Plumbing guides
Plumbing guides for Auburn Hills homes and businesses
Plain guides to the plumbing problems Auburn Hills and north Oakland County homeowners actually run into: water heaters that leak, sewage at a floor drain, frozen lines, polybutylene decisions, well water, and the questions condo and rental owners ask. Each one explains what to do and when to call.
- Office on Pond Run, Auburn Hills
- Homes, rentals and businesses
- Oakland and west Macomb counties
Emergencies
Water heater leaking and what to do in the first 15 minutes
A water heater leak can be a loose valve or a failed tank, and the first fifteen minutes decide how much of the basement it reaches. Here is what to do.
Sewage in the basement and the first hour after you find it
Sewage coming up in the basement is a health hazard as much as a plumbing one. The first hour is about safety and stopping the flow, not cleanup.
Frozen pipe in a condo and who handles which part
A frozen pipe in a condo raises two questions at once: how to thaw it without a burst, and whose responsibility it is, yours or the association’s.
No water anywhere in the house and how to narrow down why
No water anywhere in the house points to one of a few places: the city side, a shut valve, a well pump, or a frozen line. A short checklist narrows it fast.
Costs and decisions
Polybutylene pipes in a 1980s or 90s home and whether to replace now
Gray polybutylene supply pipe went into many 1980s and 90s homes and can fail at its fittings with little warning. Here is how to spot it and decide.
When spot repairs stop making sense and a repipe does
At some point patching one leak after another costs more than replacing the pipe. Here is how to tell when a repipe is the cheaper answer.
Problem solving
Sewage ejector pump alarm going off and what it means
An ejector pump alarm means the sewage basin for a lower-level bathroom is filling faster than it is emptying. Here is what it is warning you about.
Sump pump running nonstop and what’s behind it
A sump pump that never stops is either fighting real water or chasing a fault. Telling which decides whether you need a repair or a second pump.
Gurgling drains and what they tell you about vents and sewer lines
A drain that gurgles is moving air it should not have to. That sound usually points at a blocked vent or a sewer line starting to close, not the drain itself.
Water heater pilot light won’t stay lit
A pilot that lights and then drops out when you release the knob is almost always a thermocouple problem, though a few other faults do the same thing.
Rotten egg smell from the hot water and how to fix it
A rotten egg smell only from the hot water points at the water heater, usually a reaction between the anode rod and bacteria in the tank. Here is the fix.
Oakland County and Michigan
Well water or city water in north Oakland County and what it means for your plumbing
In north Oakland County your home is either on a private well or on Great Lakes city water, and which one you have changes pressure, hardness and what can fail.
Plumbing problems that show up in homes 10 to 25 years old
A 10-to-25-year-old subdivision home is young, but its builder-grade plumbing reaches a predictable wave of failures. Here is what tends to go, and when.
Businesses and landlords
Comparisons
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Plumber in Auburn Hills, MI, 1780 Pond Run, Auburn Hills, MI 48326 · support@plumberauburnmi.com
- Office on Pond Run, Auburn Hills
- Homes, rentals and businesses
- Oakland and west Macomb counties