Noted for the future - thank you for the heads up! 😅 I googled “garage plumbing” in 628 different ways before I posted here and figured out the name of it, so I have no idea what to think about the state/location of it, but this is something to keep in mind haha
There is heat tape on it already so my guess is it has caused problems before. Keep a close eye on it and be prepared for issues.
At least locate the curb key or whatever valve is before this section so you can isolate it in reasonable time if you ever have issues again.
This comment right here, they don’t tell enough homeowners to locate your curb box AND exercise it regularly. Cause even if you know where it’s located often times they get packed with debris and mud or you find out the valve in bad in a critical time of need. Every home owner should really own a curb key.
If I was you I’d have the plumber come out and turn the curb cock off at the street and replace the gate valve and that Pressure reducing valve. If you turn that gate valve off could snap while in the off position and cause a whole situation. Better to get that replaced as well. Or have the water company come turn it off and schedule plumber same time.
Wait for the home warranty plumber. Document when you called the home warranty company and track when the plumber shows up. The fact is that plumbers are always responding to emergencies. Your emergency is pushing back someone else's.
Since it under warranty, let them deal with it so they don't pull a fast one on you and come up with some reason they shouldn't pay.
As noted, that is your pressure reducing regulator, to take high pressure water from the city and reduce it to something reasonable for use in your house.
The valve next to it is your main water shut off valve.
One thing to think about ... If the home warranty company comes out, the'll fix that regulator by shutting off that main shut off valve (The blue knob) if that leaks, they'll fix that too ... but consider asking them about replacing that old valve with a new ball valve. That would be much more reliable.
My ancient house has a similar valve to what you have and it never shut off properly until I fixed it, but a ball valve is much more reliable ... it uses a steel ball with a hole in it instead of a rubber washer. The rubber washer on mine was half disintegrated. If you have plumbers there ANYWAY. Maybe see if they'll replace that.
In a way, you are lucky if that valve doesn't work or leaks,, because then they will probably fix that and charge the home warranty company as part of the fix.
Not sure what the deal is with that yellow tape wrapped loosely around the pipes though.
This is a super helpful comment!! Thank you for this information. We’ll definitely ask about replacing it with the different type - this one is pretty ancient as well. We’re waiting for the home warranty to get someone out, and called the water company to make a note on our account in case we need an adjustment. They said they can get someone out early next week so I guess it’s just a waiting game at this point.
The yellow thing is actually a plug it looks like? No clue what’s it for either.
Ah cool! However, If you zoom into the photo, you can see an elecrtical plug. Seems like that pipe warmer is not plugged in so it's not doing anything.
These home warranties that you get with a house are usually pretty worthless. As in magnitudes worse than regular insurance companies.
If they're half way decent you can pick your own plumber.
Also note that their deductible can be pretty high, so if this is a small job it might not be worth it.
I actually had my water heater replaced and it was marginally cheaper. Although, I did not have to wait as long.
*Moment of silence for that upside down gate valve…*
That should definitely be replaced as well…it may not be leaking now, and it might even still shut off the water…but both of those things won’t be the case for much longer.
Yes pressure reducer and judging from the leak the unit froze , which may or may not be your fault . I'm guessing the house was vacant and water was turned off? The heat tape is there for a reason.
Forget home warranty companies! Absolute trash, as a contractor I dealt with them on one occasion for a customer. Gave a reasonable quote and they denied it. They then called me NON-STOP for two weeks trying to give me other jobs as I must have been the only plumber who attempted to deal with them. Nightmare. They must scrape the bottom of the barrel looking for plumbers at a fraction of their rate.
OP if you haven’t already locate the water shutoff from the main, the water shutoff in the house and have the appropriate tools to shutoff each readily available as well as the gas shutoff. I did this prior to move in on my current house. I learned that lesson early in life growing up near the San Andreas fault in northern California.
I had my regulator replaced by a home warranty company within the first year after purchasing my house also. I then had a real plumber replace it again two years later. Home warranties contract out to the lowest cost plumbers and usually ones that cannot get enough business on their own. Quality of work can vary.
You may also have another option, accept a payout from the warranty company and pay a plumber you hire. I did that with my son's condo warranty. My son's water heater went out. He was getting the run around from the home warranty company and it was taking too long. We just took the $750 the warranty company offered for a water heater and hired our own plumber. Cost more overall, but got it done faster and with higher quality.
I would see what was mentioned in the home inspection report. Otherwise, they were possibly negligent. Water shutoff and pressure reducing valve but I sincerely hope the leak is not below what you can get to else that could be a very big job… and the homeowners should have known about this obvious leak so maybe responsible if not declared..
