You&#;ve got a lot of questions about hydrostatic plumbing testing. For starters, what IS a hydrostatic plumbing test? But then you&#;ve got a plethora of follow-ups, like what does it tell me, when do I need one, how is it done, and more! You&#;re looking for something that answers all the major questions in one place. This is it, baby.
SUNCENTER supply professional and honest service.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we&#;ve been helping Brazos Valley homeowners handle their foundation problems since . We make sure that hydrostatic plumbing tests are conducted during every slab foundation repair project and have observed thousands of hydrostatic pressure tests over the years. We can sure *fill* you in on the basics. . .
That was a hydrostatic pressure test joke, but you probably didn&#;t get it. I guarantee that you will after you read this article though!
This article offers quick answers to the most common general questions homeowners have about hydrostatic plumbing tests when they don&#;t know anything about them at all. By the end, you will have a good basic understanding of hydrostatic testing including why and when it&#;s important for your home plumbing system.
The Top Questions About Home Hydrostatic Plumbing Tests
When you know *nothing* about something, you tend to have many basic questions. Here&#;s a list of common homeowner inquiries we will cover in this article.
If you don&#;t want to read the whole post, you can always click on your main questions and jump to the answer. Or if you don&#;t want to skip over any details, you can take in the full narrative for a Hydrostatic Plumbing Test 101.
What You Really Want to Know About Hydrostatic Plumbing Tests
Let&#;s get right to the good stuff by listing the questions and a quick basic answer. There might be some sub-questions to cover or if you need more info than we can cover quickly, we&#;ll send you to another more detailed article to check out if you like.
1. What Is a Hydrostatic Plumbing Test?
Some industry professionals call it a hydrostatic plumbing test, while others call it a hydrostatic pressure test. Both terms are accurate and interchangeable. This type of testing can be used on any closed rigid pipe system. In this case, we&#;re only talking about plumbing drain lines that carry water away from your home.
Hydrostatic means &#;standing water&#; in Greek&#;&#;hydro&#; for water and &#;static&#; for standing still. Thus, a hydrostatic test involves using standing water to check the plumbing drain lines for issues by pressurizing the system with water and observing if there is any pressure loss.
2. How Is a Hydrostatic Plumbing Test Performed?
For a hydrostatic plumbing test on your home, the drain lines are first sealed off from the outside sewer system. Then the lines are filled with water up to floor level as revealed in a tub or shower drain opening.
Then you just watch and wait for at least 15 minutes. You&#;re looking to see if the water level remains the same and *holds water* or if the water level drops revealing an issue. If the water level changes, then the drain system is compromised somewhere.
3. Why Is a Hydrostatic Test Important?
The purpose of a hydrostatic pressure test is to detect breaks or leaks in the under-slab plumbing system. Using this testing method determines if your home&#;s drain lines are intact or if there are hidden leaks that need repair.
Hydrostatic pressure testing is important because it offers an early alert to an issue that should be fixed before more costly and serious problems can develop.
Unaddressed leaks under your home can lead to bigger issues. Not only do you have sewer water and other *stuff* that could leak into the soil, but you also run the risk of clogged and backed-up pipes, inconvenient flush and drain problems, recurrent tree roots growing into the lines, and eventually even foundation issues.
Check out this article for the top reasons to conduct a hydrostatic test on your home plumbing.
4. What Equipment is Needed for a Hydrostatic Test?
Even though the words sound complex, a hydrostatic test is not super high-tech. It&#;s actually pretty simple stuff. You need an inflatable test ball device and an air pump of some kind to inflate the ball.
The plumbing test ball looks like a rubber balloon going flat and has an air valve to fill it up. You can fill the test ball with something as simple as a bicycle pump. The ball is inserted into the plumbing clean-out pipe located just outside your home. Then it is pumped full of air to isolate your home drain line system from the rest of the sewer system.
You also need water to fill the lines &#; most often provided by the tub faucet in the home. An extra piece of pipe is sometimes used to extend the level of the clean-out pipe to match the floor elevation of the home. Oh, and you need eyeballs to watch the water level.
Check out this article for more details about the hydrostatic testing equipment, process, and steps.
5. How Long Does a Hydrostatic Test Take?
A hydrostatic test from start to finish probably takes about an hour, with most of the time taken for filling up the lines with water. Once everything is set up and the lines are full, the actual active part of the test should take about 15 minutes or so.
It doesn&#;t take that long to determine if your pipes are holding water or if the water level is going down indicating a leak somewhere.
6. What Pressure Is Used for a Hydrostatic Test?
Once the drain lines are full, it creates just enough pressure to gently test the lines for cracks, breaks, or separations. No further pressure is exerted on the lines other than the pressure of the water from filling the pipes. That&#;s where the *pressure* comes from in this type of pressure test.
