Plumbing FAQs & Questions....call now toll free @ 1-877-247-6426

• Why service companies can no longer charge by the hour.
• Why do you offer a free estimate? What is the catch?
• What is the difference between drain cleaning, rootering and hydro jetting?
• Why do I have rusty water?
• What kind of faucet is best? For the bathroom, for the kitchen?
• Waterheater - tank and tankless. Which should I have?
• Slab leak – Leak under concrete. How do you repair the leak?
• Video sewer inspection. Seeing can save money and frustration.
• When should I replace my water heater?
• Do you work on septic tanks - cess pits – leach lines?
• What is a whole home inspection and how often should it be performed?
• Why don't you quote over the phone?
• Guarantees - warrantees - our promise
• Do you offer services agreements?
• Money saving coupons

• Why service companies can no longer charge by the hour.
The state of California now mandates that all service and repair contracts have a “do not exceed” flat or fixed rate on them. In other words, if you do enter into a parts and labor agreement with a contractor the amount that can be charged must have a fixed limit that cannot be exceeded.

What does this mean to you, the homeowner. It means the same thing that you have been asking for over the last few decades. That you want to know exactly how much the job is going to be up front or in advance. Over the years I have been on and conducted service roundtables that focus on customer service excellence for  a variety of contractors here in California and the surrounding states.

Time and material contracts and inherently a problem as so much of the bill is masked in substantial fees that are not disclosed up front. The most common fees are: truck operational service fee (TOS), shop charge (to clean rags and drop cloths), equipment rental fee (sawzall-drill-vacuum-jack hammer-sewer cables) and helper fees. The helper is usually billed out at about ½ to ¾ of the amount of a journeyman. Beware or these contracts as they start off appearing small, but balloon as the job gets underway. There is motivation for the plumber to take as long as they can and very little motivation to use those tools that speed the job along. Think about this, if you were to purchase a tool that saved you a hour a day on the job, that tool would be costing you an hour’s pay every day. Instead of helping you, the tool would be costing you money day in and day out.

• Why do you offer a free estimate? What is the catch?
The catch? No catch, but I can give you an explanation. Free estimate does not mean free work. We will not be coming out to your home or business and work ½ hour diagnosing what the problem is, putting in writing and then offering you an explanation of what needs to be done. To many times we have done this in the past only to be met with “Thank you, I can now have my handyman fix it.” This is typically followed with a complaint because the handyman burnt out a circuit board, a pump or some other device. We end up getting blamed for the problem even though we didn’t do the work and the homeowner calls us back out and tries to get us to fix it for free.

A general rule of thumb is “If we don’t have to pull out our tools and spend time diagnosing what the problem is, then the work is generally performed at no charge.” Of course, if you have had another licensed contractor out to your home or business to diagnose a problem we do offer a free second opinion at no charge to you whatsoever.

We have found it easier, and fairer, to provide free no obligation estimates. We don’t guess at what it is going to cost and we don’t low ball the figure over the phone just to get our people in your house. You get straight up front honest pricing each and every time.
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• What is the difference between drain cleaning, rootering and hydro jetting?
Cleaning drains is as old and the Roman Empire. Today most companies use a drain cleaning machine that spins a high tension spring in the sewer system. As this cable is spinning in the drain the blades at the end of the cable scrape the wall of the sewer pipe removing debris buildup over the years. This is then flushed down the drain with warm water as the cable is being retrieved, but what about grease?

If you have cooking grease, clay dirt, sand or soap buildup then High Pressure Hydro Jetting is the only real solution for your clogged pipes. These situations don't respond well to a traditional spinning rooter type of cleaning. The old fashion rootering of pipes may provide temporary relief, but seldom represents a real fix. The material will not generally flush down the drain and this leads to more stoppages in the near future.

High pressure hydro-jetting uses cold water under high pressure to scour clean the inside of the pipes and flush the dirt, debris and buildup down the drain as the cleaning is taking place. We normal provide camera verification that the drainage system is clear, clean and flowing like new. With pressure of water ranging from 1000 psi up to 4000 psi the water flow is high enough and strong enough to remove the toughest clogs without damaging your piping at all.

