Plumbing Tips
This is where we write up the things homeowners around Birmingham ask about most, one article at a time. There are no posts here yet; the first ones are on the way, and each will cover a single question in enough detail to be useful on its own.
What we will cover
Expect posts tied to how houses here actually behave. Prewar homes in Southside, Highland Park and Avondale come with galvanized supply pipe and clay or cast iron sewer lines, so some posts will cover what aging pipe looks like before it fails and how to tell a single clog from a failing lateral.
Others will follow the seasons: getting crawlspace and exterior-wall pipes through the occasional hard freeze, keeping drains and sump pumps ready for spring storms, and what to check on a water heater that has passed the ten-year mark.
We will also write about the water bill. With Birmingham Water Works supplying most of the metro and Jefferson County sewer charges as steep as they are, a slow leak or a running toilet costs real money, so expect simple ways to check your own meter and fixtures.
And some posts will dig into the ground itself. The red clay under most of the metro dries and shrinks in late summer, then swells again through a wet winter, and that slow movement is behind a lot of cracked sewer lines and slab leaks. Expect the signs worth watching, like a hairline crack that keeps widening or a floor that feels warm underfoot, and which ones can wait.
Following along
New posts appear on this page and in the RSS feed as they are published. They are written to help you decide what you can handle yourself and when it is time to have a plumber look. When it is the second kind, send us the details through the form and we connect you with a local plumber.
How posts are written
Each article sticks to one problem, uses the names of real places and housing types around here, and says plainly what a homeowner can safely do before a plumber is called. When a fix needs a permit, a gas fitting or a cut into a slab, the post says so instead of pretending it is a weekend project.
Question about your own plumbing?
Send the form and we reply as soon as we can.