7. Can a Hydrostatic Test Damage Your Plumbing System?
This was already broken
Some people think that a hydrostatic test on your drain lines can damage them, but that is not accurate. A hydrostatic plumbing test will not damage a plumbing system in good repair. However, the test can reveal cracks, breaks, and separations that have not yet started to cause issues.
Like, it didn&#;t *seem* like anything was wrong before the test, so people think the test caused the problem, but that&#;s not right.
Think about it this way &#; If you fill up a pipe that is meant to hold water, filling it all the way up should do nothing impactful because it is already made to withstand that amount of pressure.
If you fill up that same pipe and it has a hairline crack in it or two parts of it joined together are not well sealed then a problem will be uncovered and something will start to leak during the hydrostatic pressure test. The test didn&#;t cause the problem because the issue was already present, just not yet discovered.
This subject probably deserves a whole article all to itself, but we don&#;t have one just yet. I&#;ll add it to the list for future publication!
8. What Are the Common Issues Found During a Hydrostatic Test?
Rusted cast iron drain line
These things have already been mentioned, but in case you just jumped here, hydrostatic testing of your drain lines can reveal:
- Hairline cracks in pipes
- Poor or loose connections between pipes
- Broken pipes
- Separated connections
- Degraded drain lines due to rusted cast iron pipes
- Any compromised material or connection in the under-slab plumbing system
This kind of test can identify quite a few issues, but it can&#;t detect *every* under-slab plumbing issue. Here are some things that a hydrostatic test won&#;t be able to pick up:
- Sags or &#;bellies&#; in the drain lines
- Blockages (either partial or full)
9. How Do You Fix Leaks Found During a Hydrostatic Test?
Leaks under a slab-on-grade foundation are tricky because you have to get under the slab to fix them. A plumber can approach under-slab leak repairs in one of two ways:
We do under-slab tunneling BTW
- Breaking through the slab from inside your home to repair from above, or
- Using under-slab tunneling to access and repair the leaks from below.
There&#;s a lot to consider when you&#;re trying to decide between these two options to handle under-slab plumbing repairs. You might want to check this out for the full rundown: Under-Slab Tunneling vs. Breaking Through Your Slab (Pros and Cons).
10. Can I Perform a Hydrostatic Test Myself?
A hydrostatic pressure test is not difficult to perform with a little know-how &#; it&#;s definitely not *rocket science* as they say. Sure, someone could probably do it themselves if they had the inflatable test ball and were able to locate and open the clean-out.
This was you . . . 10 minutes ago . . .
But remember, you didn&#;t know *anything* about hydrostatic testing before reading this super-basic article on the internet. Reading this article is frankly not enough to qualify you for this task. You should probably leave it to a professional who has done this sort of thing before.
You want someone who can confidently place the test ball in the correct location and has experience with plumbing systems. So even though the testing process seems simple, I would still recommend letting someone who knows what they&#;re doing do it instead of trying to DIY.
Some states or cities have regulations about who is allowed to do such things. If you were to violate any codes or mess something up on the city side of the sewer system, you could be fined in addition to being on the hook for more repair costs. Yikes!
Who Can Perform a Hydrostatic Pressure Test for Me?
Any plumber should be able to perform a hydrostatic pressure test. If for some reason your plumber doesn&#;t know how to do it or doesn&#;t want to do it, then you probably should fire that guy. Find a different plumber who has more experience with under-slab plumbing issues.
For more pressure testing machineinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
Many municipalities have codes regarding sewer line access. Cities typically only want plumbers performing this kind of work.
We make sure that hydrostatic pressure testing is done because it&#;s important for our foundation repair services. Hydrostatic testing is conducted for every slab foundation repair job we do, but it&#;s not offered as a stand-alone service. We only have it done for our foundation repair customers, so your best bet is to find a plumber of your own.
How Does Hydrostatic Testing Relate to Foundation Repair?
Now that you know all about hydrostatic testing, first off, do you get my joke now? It&#;s hilarious, right? Ok, maybe just mildly amusing or worth a light groan? But now you&#;re wondering why a foundation repair company knows so much about hydrostatic testing in the first place.
At Anchor Foundation Repair, we don&#;t fix things that don&#;t need fixin&#; and we don&#;t try to sell you stuff that you don&#;t need. After 35+ years in business, we know that&#;s what&#;s best for conscientious homeowners like you. We want to make sure that your foundation repairs last and one of the ways we do that is by making sure you don&#;t have leaks under your home before we finish our foundation work.
Want to know more about plumbing leaks that cause foundation problems and what to look for? Check out the Top 5 Signs Your Plumbing Problem is Foundation Related.
