Having good pipes in your home is important no matter where
you live, but having quality pipes is a big deal in Hawaii due to some unique differences
in Hawaii’s water and home owners.
One of the reason homes need high quality pipes in Hawaii is
the prevalence of highly corrosive water. We have never measured water as
acidic or as salty as the water in some of the public water systems on the
Island of Hawaii. Water is collected from streams on the slopes of
the Volcanoes fed by snow pack and rain. The rain gets acidic as it falls
through the thick volcanic sulfuric gasses and this acidic water is tough on
pipes and faucets. The other source of water on the island is from wells that
pump fresh water “floating” above the sea water that saturates the porous lava
under most of the island. When it stops raining, the depth of floating fresh
water is thin and sea water mixes in when it is pumped out. The water can sometimes get so salty that local media will advise people avoiding salt
for health reasons to not drink the water. Salty, acidic water is hard on
any pipe, but low-quality pipe installations are more likely to fail.
Another reason a home in Hawaii needs high quality
pipes is that so many are used only sporadically by their owners. It is not
uncommon for people to leave their home unattended for six months at a time and
leave the water turned on. With so many vacant homes and condos, a
leak can go undetected for a long time and do a tremendous amount of damage
before being discovered. In a multi-unit condo, leaking water will keep oozing
through walls and floors until it finally reaches a unit that is occupied.
We know of a leak in an unoccupied house that was discovered by the pool
guy when he noticed that the furniture in the living room was floating in
several feet of water. We have heard so many water damage horror
stories that when we travel, even for a few days, we shut off the water.
We check the visible pipes in a house or condo as one way of
assessing the quality of the construction and we are surprised at how much the
installation and materials vary in upscale communities. Below are photos
of two pipe installations in Hawaii condos.
This installation uses one inch copper pipes to and from the
water heater.
In contrast, this installation uses ¾ inch copper pipes with
a multi-directional connection to the water heater and cold water. The copper
portion of the pipe is suspended by a cord secured to a board with a notch carved
into it to make room for an elbow coupler from copper to CPVC SDE 11 pipe.
On the upside, leaking pipes are such a common problem in
Hawaii that there are thriving businesses on the island that have a lot
of experience and equipment to fix major water damaged homes. Unfortunately,
having the repairs done is expensive as drying out walls and floors in the
tropics is a difficult task.
2 comments:
Many regions of country witness problem of corrosive water. Hawaii is one of the places of such type. Therefore a drainage system of this region requires high quality of pipes so that the risk of water leakage may be reduced.
Toronto Drains
Thats right i agreed to this information as piping work should be done by expert. Some of the best plumbing companies are in Edmonton, which i have tried earlier and got amazed by their work.
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