If there is a belly or low spot in you piping or an installation irregularity we can find it and address it at that time. High pressure jetting delivers a knockout blow to just about any clog and you get to see that the problem has been taken care of.
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• Why do I have rusty water? Rusty Pipes said to be the Biggest Threat to U.S. Drinking Water
According to Timothy Ford, a microbiologist and water research scientist with Montana State University, rusting water infrastructure is the biggest threat to the public drinking water supply in the U.S. As Ford said, "If you clean up water and then put it into a dirty pipe, there's not much point."

Before water ends up in your glass, it often passes though pipes laid under city streets 50 or a much as 100 years ago. These pipes were made of iron, until plastic was introduced 30 years ago. "Investigations conducted in the last five years suggest that a substantial proportion of waterborne disease outbreaks, both microbial and chemical, is attributable to problems within distribution systems," the National Research Council said in a study for the Environmental Protection Agency released in December.

"We estimate in the next 20 to 30 years water utilities will have to invest $250 to $350 billion just to replace the pipes that are in the ground today," said Jack Hossbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association, the industry's trade group.

"We committed 100 years ago to build a reliable, low-cost, high-quality municipal drinking water systems. But there are no guarantees that will continue," said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a research group in Oakland, California, as reported by Reuters.

Most rusty water comes from aging galvanized pipe that needs replacing? If you have low water volume (most people call it pressure) in your shower you most likely have a rust problem or buildup in the line blocking water flow. If you have difficulty operating more than one faucet at a time, the water volume drops to a trickle, or if the color of your water is turning orange, it is most likely time to consider installing new copper piping throughout your home.

Here at The Empire Family of Services we repipe homes on a regular basis. Whether it is a small job, a single bath raised foundation home, or a tract of homes, we recently perform a re-pipe on 89 homes in Coto de Caza, we can handle your problems with ease. It will be like it never happened at all. We can also obtain a payment plan for you that will result in your new home piping costing only pennies a day. Give us a call at 1-877-247-6426 for a free in home estimate.
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• What kind of faucet is best? For the bathroom, for the kitchen?
When you replace your faucet, bathroom faucet, laundry faucet or even your kitchen faucet you should first find out what type you currently have.  Faucets are manufactured in a wide range of prices and styles. They range from very inexpensive (cheap), mostly plastic models, to high quality brass fixtures.

Not all faucet styles with work on all sink basins. The common styles of faucets for basins are, 4” center set, widespread (8”center set), single hole, two hole, three hole and 4 hole. As you can imagine buying the wrong faucet for the application is a very easy thing to do.

Widespread faucet sets have a spout with separate hot and cold water handles and are generally used for lavatory sinks. The parts are assembled on the sink and there is usually 3 major pieces. Wide spread faucets are available from 6" to 16" (most are 8”). This represents the spacing of the holes in the sink or counter that the faucet attaches with. These can usually be installed further apart using aftermarket parts. Do not confuse these with Roman tub faucets as they are built with much wider passages for greater quantities of water to pass through them.

Center set faucets are made for 4" pre-drilled with three-hole installation and are used for bathroom sink faucet installations and bar sink installations. The bar sink generally only have 2 holes. They combine a spout and valves on a single solid base. This type of faucet can have a single handle cartridge or two handles cartridges. This is the most popular style of lav faucet on the market.

Single hole faucets have a spout and a single mixing handle all in one usually controlled by a single handle. Single lever faucets require one-hole installation and are the faucet of choice for the kitchen sink, but can be used in the bathroom or bar sink as well.

Wall-mounted faucets are available for above-the-counter installations are common in older homes and for homes equipped with designer sinks. Nearly all commercial kitchens use this type of faucet. Pot filler faucets above or beside the stove are wall mounted as well.
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• Waterheater - tank and tankless. Which should I have?
Tankless Water Heaters heat water directly without the use of a storage tank. This does not mean instant hot water, but it does mean they avoid the standby heat losses associated with storage water heaters. This is where the savings on gas comes into play. When a hot water tap is turned on, cold water travels through a pipe into the heating unit. The heater fires up and heats the water as needed monitoring the exit temperature of the water. Gas-fired tankless water heaters produce higher flow rates and greater satisfaction than electric tankless water heaters. Smaller heaters, and heaters improperly installed, cannot supply enough hot water for simultaneous, multiple uses in households. The number complaint that receive is that two showers cannot be operated at the same time. This is always and installation error. Either the tankless waterheater is undersized (happen a lot) and by undersized I mean btu’s, not physical size, or the gas line to the heater is to small and this is straving the heater for gas.

