Plumbing done right, the first time

Slow plumbing leaks are deceptive because they rarely announce themselves — a slightly higher water bill, a patch of unusually green grass over a buried line, or a faint mustiness under a cabinet are often the only signs before a pipe fails outright. Catching a slow leak early is almost always simpler and less disruptive than repairing the water damage it eventually causes.

Tankless water heaters and traditional tank units solve the hot-water problem differently: a tank keeps a reservoir heated and ready, while a tankless unit heats water on demand as it flows through. Tankless systems take up less space and do not run out of hot water mid-shower, but they have different installation requirements — gas line sizing and venting in particular — than a straightforward tank swap.

Any plumbing installation — a new fixture, a remodel, an addition — needs to be done to current code, not just to what worked when the house was built. Homes get remodeled and added onto over decades, and a line that was correctly sized for the fixtures on it years ago is not necessarily sized correctly for what has been added since.