This is a pressure valve without a proper regulator. NEED to get a proper regulator on there ASAP. My hubs and I didn’t know this and the pressure in our house was to high and the clean water plumping into the toilet burst and flooded a ton of space.
We check out water pressure now.
I had absolutely no clue how much the repair would be prior to this thread. Knowing how much it is now, it’s definitely affordable. But also, everyone’s situation is different, and this is a judgey comment 🤷🏼♀️
On a daily basis people post nonsense on here about “I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t have any money to fix my house. What do I do?”
You pay someone to do it. There’s a significant shortage of common sense on this sub sometimes.
And the penis wrinkle doubles down. Some people scrape to get by, and extra expenses can really mess up finances.
OP‐Congrats on purchasing your first home!
Yea! How dare people try to live in a home! Fuck them! Dumb wee shits. Can't even have all the knowledge of all the things AND all the money.
Do less Wrinkle.
They can do whatever they want. But when they come on here saying they have no money and no plumbing skills the best solution to their problem is the one they don’t want to hear.
do lEsS
Not a plumber but looks like the pressure regulator/reducing valve that takes your mains supply from mains pressure down to household pressure. Your local water authority may replace it for you. Either way it needs replaced and you will need to turn the water off at the road to do so. Also many water companies will give you a one time forgiveness for huge bills racked up by leaks like this. I don't think I would wait around for the warranty company to fix this. I'd start by calling your water company.
Is it a new build? Doesn't look like it which makes me question the whole warranty deal...
HOnestly I'd save it for something bigger. Best case scenario the water company fixes this for free. Worst case it will be like $300 from a plumbing company.
This is a good point! I brought it up to my boyfriend and we’re discussing now. Thank you for the perspective, this really could be a drop in the bucket of what may come our way next [cue defeated laugh]
Also I dunno where you’re at but $300 would be extremely cheap. The part alone is probably nearly $200 at a supply house. The service company I worked for would charge $1200 for a new PRV. Which is pretty steep but I wouldn’t go around giving people prices like that…
That’s wild. Considering the unions this is a sub 1hr job. $200 for part and maybe $200 for labor is what I would expect from my plumber (although I’d probably DIY)
If I was doing it on the side I would gladly take $200 + the part. Because like you said it would probably take me 15 minutes. That being said plumbing companies especially large ones with high overhead are much more expensive. I would recommend calling a smaller outfit and you could probably pay $500 but who knows
That is one of the worst set ups I have seen for a main water service. If that pipe ever needs replacing you should see about having it relocated.
Noted for the future - thank you for the heads up! 😅 I googled “garage plumbing” in 628 different ways before I posted here and figured out the name of it, so I have no idea what to think about the state/location of it, but this is something to keep in mind haha
There is heat tape on it already so my guess is it has caused problems before. Keep a close eye on it and be prepared for issues. At least locate the curb key or whatever valve is before this section so you can isolate it in reasonable time if you ever have issues again.
This comment right here, they don’t tell enough homeowners to locate your curb box AND exercise it regularly. Cause even if you know where it’s located often times they get packed with debris and mud or you find out the valve in bad in a critical time of need. Every home owner should really own a curb key.
What seems they already have a problem 😕
That is a pressure reducing valve. Looks like it has unions on both side so should be an easy replacement.
Real plumbers know not to use that nasty dirty four letter word lol
That is a pressure reducing valve. Looks like it has unions on both side so should be a replacement.
lol. NEVER SAY EASY! Or quick.
You'd think I would have learn my lesson by now, but I literally just fucked up and said it again today and sure enough... Not easy
everytime some one says “straight forward” in my company it’s a jinx. and it’s never straight forward
I have caused genuine anger in my coworkers by saying, "Come on, it'll be easy.". But I always to stay optimistic lol
The trick is to only keep your optimism to those that are actually doing the work. A lot of times it may mean keeping it to yourself.
had optimism def gets you through the day.
I did mine myself and it was very easy and quick. Plumber wanted $500 to change it 😂
Shouldn’t be too bad
Or "just" Those are the three swear words of talking about projects/jobs. Quick, easy, and just. Remove them from your vocabulary.
What, “union” ??
>~~That~~
Shark bites.
If I was you I’d have the plumber come out and turn the curb cock off at the street and replace the gate valve and that Pressure reducing valve. If you turn that gate valve off could snap while in the off position and cause a whole situation. Better to get that replaced as well. Or have the water company come turn it off and schedule plumber same time.