The typical gas tankless water heater uses fives the gas that a tank type uses at one time. It is not wasted and the tank-less heater still is more efficient than most tank type. For example, taking a shower and running the dishwasher at the same time can stretch many tankless water heaters to their limits. This can easily be overcome by proper installation. When installing a tank-less water heater make sure that you have the installation inspected by the city or county inspector. Most of the installations that we have come across are installed incorrectly and are dangerous, not to mention taking a cold shower.
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• Slab leak – Leak under concrete. How do you repair the leak?
How do you know if you have a hot water slab leak? If it hot water you will typically notice a hot spot on the floor, but don’t guess that the leak is in that spot as water follows the easiest path and copper pipes under the slab are typically covered in a plastic sleeve. The leak could be on the other side of the home (I know, I have hammered up a kitchen floor by mistake…once, only once.)  You may also hear water running in the walls, but no water is visible or you may wake up in the morning to a hot house and flooded home. Cold water is usually noticed by the sound of running water and flooding.

Copper water lines under the slab are subject to electrolysis, wear and tear from vibrations against the sand or dirt and wear and tear from the corrosive action of water in running through them. Copper pipes do wear out. Aggressive water eats holes and creates pin holes and improper or sloppy installation techniques lead to turbulence in the pipe and this etches holes in the copper.

Repairing a leak in a copper pipe under the slab can be tricky. We can locate it uses equipment designed for that purpose, uncover it and cut out that section pipe and replace it. We will always silver braze the joint under the slab. Brazing is a code requirement and copper lines that are soft soldered (normal soldering) are not strong enough to last under the concrete. They tend to leak. Don’t ever let anyone put a clamp or solder your piping under the slab. If they do, chances are they just flat out don’t know what they are doing.

What about the floor? Many times the cost to replace the floor exceeds the cost of the entire repair. What should you do then? Don’t worry about this. We are experts in avoiding the damages associated with slab leaks. We can use electronic instruments and follow the piping in the floor until it comes out of the slab in two locations. We will then isolate that portion of piping to verify that it is the line that is leaking. We can then reroute that line overhead avoiding any damage to the floors.

One leak under the slab is bad, two leaks are a disaster. If you have had multiple leaks under your concrete slab, you should think about re-piping. Copper piping does not last forever. It may time to replace what you have. Do not waste your money on telfon pipe lining of your copper pipes. Once the pipe had started leaking it must be repalced. A thin layer of plastic on the inside of hte pipe will not repair anything. The picture to the left is a sample of a job that was improperly performed. The problem with the lning methods is that their is no way to know if the job was done properly or not.
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• Video sewer inspection. Seeing can save money and frustration.
This is perhaps the single best invention for use with sewers that has come to be in my lifetime. This is a form of non-destructive testing and helps to prevent misdiagnosis and enables pin point accuracy when determining problems in a drain line.

We have had sewer cameras since 1992 and are on the cutting edge of electronic technology for the plumbing industry. We can locate the problem, if there is a problem, show you what it is and then repair it and we can do all of this, without making any mistakes. If you are experiencing mainline stoppage ask our service plumber for a free evaluation of your sewer system. If you have paid for a sewer cleaning, shouldn’t you know that it really is clean?

Rooter companies are in the business of making money from drain cleaning. Ask yourself this question, “If you fixed a sewer that had regular stoppages, wouldn’t that mean that you have worked your way out of repeat business? Wouldn’t that mean that if you perform the repair correctly that you income would go down?”
We are in business to offer you real repairs, long term repairs, not just give your root buildup a hair cut so that you can call us back again, and again and again.
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• When should I replace my water heater?
Water heaters, tank type, should be replaced every 10-12 years without regard to whether or not they are leaking. Why would anyone wait until their water heater leaked and flooded their home before attending to its regular maintenance? Let us replace your water heater and install the proper pan to catch the water so that, if it should ever leak, the water is safely removed from the interior of your home ensuring that now damage, no mold or mildew, develops.

All water heaters will leak. It is just a matter of time. Protect yourself and protect your valuable asset, your home.
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• Do you work on septic tanks - cess pits – leach fields?
Yes, we are a full service plumbing firm and have the expertise to help you out. We have our own backhoes and earthmovers as well as our own cameras and locating gear. We have been doing this for decades and we have the knowledge to either replace your septic tank or route the line to the nearest public sewer.

