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As expert plumbers, at Bert Norman’s Plumbing we’re pretty good at predicting when you might need us. It just takes a brief inspection of your plumbing and a lot of knowledge of local Jacksonville, FL homes to get a feel for what’s down the road. We also provide plumbing services that help avoid trouble, like annual drain cleaning services. Why not put us on your schedule for maintenance and repair visits and take it easy? We also provide emergency plumbing service of course, because plumbing is never totally predictable.
Drain Cleaning Really Makes a Difference
It may be that some people see their drains as an on and off kind of situation: either they’re working or they aren’t. Of course, that major clog is usually something that built up over time, unless of course you know exactly what caused it because you saw it go down. That happens. But generally, a combination of factors such as corrosion making the pipes more clingy, grease and other sticky materials narrowing the drain pipes, and traps and joints gathering material on sharp bends adds up over time. Sometimes the clog even occurs deep in the wall, nowhere near the sink or toilet, and you get strange effects such as waste going down one drain and popping up from another. It’s messy, and well worth avoiding, trust us. One of the biggest challenges of drain and sewer problems that our plumbing service encounters is the sanitary cleanup.
Our drain cleaning plumbing service is an extension of the advanced technology we use on emergency calls to clear stubborn clogs. When the pipes are still flowing, it’s a lot easier to clean them out but we’ll still use techniques such as video inspection and hydro-jetting to make sure everything is cleared out for the year to come. We’ll also check the condition of your drain pipes, and identify any corrosion or damage that may need attention. From the kitchen to the showers, bathrooms, and basement sinks, you’ll know that everything has been cleaned out and is flowing fine.
Sewer Issues Don’t Need to Lead to Emergency Repairs
Down the line from your drains, your sewer has a tendency to build up large clogs, as this is where gravity isn’t doing as much work for you as it does from your upstairs bathroom. Fortunately, when we’re inspecting drains it’s a simple matter to open a sewer cleanout and run a video line inside, taking a look at how things are doing. This is really helpful information for homeowners, and also for potential buyers who are thinking about what major repairs and plumbing service may be needed. The video will show any major blockages from drain material, and may also reveal sewer pipe damage from heavy equipment driving above, shifting soil, tree root intrusions, and decay from the passage of time. Cast iron pipes may be corroding, while clay pipes can degrade. Since you’re getting this information before there’s obvious trouble, you’ve got the power. You can plan your plumbing service needs.
Sewer Repair Options
The old school sewer line repair was quite dramatic, with a full-length trench dug, usually by a backhoe, a replacement pipe swapped in and connected at both the home and the city line. Work at the city sewer line usually involved other services, including city workers, traffic detours and police services to guide them, and repaving the street where the necessary cut was made. Fortunately, a lot of work has been put into reducing the amount of disruption that sewer work involves. In Jacksonville, FL subdivisions built at the same time, with pipes aging at about the same rate, you can imagine there would be years when detours would pop up all over! Now, we have repair techniques that target the specific flaw in the pipe, avoid tearing up your yard, and generally last as long as new pipe. These repairs involve relining the pipe with durable material drawn through from the end, using video technology to target a patch, and other methods that work to perform the repair in place. It’s a lot to take in when you’ve got foul water backing up into your home, but when you’ve got some time to think about it, that can give some peace of mind.
Water Lines and Hot Water Heaters
A couple of other areas where problems tend to creep up rather than burst onto the scene are problems with your incoming water line and with your hot water heater. In both cases, routine inspections and plumbing service maintenance will help you identify things like pipe corrosion, leaks, and water pressure problems on your waterline, and hot water supply or tank corrosion problems on your hot water heater. When our team has eyes on your plumbing on a regular basis, we can help you keep track of what’s coming up next on your planned repair list, and we can even suggest ways to make your plumbing last longer. It might be as simple as making sure that your anode rod in the water heater is replaced as needed to preserve the tank, or adding a water softener to improve your water quality and give your pipes a break. Our plumbing service professionals use their experience to guide you.
Relaxing in Beautiful Jacksonville, FL with Your Plumbing Service Needs Planned and Scheduled
Bert Norman’s Plumbing has been serving area homes since 1985, helping people relax and live with planned repairs rather than unscheduled emergencies. The key to managing both time and costs is information, and our experienced team of professional plumbers has that in abundance, ready to share with our customers. Chances are we’ve experienced similar problems in homes built the same way down the road, with the same kinds of pipes and fixtures. In many cases, we may have been the plumbers that the previous owner of your house relied on. We make life easier for you. Call us and plan ahead.