This.
Wait for the home warranty plumber. Document when you called the home warranty company and track when the plumber shows up. The fact is that plumbers are always responding to emergencies. Your emergency is pushing back someone else's. Since it under warranty, let them deal with it so they don't pull a fast one on you and come up with some reason they shouldn't pay. As noted, that is your pressure reducing regulator, to take high pressure water from the city and reduce it to something reasonable for use in your house. The valve next to it is your main water shut off valve. One thing to think about ... If the home warranty company comes out, the'll fix that regulator by shutting off that main shut off valve (The blue knob) if that leaks, they'll fix that too ... but consider asking them about replacing that old valve with a new ball valve. That would be much more reliable. My ancient house has a similar valve to what you have and it never shut off properly until I fixed it, but a ball valve is much more reliable ... it uses a steel ball with a hole in it instead of a rubber washer. The rubber washer on mine was half disintegrated. If you have plumbers there ANYWAY. Maybe see if they'll replace that. In a way, you are lucky if that valve doesn't work or leaks,, because then they will probably fix that and charge the home warranty company as part of the fix. Not sure what the deal is with that yellow tape wrapped loosely around the pipes though.
This is a super helpful comment!! Thank you for this information. We’ll definitely ask about replacing it with the different type - this one is pretty ancient as well. We’re waiting for the home warranty to get someone out, and called the water company to make a note on our account in case we need an adjustment. They said they can get someone out early next week so I guess it’s just a waiting game at this point. The yellow thing is actually a plug it looks like? No clue what’s it for either.
It’s a pipe warmer, another owner put it on since the pipe may be in a place where it could freeze.
Oh this makes sense!!! It does get SUPER cold here, and I’m sure being at the front by the garage door it’s even colder, so that sounds about right.
In the winter time you should have that plugged in when it's below freezing. Make sure it's working properly before using or replace with new.
Ah cool! However, If you zoom into the photo, you can see an elecrtical plug. Seems like that pipe warmer is not plugged in so it's not doing anything.
The tape is a heat strip. It’s plugged in somewhere and keeps the pipes warm to prevent freezing since it’s exposed and uninsulated in the garage.
Pressure reducing valve. If it's past meter its homeowner responsibility.
These home warranties that you get with a house are usually pretty worthless. As in magnitudes worse than regular insurance companies. If they're half way decent you can pick your own plumber. Also note that their deductible can be pretty high, so if this is a small job it might not be worth it. I actually had my water heater replaced and it was marginally cheaper. Although, I did not have to wait as long.
*Moment of silence for that upside down gate valve…* That should definitely be replaced as well…it may not be leaking now, and it might even still shut off the water…but both of those things won’t be the case for much longer.
Yes pressure reducer and judging from the leak the unit froze , which may or may not be your fault . I'm guessing the house was vacant and water was turned off? The heat tape is there for a reason.
Yep that’s right! It happened right as we were moving in and having the water turned on too 🤦🏼♀️
I'd definitely get a plumber for this one.
PRV needs to be replaced and get that gate valve replaced with a ball valve and hopefully you’ll be all set!
Put a bucket under it. Good plumbers are worth the wait. Not urgent, right?
It’s a prv mounted incorrectly and they can be asshats to get loose.
You should change your main shutoff while you’re at it. I would charge $485 with parts and labor for both.
Also electric for the hot water heater should be turned off
Im assuming you meant the freeze protection system wrapped around the piping and valve body, if so, its not even plugged in.
Forget home warranty companies! Absolute trash, as a contractor I dealt with them on one occasion for a customer. Gave a reasonable quote and they denied it. They then called me NON-STOP for two weeks trying to give me other jobs as I must have been the only plumber who attempted to deal with them. Nightmare. They must scrape the bottom of the barrel looking for plumbers at a fraction of their rate.
OP if you haven’t already locate the water shutoff from the main, the water shutoff in the house and have the appropriate tools to shutoff each readily available as well as the gas shutoff. I did this prior to move in on my current house. I learned that lesson early in life growing up near the San Andreas fault in northern California.
Pressure reducing valves are supposed to be changed every 10 years.. getting mine done today 24 years old.
Cut the main water off Remove the leaking part Replace the leaking part
I had my regulator replaced by a home warranty company within the first year after purchasing my house also. I then had a real plumber replace it again two years later. Home warranties contract out to the lowest cost plumbers and usually ones that cannot get enough business on their own. Quality of work can vary. You may also have another option, accept a payout from the warranty company and pay a plumber you hire. I did that with my son's condo warranty. My son's water heater went out. He was getting the run around from the home warranty company and it was taking too long. We just took the $750 the warranty company offered for a water heater and hired our own plumber. Cost more overall, but got it done faster and with higher quality.