• What is a whole home inspection and how often should it be performed?
This is simple thing. We will inspect the plumbing in your attic for leaks. We will crawl under your home to find rotting piping. Each and every sink, angle stop, toilet, drain and valve will be inspected to discover if it is operating properly. There are a couple of reasons that you should have this service performed every year. The first reason is that we can catch small problems before they become big problems savings you money. The second reason is your insurance carrier.

In the event of a problem, a disaster, your insurance turns from the good hands people, to the hands off people. The insurance carriers have written so many things out of your homeowner’s policy over the years that the policy is now not worth a whole lot more than the paper that it is written on when it comes to your plumbing system. A standard in the industry is to blame the flooding on long term problems and lack of maintenance. Go ahead; check out your written policy. You will find out that the damages from these are not covered. Long term is a funny term and I don’t mean funny ha-ha. I have had an insurance company tell me because there was surface rust on the tack strip holding down the carpet that the damages were not covered. It meant that it was long term damages. Bear in mind that this home was on an island in Huntington Harbour.
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I have also had an insurance company tell me that long term damage was 24 hours. What if you were on vacation or gone overnight? The claim was denied. I have had an insurance carrier tell me that the claim will not be covered because mold and mildew growth had started. That is what alerted the homeowners to the problem, the smell. I had an insurance carrier tell me that because the piping in the home was over 18 years of age that the damages from the water burst were due to lack of maintenance and therefore not covered.

It’s simple and it is cheap. Do everything to maintain your insurance covered and demonstrate to your carrier that you are performing yearly maintenance on your plumbing system by having us inspect it and you will have gone a considerable ways in securing coverage in the event of an emergency.
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• Why don't you quote over the phone?
We cannot see the problem and we don’t wish to guess about it. We have found over the years that prices quoted over the phone are a recipe for disaster. The companies that typically quote over the phone give a low ball price and then use every excuse under the sun to up the dollar amount once you get to the job. Here is a very popular add and I’ll demonstrate how it can be altered to your disadvantage:
$99 Stoppage

• This is a “per stoppage” rate.
• This applies only to residential stoppages.
• Applies to all appointments run during normal business hours
• Excludes major holidays
• Stoppage must be fixable by cabling method. Rate does not include jetting and other advanced methods.
• Stoppage must be reasonably accessible. We cannot place our plumbers in hazardous positions.
• We do not go through roof vents. This is a very effective way to cause roof leaks but an ineffective way of clearing stoppages.

Advantages of Properly Installed Clean-Out

• May prevent flooding inside home
• Lower “per stoppage” cost
• Easier to locate the sewer line
• Makes stoppages accessible to regular-size blades and cables
• Enables access by Hydro Jet if needed
• Closer to stoppage with fewer turns, giving cable added strength for better cleaning.
• No messy drain cables and machines inside your home

FAQ’s About Stoppages and Roof Vents

• Does not thoroughly clear blockages
• Creates the potential for roof leaks
• Cannot use the right size blade
• Should never go through a smaller pipe to clear a pipe of larger diameter. This is an excellent way to get the cable stuck in the drain line.
• Drain vents use non-directional fittings which are different than actual drain lines. Very often this results in trapped cables.
• The vents are too far from the stoppage. Working through too many turns reduces the strength and effectiveness of the cable.
• It is unnecessarily dangerous and we don’t want anybody getting hurt.

Here are some issues:

• This is a “per stoppage” rate. (Doesn’t this mean that if your kitchen sink has 2 compartments, that it is two stoppages? Doesn’t this mean that if your kitchen line and laundry line are stopped up that it is a double charge? Is it usually the same drainage line. Doesn’t this mean that if the sink is stopped up and they take apart the trap clearing the trap that cabling the line through a cleanout would be considered a second stoppage? What if the mainline is stopped up? Doesn’t this mean that the kitchen sink is stopped up, the bathoom sink is stopped up, the bathtub is stopped up and the shower is stopped up? Would there be additional charges for each of those before clearing the mainline?
• Stoppage must be fixable by cabling method. Rate does not include jetting and other advanced methods. Since when is cabling ever considered a fix?
• Stoppage must be reasonably accessible. What is reasonable access? Does this mean that there will extra charges if there is no exterior clean out? Does this mean that cleaning out under the kitchen sink will entail additional charges?

