Plumbing Questions Carefree Homeowners Ask

Usually the water utility owns the main in the street, and the homeowner owns the private line from the property edge into the house. A homeowner association may own shared lines in a community, depending on its recorded documents. Carefree Water Company serves much of Carefree, so ask the utility where its responsibility stops. Read your HOA papers before booking work on any line outside your lot.

Yes, anyone who can give the plumber access may call. Picture a tenant who spots a leaking water heater on a Sunday: the tenant phones, dispatch takes the address and symptom, and the owner or manager approves the work. Keep the owner's name and phone number handy, because the owner generally decides on repairs beyond an emergency shutoff. The lease decides who pays.

Yes, for many business buildings. Shops, restaurants, offices and multifamily properties can call the same line, and the commercial plumbing page on this site covers kitchens, grease traps and permits. Describe the building and the symptom, and dispatch will say whether a plumber serving your area takes that kind of job. Expect extra questions, since larger buildings often have bigger fixtures and different access rules.

The building department for your address does, through permits and inspections. In the Town of Carefree, the Building Department administers the adopted codes, and its page lists the 2018 International Plumbing Code with amendments. Older town handouts name other editions, so confirm the edition for your job at (480) 488-3686. A water heater generally needs a temperature and pressure relief valve under the adopted code, so ask the plumber to confirm yours. Check the plumber's state license with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

Probably, and the office depends on where you live. The Town of Carefree permit summary names water heaters among the minor permits it can approve the same or next day, so a swap inside town limits is likely to go through the Building Department. Elsewhere, ask the county for unincorporated land such as Desert Hills, the City of Scottsdale for Scottsdale, or the City of Phoenix for Deer Valley. Ask who pulls the permit before work starts.

A yearly check tends to catch a weeping connection, a stiff shutoff or a tired water heater while it is still a small repair. A typical visit looks at visible supply lines, shutoff valves, drains, the water heater and water pressure. Ask dispatch about plumbing maintenance plans and what a visit includes before you book. Common plumbing maintenance mistakes to avoid include ignoring a slow drip, forcing a stuck shutoff valve and pouring grease down a drain.

Here is a winter plumbing checklist, the one season this page covers. Frosts reach the Carefree area on some winter nights, so work through this list. 1. Cover or insulate exposed outdoor pipes and spigots. 2. Find the main shutoff and confirm it turns. 3. Look at the water heater for rust, drips or rumbling. 4. Run each faucet and check under sinks for moisture. 5. Disconnect garden hoses. Caution: never thaw a frozen pipe with an open flame.