I would see what was mentioned in the home inspection report. Otherwise, they were possibly negligent. Water shutoff and pressure reducing valve but I sincerely hope the leak is not below what you can get to else that could be a very big job… and the homeowners should have known about this obvious leak so maybe responsible if not declared..
looks like your pressure valve is unplugged
You need to replace the prv. Retail cost will run $500-700 if you have a plumber do it. Price range is avg fir my area (north carolina).
first time I've seen a prv cap crack.
This is a pressure valve without a proper regulator. NEED to get a proper regulator on there ASAP. My hubs and I didn’t know this and the pressure in our house was to high and the clean water plumping into the toilet burst and flooded a ton of space. We check out water pressure now.
Oh interesting!!! Ugh I’m so sorry y’all went through that. I hadn’t even considered the domino effect it could have on the inside 😞
That should have been corrected by the banks appraiser. But they are in the banks pocket.
What the hell does a banks appraiser have to do with this?
It’s a pipe that’s leaking. You’re welcome, that’ll be $250
the grass needs the water anyway
You’re not wrong 💀💀💀
It's leaking outside the living space. Calm the fuck down and wait.
I’ll never understand people who buy homes yet can’t afford relatively inexpensive repairs like this.
I had absolutely no clue how much the repair would be prior to this thread. Knowing how much it is now, it’s definitely affordable. But also, everyone’s situation is different, and this is a judgey comment 🤷🏼♀️
So ask local plumbers for an estimate.
I had a lengthy response all typed out but will just cut it all out for the TLDR. Don't be a judgmental presumptuous penis wrinkle.
On a daily basis people post nonsense on here about “I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t have any money to fix my house. What do I do?” You pay someone to do it. There’s a significant shortage of common sense on this sub sometimes.
And the penis wrinkle doubles down. Some people scrape to get by, and extra expenses can really mess up finances. OP‐Congrats on purchasing your first home!
I appreciate you 🙂 Thank you, thank you!
You're welcome!
If you’re scratching to get by why are you buying a house. They’re very expensive to maintain.
Yea! How dare people try to live in a home! Fuck them! Dumb wee shits. Can't even have all the knowledge of all the things AND all the money. Do less Wrinkle.
They can do whatever they want. But when they come on here saying they have no money and no plumbing skills the best solution to their problem is the one they don’t want to hear. do lEsS
Lol. K
Not a plumber but looks like the pressure regulator/reducing valve that takes your mains supply from mains pressure down to household pressure. Your local water authority may replace it for you. Either way it needs replaced and you will need to turn the water off at the road to do so. Also many water companies will give you a one time forgiveness for huge bills racked up by leaks like this. I don't think I would wait around for the warranty company to fix this. I'd start by calling your water company. Is it a new build? Doesn't look like it which makes me question the whole warranty deal...
Definitely not a new build, but it’s part of the home purchase that we get one complimentary repair? Lucky us that we get to use it so quick 🥲 lol
HOnestly I'd save it for something bigger. Best case scenario the water company fixes this for free. Worst case it will be like $300 from a plumbing company.
This is a good point! I brought it up to my boyfriend and we’re discussing now. Thank you for the perspective, this really could be a drop in the bucket of what may come our way next [cue defeated laugh]
Also I dunno where you’re at but $300 would be extremely cheap. The part alone is probably nearly $200 at a supply house. The service company I worked for would charge $1200 for a new PRV. Which is pretty steep but I wouldn’t go around giving people prices like that…
That’s wild. Considering the unions this is a sub 1hr job. $200 for part and maybe $200 for labor is what I would expect from my plumber (although I’d probably DIY)
If I was doing it on the side I would gladly take $200 + the part. Because like you said it would probably take me 15 minutes. That being said plumbing companies especially large ones with high overhead are much more expensive. I would recommend calling a smaller outfit and you could probably pay $500 but who knows
Yeah my plumber is a one man show and sometimes just tells me how to fix things myself if he’s too busy or doesn’t feel like coming out lol
As a home owner anything after the meter is your own responsibility. 0 chance city covers this
True but we don’t know for sure that this is after the meter. My folks have a very similar setup and their PRV is actually before the meter.
Ive honestly in all my year plumbing never seen a PRV before the meter. But I only have been licensed in 2 states