I don’t know whether or not this is just something to get the plumber into your home and get you committed to at least $99 before work is performed or if it is an honest amount. What happens if the drain cannot be cleaned? Not all drains are clearable without trenching. Sight unseen means that it is just guess work. Don’t go with guess work and don’t employ the company with the “psychic” sense as they are probably just low balling the job to get into the door.
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• Guarantees - warrantees - our promise
Over the years what we have learned about what people want is that people want peace of mind. They want to know that when they choose us as their plumber that we’re going to deliver exactly what it is that we say we’re going to deliver. That there’s no chance that you’re taking a risk, that there’s no chance that you could be making a mistake in choosing us, that there’s no way that you can lose in choosing us to perform these services for you today. Because of this need for Peace of Mind we offer rock solid guarantees.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee*
What our 100% satisfaction guarantee says is that if you are not 100% satisfied with what we’ve performed, then we’ll make any modification necessary, any modification required, to gain your 100% satisfaction, up to and including replacing the equipment or refunding your money, all of your money. It’s not just our goal, 100% Satisfaction; it’s your right as a consumer. If you’re not satisfied, were not satisfied.

Water Comfort Guarantee*
What our guarantee says is that if we provide and install a water heater for you it is going to do just that, heat your water. It will be large enough to take that long shower and it will be able to maintain multiple showers at the same time. We will not under size your heater, tank or tankless, in order to appear to be more competitive. It simply costs to much to redo jobs when they are not installed or sized correctly the first time. We are the only company in town that guarantees that our systems will do exactly what we say.

No Lemon Water Heater Guarantee*
If your tank, the main component of your water heater that we provide and installed, fails for any reason during the first ten years of ownership we will replace that entire water heater at no charge to you. this includes new flex lines, temperature pressure relief valve, shipping and handling charges and of course labor. Your only requirement is that you must allow us to maintain it each and every year. No one deserves a lemon.

No Lemon Faucet Guarantee*
If any interior faucet that we provide and install fails in the first ten years of ownership we will either repair it or repalce it at no charge to you. This includes code required upgrades. Your only obligation is that we maintain your plumbing system each year. No charge means absolutely no charge. No other company offers this rock solid guarantee.

Property Protection Guarantee*
If anything is accidentally damaged, a professional will repair it. We’re not going to be driving down to the Home Center parking lot and pick up someone to bring to your home. You will have a properly licensed, a properly insured and properly bonded professional perform the repair. Once the repair is done to your satisfaction, then and only then do you have to make your investment in your new Home Plumbing System. With a guarantee like this do you think that we will be sloppy or do you think that we’ll Treat your Property Carefully? We're the only ones making this kind of guarantee.

365 Day Test Drive*
We want you to test drive your New Home Plumbing System through all four seasons to make sure that it meets and exceeds all of your expectations. You’ll be using your new Home Comfort System through the cold and clammy winter season, you’ll get to drive through the sneezing, sniffling asthma season, spring, you’ll get to cruise through the hot and muggy "I can’t sleep at night" summer season and finally your going to be able to triumph through the cold and flue season, fall. After you’ve passed through all of these seasons only then do have to make a decision. If you're not satisfied with the performance of the system, if for any reason or if for no reason whatsoever you are not satisfied with this system, give us call and we will refund 100% of your investment and we’ll give you interest. Why do you think no other company will give you this type of guarantee?

10-10-10 Guarantee*
If we perform the maintenance on your new plumbing system that we installed for the first 10 years then you will have no out pocket repairs costs whatsoever. If anything breaks, we'll fix it or replace totally at our expense. You may never pay for a repair again. Isn't that peace of mind.

* On Time or it's Our Dime.

If we are so much as one minute late for our service call, theminimum service fee is waived. That's right, your time is valuable and we end up paying if you waste your time waiting. Isn't it about time a service company puts you first?
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• Do you offer services agreements?
Of course we offer service agreements. It is an opportunity for you to save the most amount of money while getting front of line red carpet service.

• Money saving coupons.
Click on any of the coupons for printer friendly versions. These do not need to be printed out full size or in color. Please be environmentally firendly. when you click on any of pictures you will be taken to our coupon page where you can print out any number of adobe pdf back and white coupons for your use. Coupons cannot be combined with any other offer, but you are welcome to use any of them that you wish. we here at The Empire Family of Services, plumbing, heating, air conditioning & Electrical want you to get the most that you possible can while spending the least amount of money possible.

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