By Wes Edmiston | Director of Product & Industry Strategy, Cumulus Digital Systems
Despite serving a critical function in ensuring piping integrity, pressure testing is an activity that rarely gets the credit it deserves. When everything is going well, nobody seems to notice that testing is even happening. The facility starts up with zero leaks with no special credit going to the extensive (and stressful) pressure testing that took place.
However, when the testing program starts to go poorly, all hell breaks loose. The big dogs are called in and testing undergoes so much extra scrutiny that it feels like it&#;s under a microscope. This slows progress, drives up costs, and creates stress for all involved.
If this sounds familiar, you&#;re not alone. There are some common pressure testing mistakes that even the most skilled teams have experienced.
Strengthen your pressure testing program and avoid accidents during your next project or turnaround by avoiding these 5 common pressure testing mistakes.
5 Common Pressure Testing Mistakes You Could Be Making
1. Missing high points and low points
When a line doesn&#;t have vents at high points or drains at low points, air or water can get trapped. This can lead to failed tests or significant remediation efforts in order to clean the piping. Even worse, in some unlucky situations you might find yourself unable to get the pipe clean and dry. This requires that the pipe be cut and you start from scratch with testing.
All of these problems can drive up project costs and sink a lot of valuable time and productivity. Avoid missing high points and low points by walking the line and carefully looking for high point vents and low point drains. Since you&#;re likely already walking the line to check for completeness, improve your productivity by adding this to your list. Just remember to give your QC&#;s frequent reminders so that it stays on their radar.
2. Leaving sensitive components in the system
This one might seem a bit obvious, but it&#;s included on this list for a reason. It still happens at some point on nearly every project. Expansion joints, instruments, and a slew of other items are often forgotten. Since they are likely not rated for the test pressure, this can cause a very hazardous situation for the team that is executing the pressure testing.
Even if there isn&#;t a total failure of the component, there&#;s still a chance that some of these items become inoperable due to the exposure to the test medium. This can cause unnecessary delays.
To avoid this problem, create a comprehensive list of components that can not tolerate the test medium or pressure. Include that list in the test package details and highlight the items to ensure that team members catch them in the pre-test walk down.
3. Paper-based tracking
It&#;s not just the pipes that are under pressure during a testing program. During projects, turnarounds, or even routine maintenance, everyone is under pressure to make progress, check things off lists, and meet schedule. This often leads to people multitasking and working on multiple fronts to try to finish the laundry list of tasks on their plate.
For pressure testing, this means that tests will often be filled up days in advance of the actual test being executed. Then, another team will come to execute the test, and yet another team will come to drain and dry it.
This leaves a lot of room for things getting lost in the fast-paced shuffle. If water sits in a system for too long, it can cause corrosion. In certain climates, the test medium could even sit in a line long enough to freeze. This damages the system and leads to even more quality issues and rework.
Prevent these problems by implementing a digital system that accurately tracks each stage and step of the work being completed. This allows teams to work more efficiently by clearly seeing what is in their queue. It also brings visibility to the different work completion activities and statuses, making sure that nothing is forgotten.
4. Not knowing your code
After being in the same facility or area for a while, it can be easy to go on autopilot. After a while, you learn and memorize all of the rules and procedures that are necessary in order to do your job correctly.
Whenever you are going to a new location or working on a new system, be sure to always look up the governing code. This can help avoid easy mistakes. For example, there is a big difference between a hydrotest at 1.5x design for ten minutes and a 1.3x design test for 60 minutes.
Everyone knows how expensive it is for a facility to be down. When this is the last obstacle preventing it from coming online, you want to ensure that you are doing it right the first time. Remember, these integrity tests are important to prove the viability of the system. If any type of failure occurs later on, pressure testing is the first area where fingers will be pointed.
5. Leaving in test blinds
This item occurs after the test. Anyone who has experienced it will likely know how it can be a weird combination of funny, infuriating, and possibly dangerous.
You might be getting towards the end of a turnaround and ready to reintroduce process materials. The operations team opens the valve, but nothing comes out on the other side. It&#;s at this precise moment when everyone learns that there is still a blind installed somewhere in the piping.
This can be avoided by using a digital system to track your flange connections. The system must be able to make connections as &#;temporary&#; so that an effective review of the piping system can occur prior to startup, ensuring that all such temporary connections have been removed before startup.
Conclusion
When it comes to common pressure testing mistakes, there&#;s a lot that a digital system can do to prevent mistakes. By connecting with real-time field data, hydrostatic testing activities can be executed with accuracy and precision. Overall, introducing digitalization to manual work can help teams make smarter decisions, together.
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