow due to old pipes.

[Nolan Kienitz]

RE: Texas TREC SOP

We've been working to remove the "requirement" for the static water pressure readings in our SOP and had it out. Of course if an HI wants to test he/she is more than welcome to do as they wish.

The static pressure requirement was "forced" back into the SOP just a couple of weeks ago as an individual rather high in the food chain of the governor's office intervened and spent many hours on the phone with the chair of the SOP committee. After that phone call the requirement was put back into our proposed-new-SOP.

So ... politics at it's best in Texas from the state's highest office down to the level of what we inspector's are being required to inspect and not inspect.

Don't tell me that a 'state-controlled' inspector's group is a good thing.

I feel more and more that I'm doing an inspection to be sure I'm doing a CYA so that I don't get set up for fines from the penalty matrix or worse.

Can be frustrating.

[Inspectorjoe]

I don't check, but if there happens to be a pressure gauge installed downstream of a pressure regulator and it reads over 80 PSI, I mention it and include a picture in the report.

[hausdok]

I don't.

I think it makes more sense to worry about whether there is adequate water for a family's needs versus whether the pressure is optimum.

What's the point? I can be in parts of seattle where the water pressure is extremely high and water volume at a sink will suck because the plumbing is so badly occluded from rust. I can be in another neighborhood where an old house in a neighborhood with less than 40psi (as identified by the color of the fire hydrant caps) has phenomenal volume because of a nice large and new supply pipe to the house and newer pipes that allow full flow of water.

Pressure doesn't mean a lot of your pipes are completely screwed up. Without installing a booster pump inboard of the city, which can you fix if you are on a muni water supply?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

P.S.

In nearly 17 years I've only seen two pressure booster pumps. One was in a house in the city and another was at a rural property way out beyond Marysville where they had their own well pump. I could be wrong, 'cuz I don't deal with well pumps a lot, but it seemed to me like that pressure pump was causing the well pump to cavitate. Referred 'em to a well guy for a more in-depth look at their entire system.

Big difference between pressure and volume. You can have a home with good to high water pressure and low volume or flow due to old pipes.

Which is exactly what I said.

I don't see the point of elaborating on pressure when it's not the pressure that people are concerned about as much as it is the volume of water they are getting. If they've got 3-psi but lots of volume at all of their fixtures they are happier than a pig in sh*t. If they've got 90 psi and crappy volume they are all pissed off.

So I write up pressure in a neighborhood where there is barely 30 psi and everyone within a half mile has the same condition and the city says, "We don't have any money so those folks will have to wait?"

I don't think so. I'm going to see if there's adequate volume to take a shower or bath and flush a toilet without scalding someone. If it's adequate that's my primary concern. If it's not adequate because the pipes are too occluded with rust, that's what I"m going to write up, 'cuz I know the city isn't going to do squat about pressure but I know that increasing volume by replacing those pipes will make the client happy again.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[kurt]

I've never taken a pressure reading. If you're on municipal water, the city handles pressure regulation. If there's a problem, everyone on the block/neighborhood/region has the same problem, no?

I only check volume/flow.

[Scottpat]

I've never taken a pressure reading. If you're on municipal water, the city handles pressure regulation. If there's a problem, everyone on the block/neighborhood/region has the same problem, no?

I only check volume/flow.

In my area it is common for water at the meter on the house side to be around a 120+ psi. The homeowner is the one responsible for reducing.

[kurt]

Every house has a pressure regulator?

Wow, Local 134 is missing an opportunity for another revenue stream.

[inspector57]

Standard practice here for every home to have its own regulator if in a high pressure area. Pretty common to see excessive pressure, especially in areas in the suburbs where a new water tower has been added. Highest I have observed was over 125 psi. Now that is excessive!

We are required to report on both pressure and functional flow.

[Nolan Kienitz]

Standard practice here for every home to have its own regulator if in a high pressure area. Pretty common to see excessive pressure, especially in areas in the suburbs where a new water tower has been added. Highest I have observed was over 125 psi. Now that is excessive!

We are required to report on both pressure and functional flow.

Jim L. - I've been thinking about just taking a shower with all those high/low/overhead sprays with the classical music playing ... like the TV commercial.

I think that would handle the "functional flow" test.

[:-slaphap

[Jim Katen]

How many inspectors check and report on high water pressure?

I always check it and note it.

The pressure isn't supposed to exceed 80 psi. In theory, excess pressure can damage hoses and fixtures. In reality, I think that the threshold for damage is closer to 110 psi or so. I think this because I've done so many inspections in one particular town where, up until the early 2000s, every single house had pressure of about 100 - 102 psi. In that town, I saw no unusual number of problems as a result of the pressure.

Testing the pressure is useful in other ways. If I find low flow at the fixtures and static pressure of 80 psi, then I'll report the issue very differently then I would if the low flow was accompanied by static pressure of 25 psi. Those are two different problems with two different cures.

Also, the behavior of the pressure gauge can sometimes tell me if there's a problem with a pressure reducing valve. I actually find this one fairly often. The telltale sign is that the pressure gauge will initially show 80 psi or so, and then, very slowly, climb to street pressure. When that happens, it means that there's a bit of grit or debris in the pressure reducing valve's diaphragm. The grit allows water to squeak by the diaphragm and "leak" pressure.

One last benefit of testing the pressure is that it often reveals freeze damage at frost proof bib stems.

[John Kogel]

My water pressure is around 90 psi. All the supply pipes are copper. I should install a regulator, but am afraid I'll cause a leak. []

[LeePlace]

Jim,

What is the reaction of the gauge to show damage to a frost free hose bib?

Lee

[Jim Katen]

Jim,

What is the reaction of the gauge to show damage to a frost free hose bib?

Lee

Hah! The gauge just provide a stop for the water. When you screw the gauge onto the bib and turn on the water, it squirts out inside the wall. You can hear it and see the water spilling out from under the siding.

[inspector57]

Standard practice here for every home to have its own regulator if in a high pressure area. Pretty common to see excessive pressure, especially in areas in the suburbs where a new water tower has been added. Highest I have observed was over 125 psi. Now that is excessive!

We are required to report on both pressure and functional flow.

Jim L. - I've been thinking about just taking a shower with all those high/low/overhead sprays with the classical music playing ... like the TV commercial.

I think that would handle the "functional flow" test.

[:-slaphap

Yeah I had one in NE of McKinney on Friday with a 10 x 10 walk in shower with dual heads, body spray facing the door. No way to test WITHOUT taking a shower. I got creative with my extending paint poll to turn the water off after testing the pan. Maybe I should have just done the singing plumber thing!

(yes I know I left the door open for some crude jokes, but I could not figure another way to say it)

[chrispitt]

Good question, i really appreciate it. And all give a good answer.

[fyrmnk]

I always checked it. One larger city here runs service pressure at over 100psi, and each house has its own regulator. Found many times where pressure was too high due to a faulty or improperly adjusted regulator, and when none are installed. I also would explain keeping it below 80psi as it's supposed to be reduces strain on seals in faucets, toilets, washing machine, etc.